“caustically funny, seriously sober”
buy uselessly now (in south africa) (in united kingdom)
Uselessly by Aryan Kaganof (Jacana) ISBN 1 -77009-100-9
Uselessly, Aryan Kaganof’s third novel, is exceptionally funny and brilliantly crafted through a collection of letters addressed ‘Dear God, thank you for your reply’ and signed ‘Your friend, J.J. Uselessly’. The letters explain the predicament J.J. Uselessly finds himself in and recounts the story of his childhood, though he concedes that God probably knows all this anyway. Born ‘out of wedlock’ and brought up by his nanny Dorothy he recalls her love of Marie biscuits, days in the sun with other nannies and their visits to the prison. Kaganof’s wit weaves the memories with ongoing dialogue with God, such as Uselessly wanting to know why God structured ‘the physical world so that us humans would have to work for a living’. Despite diversion into Nietzsche and Jung that may lose the uniformed reader, the tragic story of Uselessly finding his father – then watching him undergo chemotherapy – is riveting. This is a caustically funny, seriously sober read.
Terry Ellen
Ranking: 4/5
this review first appeared on the write co.
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