Book Review: A man searches for meaning in Mike Fu's unnerving debut novel, 'Masquerade'

Meadow is coming up connected 10 years surviving successful New York, and he’s still adrift

Meadow is coming up connected 10 years surviving successful New York, and he’s still adrift. His fellow ghosted him, his existent residence is really a housesitting gig, and his bartending occupation isn’t precisely filling his parents pinch pride. But this summer, unusual things support happening that will make aliases break him.

Right astatine nan commencement of Mike Fu’s debut novel, “Masquerade,” Meadow finds a unusual book called “The Masquerade" — written by personification pinch his aforesaid name.

In a unreserved to drawback nan level to sojourn his parents successful Shanghai, he stuffs nan book successful his bag. As he sounds it, he finds uncanny parallels betwixt his life and nan novel.

Dream-like, “Masquerade” originates somewhat aimless, introducing mini mysteries and oddities that supply an unnerving inheritance hum to an different aimless plot. Like Meadow, we’re not judge wherever this is each going, aliases what is going to beryllium important later, though nan occasional foreshadowing reminds america there’s a bigger rumor astatine hand.

There’s a disappearance. There’s an evident doppelganger, and possibly a ghost, too. And a unusual reflector haunts Meadow’s dreams.

Jumping astir successful time, Fu slow reveals Meadow’s history — mostly revolving astir existential dread quieted aliases swept speech by a changeless watercourse of parties and benders.

In his 20s, Meadow throws himself into postgraduate studies to debar nan financial crash, and past into agency activity to debar nan self-important but pointless world work, past into bartending erstwhile he finds agency activity conscionable arsenic pointless and soul-sucking. Now successful his 30s, he’s reckoning pinch a benignant of 2nd coming-of-age.

“Masquerade” is simply a meandering, surreal, and unsettling hunt for personality arsenic Meadow examines nan masks he's worn passim his big life.

While various oddities move retired to beryllium only mysterious — alternatively than existent mysteries — nan novel's ending has a hopefulness and intent that helps counterbalance nan main character’s deficiency of agency passim astir of nan story.

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