(NO SPOILER REVIEW) What a read! This book almost defies encapsulation - which is what reviews tend to do. But as our unnamed protagonist says, "sometimes the universe trolls us all." Written in the risky second person narrative, this book itself is the ultimate Troll; the penultimate being our illusory vicarious existence while reading. We are this protagonist, not in specifics, but the average Millennial will, by the process of socialization, share his bleak outlook. He reacts in a more extreme way, which causes the reader to cringe at times, but when being honest, we are cringing at ourselves. That is our motivation in turning the page.
You know how when younger, you would be engulfed by rage pre fisticuffs, blind by fury during, but win or lose, feel admiration and respect for your opponent post fight? No? Just me? Well the reading of this book mirrors that process in ways. There were points I wished I could holler at Fitzgerald for creating such a contentious, arrogant, entitled narcissist of a protagonist. But through a lens of empathy and fascination - created by razor sharp prose - I understood how he became this portrait we are observing.
With insurmountable wit and control, through endless mythical, religious, scientific, Literary, cinematic and social references (have google ready if you are like me and want to know every simile and metaphor), David Fitzgerald created what may be the first modern Literary novel set in real time. This impersonal generation where immediacy and convenience reign supreme; where relationships are overtly transactional and altruism as a word and act has become a misnomer. People will settle for less, but intellectualize their failure until they believe it's a choice. Our protagonist says to himself that he could be successful too - he's merely above the theatrics of it all.
While Troll is an easy read in the sense of following the plot and understanding the story, Fitzgerald showcases a verbosity rarely seen in such Literature. Filled with portmanteaus, historical, scientific, multicultural mythical references, reappropriated words and a knowledge of cinema that perhaps only George Salis or Quentin Tarantino could rival - he is seemingly writing an adjacent story between the lines. It is up to the reader to take this second narrative journey. You will nonetheless have a great experience and be aptly entertained, even develop new awareness and insights into modernity. But if you want his Wallaceian "footnotes" and "endnotes", look up all these words he uses throughout (you won't miss them). There is a whole other world and narrative inside this novel that acts as a non-fiction companion and exposes the lineage of the type world we are viewing. It is implied delicately and brilliantly. I found myself asking the question: "Can anything be original?" Therein we find the Troll.
The surgical precision which David Fitzgerald weaves these tales together is deserved of the highest esteem and Literary praise. I don't want to posit the hackneyed review locutions, but allow me to digress this once and say that Troll is a monumental achievement that stands as the first Literary flag in modernity
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