The Paradox of Imagination by E.M. Attridge

This novel began with something familiar – an angry woman hardened by life and choices and her teenage daughter who was on the verge of indifference. The first few chapters described a dysfunctional family that needed therapy and counseling. As each page revealed the story of the mother and daughter, I began to suspect that there was more to their shared trauma. Rose’s character was burdened with something more sinister than cuts and bruises. She was haunted.

Just when I thought that this novel was heading to the direction I expected, it turned on its head and shook things up. It made me realize I’m in for a confusing but an enjoyable read. The plot twisted and turned that it made me question what was on the author - Edward’s mind when he wrote this. I also applauded his creativity while I was still unsure where everything was heading.

The introduction of the other two main characters – John and Apex made the novel’s direction clear. It would take the reader into the world of time travel, zombies, aliens, god, reincarnation, and the apocalypse. It might be an overkill and even ambitious for a writer to tackle all these topics in a novel, but with Edward’s precise narrative skill and flair for the dramatics, it was an enjoyable read.

The concept of time travel was simplified into concepts of time zones – the past, present, and future happened simultaneously on different planes. Zombies were possessed by aliens looking for a god. Reincarnation happened over and over for the characters’ do-overs. The apocalypse was the complete annihilation of unspeakable proportions. Reading this novel in quarantine could be quite unsettling sometimes. As I looked out the window after reading a few chapters, I compared how chaotic and bloody the author described the end of the world with the almost deafening silence on the street. The virus is not the end of the world as we know it, but it sure halted the way we all lived just a few months ago. The thought of staying at home and maintaining social distance was something impossible before the virus spread. Nowadays, we are slowly transitioning into a new world of less chaos but high in anxiety.

The novel made numerous attempts at humor through Apex’s cursing – a character that belonged in the future time zone. And he was more often stoned when his character was introduced. I must say that he was my favorite. Despite his anxiety and anger when he was thrown into chaos, he ended up being the hero of the story. John, on the other hand, although obviously the sidekick, was the most emotional and kindest of the three unlikely saviors. He belonged in the past time zone, and his life was filled with violence. Rose belonged to the present time zone whose powers made the Apex and John stronger. The three of them were unstoppable – until they realized that the inevitable end was planned and their fates were sealed. Surely, they will live over and over again as their creator decided that their lives were just tools to meet the goal of a master that pulled all the strings.

The topics in this novel were not new. We’ve read several novels about them, although discussed as individual topics. However, in The Paradox of Imagination, Edward stretched the possibility of story-telling by combining everything in between. In the hands of an unimaginative author, this novel could be easily tossed in the corner and the reader wouldn’t even finish it. But with Edward’s skill, the story worked perfectly because, despite his knowledge of psychology, time travel, and even aliens, the narrative was simple yet philosophical. It didn’t pretend to be highly intellectual or moral, but it could make the reader wonder if his ideas were possible. That maybe time as we know it is not linear, that maybe the god we seek is not where we can find him, and that maybe there are other creatures in this world other than humans.

Overall, this book kept me hooked. I wanted to know more about what happened at the end of each chapter. I couldn’t wait to know how everything ended. I must say that the ending was also a bit frustrating and unconventional. But the novel wouldn’t have the word paradox in its title if the story itself is not paradoxical.