Flux by Jinwoo Chong. Published March 21 2023 by Melville House. 349 pages.
Flux was an unexpected and bizarre ride that had me equal parts puzzled and hooked. The novel is cleverly named as nothing stands still for long as we learn more and more about three characters -Brandon, Blue and Bo. Brandon was recently fired from his publishing job. Blue is working on an expose on a couple of murders and Bo is dealing with the recent death of his mother. The story constantly goes back and forth giving you more details in each chapter. Early on you notice that there are problems in the narrative and that things don’t really make sense. This is where the plot takes a sci-fi turn as the reality of our main characters starts to fall apart and gets turned upside down.
I was confused and I really think that was the point – the confusion and disorientation, particularly in the middle sections of the book, seem very intentional. Flux is a complex and nuanced look at our current world through the eyes of individuals that don’t always have a voice. The novel is written in a stream of consciousness kind of way that is very ambitious, especially for a debut. Luckily I’m a major fan of this type of writing style, so I devoured the book within a couple of days. The prose is startling and vivid. It is a slightly experimental style that is an intoxicating elixir of taut suspense, literary craft and family saga. There’s some (mostly) deftly-explored themes about cults of personality, the effects of trauma and cultural assimilation. It really is peak literary sci-fi grounded by the themes within. It also touches on capitalism and cancel culture and “art vs artist” without feeling out-of-touch or preachy or cliché. The author peppers in plucked from the headline pop culture signifiers such as Theranos, populist politics, and the #MeToo movement. While these elements are relevant, they are never used as shorthand signifiers but are delved for meaning in surprising ways.
Flux is one of those stories where you just have to accept things to begin with, because everything will (mostly) become clear later on. It takes a lot of big risks with form that I think really pay off, and I’ve really never read anything else like it. All in all this novel sets out to do a lot and while it doesn’t do all those things perfectly, it is an amazing attempt that marries elements of Bildungsroman, noir and speculative fiction. Chong crafts a propulsive story about the grief we carry, while the thriller elements ensure a top quality page-turner. This book isn’t going to work for everyone – I can tell you that right now. Some will find it slow, others will want loose ends tied up. But if it clicks for you, it’s the exhilaration of a spectacular home run. I’m still riding the high. If you’re willing to fall into a capable author’s hands, pick this one up. It pulled me in right from the jump.