There was an interesting episode at the start of the academic year when a colleague of mine, a man I had very rarely talked to previously, approached the desk I was sitting at, noticed the book that was lying face up and pronounced its title in full voice. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas. This was a surprise, coming as it did from such a quiet and detached man of some considerable age. Seconds later, he looked at me and wondered: "Ezra Maas... never heard that name before. Who is this Ezra Maas?" At that point, I had almost finished the book, and the words would echo in my mind for quite a while: who, indeed?
"This book is dangerous". The novel starts with a cheap thrill, an obvious hook that could at some point collapse upon the author like some dead leviathan. It does not. I believe this could be a dangerous book, although a lot will depend on how much faith you will put into the proceedings. Quite a lot, I would argue. The closest analogy I can think of is Mark Danielewski's seminal House of Leaves, and not just because of the constant narrative mindfuck but also in the sense that this is a book of an obsession so engrossing it will inevitably affect the reader. I remember someone asking me about my impressions of the novel while I was halfway through, and I must have looked like a man possessed - praising this book like it was some modern-day masterpiece.
Although maybe it is. For no matter how much of a sceptic you may be, or how many facts you will find out about Daniel James, you will still give in to the temptation and end up searching for anything that Google has on the true identity of Ezra Maas. The elusive visionary genius that he was (and is?). And there is something that you will find, too, and God help you if you choose to go a little bit deeper.
Because, you see, that is exactly what happens to the author of this biography. Daniel James is commissioned to write the definitive account of Ezra Maas's life (on the off chance that you do not know who Ezra Maas is, there is a Guardian article printed at the beginning of the book containing this: "Ezra Maas was a reclusive genius, an outlier and iconoclast even among the avant-garde. Today, his name has all but disappeared from the public consciousness, but in the art world, and especially to his followers, he is regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century".) Which is quite an ask considering that Maas has been missing for years, and the notoriously secretive Maas Foundation is not going to be forthcoming with any help. Quite on the contrary...
This insane, labyrinthian novel will get into your head in no time, and the endless footnotes and crossed out bits will annoy and fascinate you in equal measure. Because this novel is not so much a novel as an experience, and you owe it to yourself to have one. I would go even further, and say that if you are not obsessed with the plot and its main character, then the whole thing is wasted on you. Which is tragic, because art which does not create obsession is not real art.
