When the cover of a book calls it “hallucinatory,” I know it’s not going to be a good fit for me. However, since Murmur is part of my James Tait Black project, I felt compelled to read it.
The novel aims to portray the mindset of an Alan Turing-like scientist named Alec Pryor after he is undergoing chemical castration because of a homosexual encounter. Aside from making his body more feminine, the chemical makes him dream and eventually induces wakened dream states, including ones where he fantasizes letters from his friend June, whom he hasn’t seen in years, and relives events of his boyhood.
Those who have been reading my reviews know how much I hate reading about dreams. Since it is difficult to know some of the time whether he is dreaming or remembering, this was a novel I found it hard to stick with, despite it being very short.
The rest of the novel is filled with philosophical musings about whether machines could have consciousness and other subjects. I felt that either I didn’t want to follow his thoughts or they were too hard for me to grasp. The journal section at the end is the most accessible part of the novel.
whatmeread 
Oh dear, this doesn’t appeal to me but I am supposed to be reading my way through the James Tait Black winners, but I’ve come to a halt with that project for quite a while. This would be one of the easier books to obtain too.
Oh, you’re doing that, too? The shortlist or just the winners? Do you want me to post your links on my James Tait Black page? I’m doing the shortlist.
Because it’s British, I had to buy it. Sigh.