by Matt Ruff
p. 1988
Even though Sewer, Gas & Electric was my first foray into the delightful
world of Matt Ruff, I still have Ruff’s debut novel, Fool on the Hill, to credit for the introduction because it was this book, and not the former that a
friend recommended years ago. I loved Sewer,
Gas, & Electric so much that I convinced myself to save Fool on the Hill for later to, like, savor
the goodness or something. I don’t know; clearly I was an idiot, as there is
probably no limit to how many times one can enjoy a Matt Ruff novel. There is
just so much there to digest and his
style is endearingly ADD. I get the feeling that both of these books will be
even more enjoyable to me the second time around.
I said in my review of Sewer, Gas, & Electric two years ago
that Ruff is fond of massive character rosters and convoluted plots. Just like
the former, Fool on the Hill boasts an
array of irreverent, liberal characters just bloated enough to require a two-page
cast list for reference (and you will
use it if you read this book) and a complicated, messy plot that all comes
together for a comprehensive final act. In Fool
on the Hill, the characters are divided into five main groups: Stephen Titus George
and Aurora (the ‘white knight’ and the ‘princess’), the Bohemians (larger than
life college students that play around the edges of the plot), Luther and
Blackjack (the animals on a spiritual quest), the sprites (invisible to most humans,
but affecting the plot nonetheless), and an omniscient otherworldly narrator,
Mr. Sunshine. Each of those groups is divided into subgroup consisting of
various combinations, with others weaving in and out of the story—a pair of
Ithaca cops, some engineering students building a float, Aurora’s impulsive but
doting father, a preppy frat boy villain.
Ganted, I—more than most readers—really
take to comprehensive ensemble stories, so I am inclined to like Ruff’s style
more than others generally would. I did not in the least regret having such a
large list to keep track of, but it should be warned that others might. That
said, I think it’s worth pointing out that while Ruff’s characters are often of
a similar hivemind, and few of them are intensively explored, they all manage
to stand out in unique ways. One of the things I kept noticing about Ruff’s
characters is that even the smallest one, a character who, in any other story,
would be a throwaway, manage to reveal something about themselves that gives
them some depth, like Aurora’s long dead brother whose spontaneity and spirit forever
changed her interaction with her father, or the Bohemian who joined the group
long before our story ever started because he was pursuing a member who dropped
out after being assaulted by a rival frat brother. All of these things seem so
inconsequential but it is really these types of details that fill in the space
between the lines.
The story takes place at Cornell
University over the course of a school year and there are a lot of elements
guiding the plot, not the least of which is Mr. Sunshine, a ‘Greek original,’
who occasionally sticks his hand in to mold the plot directly but is mostly
content to sit back and watch fate play itself out. The sprites were generally
my least favorite part of the story, but it is their misguided but
well-intentioned actions that release the evil that the human characters have
to deal with in the end, so they are crucial, even if they never talk to anyone
else. Luther and Blackjack were definitely my favorite parts of the story,
though the Bohemians will hold a special place in your heart, just for the
sheer ludicrousness of them all. This whole book is a messy but fun mix of
adventure, fantasy, romance and humor that just keeps adding layer upon layer.
Fool
on the Hill was Ruff’s debut novel, and I didn’t find it quite as riotous as Sewer, Gas & Electric but to be
fair, I knew what to expect this time and that changed the way I read it. I’d
easily put it on par with the former, in terms of humor, and I am beyond
thrilled to see how much more Ruff has in store.
