The Zero by Jess Walter

Nick Hornby clued me into Walter’s previous book, Citizen Vince. I don’t remember if he reviewed The Zero, but it is only on Nick Hornby’s recommendation and my previous experience with Citizen Vince that I would pick up a book set in New York on and after 9/11.

I’m just not into exploring that particular day. But 9/11 just serves as a background; The horror of the day is nodded to, but not dwelled upon.

However, that said, I really enjoyed this book. The main character, a policeman-turned-9/11-investigator, has a Memento-like condition where he only remembers snatches of his life. It’s not clear whether he is losing “gaps” in his memory, or if his personality has become split, each side only perceiving sections of the story.

Regardless, we jump right along with the main character (or at least, the sympathetic version of him), with each scene cutting off suddenly and pickup up abruptly in the next one, leaving him routinely appalled by what he’s been doing during the gaps. The story is engaging in the same way that Memento is, in that you struggle enjoyably in trying to understand what’s going on.

2 for 2, I’ll have to keep Jess Walter on my watch list.