This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack

This Plague of Souls by Mike McCormack
Published: October 26, 2023
Rating: ★★★★
Order it here: This Plague of Souls

Nealon has just been released from prison and arrives to an empty house. Where are his wife and son? Why was Nealon in prison? As Nealon reflects on the past, loss, loneliness, fatherhood, and life’s meaning, his reveries are interrupted by a mysterious caller who appears to have answers to Nealon’s musings. Described as a metaphysical thriller or noir, This Plague of Souls is a follow up (although can be read as a stand alone) book to Solar Bones. But is it worth the read?

Like his other works, This Plague of Souls is not for the casual reader. It is brilliantly written and conceived and will undoubtedly frustrate the majority of its readers. The short novel is broken into three primary sections titled: Country Feedback, No Traffic and a Dry Road, and This Plague of Souls. The mundane and personal are intertwined with the larger socio-political context in which the country is facing an unnamed security/terror crisis. The first section centers primarily on Nealon’s personal memories and reflections. The second section expands those internal reflections to contemplations on the landscape and larger social context as Nealon drives to meet the mystery caller. The third and final piece brings these two threads together and connects some of the dots. Ultimately, it’s the reader who has to do the work of interpreting what is intended by the merging of the personal and socio-political.

And if the circumstances of his being here alone in this bed at this hour rest within the art of those grand constructs — politics, finance, trade — it is not clear how his loneliness resolved in the indifference with which such constructs regard him across the length an breadth of his sleep.

McCormack’s books aren’t for every reader (just take a quick look at the goodreads reviews to see how many people struggled with it). Much like his previous book Solar Bones, This Plague of Souls has a surreal, otherworldly feel to it. It’s a short book that reads deceptively fastbut each sentence is heavily loaded with meaning, raising big questions out of every day mundane things. Questions are raised but most answers are not provided, and those that are provided, require effort and reflection to understand. If you are a reader who needs their narrative and plot threads tied up in neat knots, you will be frustrated by this book.

Plague of Souls is the middle book in what is conceived to be a trilogy of sorts. Solar Bones was the first in the trilogy. In a clever nod to book one, This Plague of Souls closes with the ringing of the angelus bell. Is it worth the read? Absolutely. McCormack is an incredibly talented writer and while his books require intellectual energy, they are well worth the effort. I will be eagerly awaiting the final book in the series to see how they are all connected.

If you want to try it out for yourself, you can purchase a copy here: This Plague of Souls

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