Joanna Kavenna, known for her insightful narratives, introduced readers to Rosa in her debut novel, Inglorious, a character whose sharp wit helped navigate a poignant story of loss. In her novel, A Field Guide to Reality, Kavenna once again explores themes of disorientation and bereavement through her protagonist, Eliade Jencks, set against the backdrop of a mystical Oxford.
Eliade, a waitress at the Tradescantian Museum cafe, feels alienated from the academic atmosphere of the city. Her sardonic observations reveal her detachment: “Milk with your coffee? Sugar with your beard? Marmalade with your air of venerable antiquity?” Grieving the recent loss of her father, she is further shaken by the death of her mentor, the philosopher Solete, who seemingly bequeaths her some important papers. This inheritance unexpectedly thrusts her into the enigmatic world of dons and researchers within an alternate Oxford, complete with colleges named Aristotle, Unicorn, and Perilous, all interwoven by the familiar Isis river.
Summoned to Solete’s rooms at Nightingale Hall, Eliade discovers that his magnum opus, “A Field Guide to Reality,” is missing, supposedly in a box labeled “For Eliade.” Finding the box empty, she embarks on a quest to uncover the nature of Solete’s life’s work. This sets the stage for a surreal journey through a world where the boundaries of reality are constantly shifting.
Her search leads her to eccentric characters, each stranger than the last. She encounters Port, a sculptor obsessed with pinecones, who directs her to Lydia Cassavetes on her houseboat, who in turn sends her to the “mechanical magicians.” The narrative unfolds in a dreamlike sequence, intensified by Eliade’s vivid dreams and a cosmic experience induced by psychotropic tea.
This journey echoes the adventures of Alice in Wonderland, drawing parallels to Lewis Carroll’s whimsical narrative. A Field Guide to Reality even includes illustrations by Oly Ralfe, known for his work with the Mighty Boosh, further emphasizing the surreal and fantastical elements. Like Alice, Eliade effortlessly navigates through various scenarios, guided by her curiosity and open mind. While Carroll parodied intellectual trends, Kavenna playfully guides the reader through the paradoxes of quantum physics.
The narrative is populated by ghostly figures of past philosophers, such as Roger Bacon and Robert Grosseteste, seemingly coexisting with modern Oxford residents. As Eliade delves deeper, her grasp on reality weakens, mirroring the central question of the novel: What is reality? “Things must be gripped and kept exactly where they should be and where they usually are,” she insists. “I would go and find the book, which was, after all, merely a book, and then I would return to ordinary life. The cafe. The museum. Work. The parameters of the Real and the True.”
Even basic definitions of physical phenomena are questioned. Grosseteste, in the 13th century, theorized about light, asking, “Colour is light incorporated in a diaphanous medium. But what is diaphaneity?” Alhazen, an Arab scholar, envisioned light in terms of dust. Isaac Newton, influenced by the seven known planets, identified seven colors in the rainbow, while others perceived fewer. “Reality – whatever the hell is around you – doesn’t fall into neat little categories… Reality is aligned somehow with Light but you don’t know what light is and neither does anybody else,” Eliade contemplates.
Although a connection develops between Eliade and an attractive don, the novel leaves their relationship unresolved. This unconventional approach, along with the quirky, intelligent, and curious heroine, makes A Field Guide to Reality a refreshing and thought-provoking exploration of quantum Wonderland. Kavenna challenges readers to question their perceptions of reality and embrace the unknown.
