‘We were destroying the planet all along, weren’t we?’
The potential destruction of Earth as a result of climate change is a key theme of this interesting novel, delivered rather bluntly through characters like Madge and the Narrator, but also through reference to earlier historical events. However, the real philosophical crux of the novel is this: if you could intervene to change just one thing on Earth, what would you choose?
What’s it about?
When Greg dies, he is already ground down by life: he feels ill-treated by never achieving the professional recognition granted to his colleague, Liam, in the archaeological world, and by his relationship with his ex-wife, Jenna, so to be prematurely dead as a result of a car accident feels like just another kick in the teeth – until he discovers the power of Intervention.
Welcome to The Cloud, ‘the ultimate box set of everything that has ever happened, and has yet to happen, on Earth’. Initially distracted by his new-found ability to view other peoples’ lives at will, (and his horror at realising that this means other people will have seen his private, less salubrious habits over the years!) Greg eventually comes to realise that he can change one thing on Earth, providing he is willing to trade in his eternal existence in The Cloud for ‘Permadeath’.
What will Greg change? And what will the consequences be?
What’s it like?
Episodic and fragmented in style, with variations that do not reflect particularly kindly on the human race as a whole! I don’t think it constitutes a spoiler to say that Greg is not the only character to gain the power of Intervention, and not everyone is using their power for the greater good…
‘Intervention’ poses an interesting philosophical question, which Murphy explores through following a core cast of characters with constantly shifting fates through a period of a few years. Rather than chapters, the reader navigates ‘versions’ of events, beginning with version 3. Gradually, as the novel cycles back through the same events and explores the impact of decisions made via Interventions, some characters emerge as more skilful than others at using The Cloud to their advantage, but Murphy has a broader point to make about society and he makes it explicitly as the novel draws to a close, fully embracing the metafictional approach:
‘[She] said, almost like I came up with her character and this scenario to examine further the overarching themes of this novel.’
Final thoughts
There are some nice touches of comedy here, such as when the narrator tells Greg that the crash ‘kind of did [him] a favour’ by killing him pre-2020 because that year was ‘crazy’, and inherent in the notion that when unsuccessful people blame malign, external actors for their own limitations and failures – they may well be right!
I found the reactions of the different characters to death in The Cloud interesting, especially Conal, whose reactions differ significantly from the other characters and was intrigued by the initial mysteries (such as, why did Liam act like he did after the night out?)
The moral of the story is heavy handed and the ending increasingly didactic, but this is an interesting – albeit slightly depressing! – thought experiment. The fractured style of the narrative definitely makes this feel like more of an experiment than a conventional ‘story’, but it’s easy to keep track of the various characters (if at times unclear who is pulling their strings) and feels terribly convincing as an insight into human nature!
‘Intervention’,
Harrison Murphy,
2024, paperback
Many thanks to the author and Anne Cater’s Random Things Tours for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and a spot on the blog tour.
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