Lavie Tidhar is one of the more interesting prolific writers out there these days as he's known largely for his Central Station short novel (itself sort of a collection of short stories) as well as his short stories and edited collections of international SF/F work. His work has honestly been pretty hit or miss for me, but it has always featured some very different and out there worlds and concepts (for example, a clown-based Western in an imaginary world of a grieving father) and his last short novel, Neom, was one I really really liked. So I always am happy to try his stuff and The Circumference of the World is the latest.

And well, The Circumference of the World is an interesting short novel with a bunch of inspirations....but I don't really think they come together in any coherent fashion. The story revolves around a book - "Lode Stars" - that may not exist but supposedly contains the secrets of the universe as told by a scientology-esque religion founded by a manic golden age sci-fi writer. This book affects the lives of a woman from Vanua Lava, a face blind book dealer, a Russian mobster, and the writer himself, but their stories and the framing device sometimes of strange otherworldly entities telling the story don't really mesh? It's hard to explain or know what to think about this, but I'll try better below:

Note: I read this in part in Audiobook, which uses multiple narrators to put on a very interesting and unique performance. Very well done, so if you're interested in this book, would recommend in this format.


Plot Summary:
Delia Welegtabit was born an albino on the island of Vanua Lava, where she was raised in love by her parents and learned to find love in others...and to see the galaxy in the sky like none other. It was there she first discovered the love of mathematics that would take her to university in London...and there she would see a strange book written by a foreign science fiction writer - "Lode Stars". Years later, when in London, Delia would marry another mathematician Levi Armstrong who would be obsessed with finding Lode Stars, an impossible book said not to exist, which supposedly contains the truth about the universe: that we are all just data/information on the cusp of a Black Hole, around which swirl the "Eaters" who wish to dine on our memories.

When Levi goes missing supposedly with a copy of the book, Delia asks a face-blind book dealer Daniel Chase to find him. That search leads to both the church started by Lode Star's writer - Eugene Hartley - and to a dangerous Russian Gangster and Hartley superfan Oskar Lens, who is a true believer and believes the book is his only chance at salvation. And surrounding all of this is the question: was Hartley himself just a mad vain conman or did he really see the true state of the world, and if he did, how can they all stave off the hungriness of the Eaters?

The Circumference of the World is told in a very nonstandard fashion. The story starts as if it's being told through the eyes of the "Eaters", the outside space eaters of memories (who the audiobook voices with a harmonious often creepy combination of its male and female readers at times), with the story then featuring different parts from different perspectives: first we have a few chapters from Delia, setting up her birth and growing up on Vanua Lava before coming to London, marrying Levi, and engaging Daniel Chase on a quest before disappearing; then we have chapters featuring Chase's look for the book and Levi; then we have chapters following the past of Oskar Lens, etc etc. We even get a snippet from the mysterious book Lode Stars itself (I think this was originally a novelette published by Tidhar elsewhere) and then a section following Eugene Hartley, the L Ron Hubbard-esque creator of the book and the religion that sprung out of his dogma.

It's a lot of ideas, and in general they're all interesting ones: you have Delia and her two lives - her one back at home where she found love in another of her people and the land and culture where you can most vividly see the galaxy in the sky and her one in London where she's also found love, if a lesser one, in Levi and in mathematics (part of the reason she left) that went astray when Levi was so addicted to his theories of math and Lode Stars that it got him abducted. And well there's the fact that her roots back home (and her connection to Lode Stars, a thing she couldn't care less about) make her immune to the Eaters and allow her to not care about them (and instead, she finds the ideas of Hartley's religion kind of pleasing without that fear, even if she isn't a believer). It's an interesting contrast of ideas that the book abandons really quickly. And then you have Chase's search for a book he can't believe exists, through book dealers of golden age scifi (a position that Tidhar once filled himself) all the while dealing with the difficulties of his faceblindness. And then you have Lens' story coming up through the brutal ways of the Russian mafia, finding some rare moments of joy anonymously at scifi conventions, before becoming obsessed with the book. And well there's the story of Hartley and how obnoxiously egotistical and out there he is, and yet how he's catered to constantly even by the racist and otherwise prejudiced minds in charge of golden age Scifi (John W Campbell is rightfully portrayed as an asshole here).

It's a lot of stuff, all based upon ideas Tidhar has found over the years or his own experiences and interests as he explains in his afterward. But it doesn't really come together as a single complete book and just feels like a jumble of ostensibly related but not really thematically related stories. At one point one character apparently travels in time and you think "Ah, here's how it's going to tie together" and then nothing comes of it, it's never explained and we just go on!

Other people will like this more because they'll find the ideas more interesting, I'm sure. But to me, this is unfortunately more of a mess of ideas than something cohesive and none of the ideas are strongly enough developed to work for me enough that I can ignore that and love it.

I'm a fan of Lavie Tidhar but I couldn't quite connect with this one. The story meanders quite a bit, with changing perspectives that I found disorienting. The narrative style is interesting, and I like the world building, but ultimately the book was somewhat unsatisfying for me. I thought it was just ok.

Please see my review in the March/April 2024 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact:
https://www.analogsf.com/current-issue/the-reference-library/

The Circumference of the World is a book with better ideas than execution. A story about stories, which is starting to feel very overdone in the current fantasy/sci-fi landscape. The book is an imaginative story about chasing a mysterious book around the world, but instead of being heartfelt and whimsical, it ended up being a real slog.

The book ended up simply making me feel tired as I read it. Its new ideas are bound by this structure of bad dialogue and two-dimensional cardboard cutout characters. I think Lavie Tidhar has some amazing ideas and opinions but this book lacked the mechanical legs to take it where it needed to go.

I wanted to like this novel, with its nods to the Golden Age of scifi, noir vibe, and interconnected plotlines. But in the end, the disparate threads of the story were too hard to follow, leaving me frustrated, and the characters so scattershot I was disinterested in their fates.

Lavie Tidhar’s "The Circumference of the World" and I did not get along. I will accept some of the blame for our butting of heads, though, because I chose to alternate between my digital review copy and a library audiobook. But I never should’ve even tried the audio – the story is so complicated that you must have the words of it in front of you.

I followed along fine at first, and I liked the story I was reading and listening to, which basically boils down to a mathematician, a book dealer, and a mobster all looking for a book that may or may not exist. These individuals also may or may not be in the same realities – I never quite figured that part out – and to make things even more confusing, there’s a narrative from the missing book mixed in, making it difficult to know what is what in Tidhar’s novel.

The different perspectives and narratives result in a frustrating read, especially because the pieces never really come together at the end. I waited for that a-ha moment to hit where everything clicks into place and makes sense, but it never happened. And now I’m left feeling as if I missed out because Tidhar raises some interesting questions about the nature of reality and whether we humans are truly alive or instead stuck in some artificial existence. I would’ve liked to think more on it had all my bandwidth not been so busy sorting the story.


My sincerest appreciation to Lavie Tidhar, Tachyon Publications, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

While I really enjoyed the writing of the author, Lavie Tidhar, I found myself hard pressed to find where the story was going, exactly. it jumped from character to character perspective and still maintained interesting ideas and style. There never seemed to be any sort of resolution.

Review: The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 stars)

The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar is a mind-bending exploration of reality, blending elements of science fiction, mystery, and philosophical musings. Set in a world where multiple dimensions intersect and truth is elusive, Tidhar takes readers on a journey that spans from the emergence of life to the farthest reaches of the universe.

The story revolves around a mathematician, a book dealer, and a mobster, all of whom are caught in a desperate search for a notorious book that mysteriously disappears once read. Only the enigmatic author, a rakish sci-fi writer, holds the key to whether his popular novel is a work of truth or an elaborate hoax.

Tidhar's writing in The Circumference of the World is nothing short of exceptional. His prose is beautifully crafted, with a lyrical quality that captivates the reader from start to finish. The author's ability to seamlessly blend genres and explore complex ideas is commendable. Each page is filled with vivid imagery and thought-provoking concepts that challenge our understanding of reality.

However, despite the brilliance of Tidhar's writing, the plot of the novel can be disorienting and at times difficult to follow. While some readers may appreciate the intricate puzzle-like structure that mirrors the elusive nature of truth in the story, others may find themselves overwhelmed and disconnected from the narrative. The constant shifts between dimensions and timelines can make it challenging to fully engage with the characters and their motivations.

As someone who typically does not gravitate towards science fiction, I approached The Circumference of the World with an open mind, hoping to expand my reading choices. I must admit that while I appreciated Tidhar's writing style and creativity, the plot itself felt overwhelming and often went over my head. It is worth noting that this may be a personal preference, and readers more familiar with science fiction or those who enjoy intricate, puzzle-like narratives may find this book more enjoyable.

One aspect of the book that stood out to me was the stunning cover design. The cover art perfectly captures the essence of the story, with its cosmic imagery and intriguing symbolism. It is a testament to the attention to detail put into this publication.

In conclusion, The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar is an ambitious and intellectually stimulating novel that pushes the boundaries of traditional storytelling. While the writing is exceptional and the exploration of multiple dimensions and philosophical concepts is fascinating, the convoluted plot may prove challenging for some readers. If you are a fan of science fiction and enjoy intricate narratives that blur the lines between reality and fiction, this book may be a perfect fit for you. However, if you prefer more straightforward storytelling or are new to the genre, it might be worth approaching this book with caution.

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

Speculative fiction of the past few decades has certainly never shied away from exploring Big Questions. Whether its stories examine technology, ethics, climate change, or the possibility of apocalypse, the genre is rich with inquiry into difficult and, perhaps, unanswerable questions.

Lavie Tidhar’s The Circumference of the World is certainly part of this tradition. In fact, I think it would be accurate to say that it is a novel that presents a host of compelling questions—and yet doesn’t really strive to definitively answer any of them. These Big Questions revolve around the nature of existence, the definition of life, the existence of God, and other philosophical speculations, all based in current theories emerging from mathematics and theoretical physics.

Tidhar has been compared to writers like Philip K. Dick and Kurt Vonnegut, but, with the story’s spiraling structure and novel-within-a-novel mystery, the writers that came to my mind the most while reading were Jorge Luis Borges and Michael Ende. The Circumference of the World is difficult to summarize or even categorize. It’s ostensibly a mystery concerning a book that may or may not exist, but there’s no real plot to speak of. Rather, Tidhar’s novel is constructed as a patchwork of events and ideas that interconnect through the experiences of the characters. It is a meta, recursive narrative that can initially feel disjointed but slowly coalesces to reveal a circular structure that truly feels as if you have traveled the circumference of a world of ideas.

In the 1960s, pulp science fiction writer Eugene Charles Hartley publishes a novel that purports to explain the nature of the universe and offer a radical theory about the existence of life. The novel, Lode Stars, becomes the centerpiece of a cult-religion, the Church of God’s All-Seeing Eyes, and passes into legend as copies of the book seem to disappear after they’re read. The legend of the book—whether it truly exists and what it says about the universe—brings together an unusual trifecta of characters: Delia, a mathematician whose husband is driven mad hunting for Lode Stars (and who may have a deeper connection to the book than she realizes); Daniel, a face-blind bookseller tasked with finding a copy of the book; and Oskar, a cutthroat Russian mob boss haunted by the long-lost copy of the book he believes he read in a Siberian prison. The connections between the characters are the result of happenstance—or are they? Like the bigger existential questions at the heart of the novel, the smaller coincidences of the story echo the twin possibilities of predestination or pure, random chance.

The main storyline of The Circumference of the World is set in the unique historical turning point of 2001, though this date is mostly mentioned in passing. In the latter third of the novel, there is a shift to the past and Tidhar reimagines the Golden Age of pulp science fiction in a world where Hartley exists and is shaping the genre, meeting figures like Robert Heinlein, Jack Kerouac, and John Campbell along the way. This look backwards adds a further metalevel within the narrative, reflecting back on the early days of science fiction with a 21st century lens that feels like another full-circle moment reflective of the novel’s overall structure.

In his Afterword, Tidhar lays his influences out clearly, even sharing the sources he used in his research regarding theoretical physics, prosopagnosia, the Republic of Vanuatu, and the golden age of science fiction. What I find most interesting about this revelation of Tidhar’s interests is what is left out. The pulp-writer-cum-religious-guru Hartley is obviously influenced by L. Ron Hubbard and the creation of Scientology, and yet the connection is not mentioned. Like the metatextual, form-following-function nature of the novel’s title and overall structure, I think it is interesting to leave the Scientology element up for debate—much like the shadowy institution of the church in the novel is subject to interpretation: Does Hartley really believe his own dogma, or is it just about money and power? Even when experiencing the story from Hartley’s perspective, the line between truth and fiction is constantly blurred.

Despite the focus on grand existential mysteries and its metatextual elements, The Circumference of the World is, overall, an inviting and propulsive read and its characters keep you invested in the core mysteries of the story, even without much of a plot in the traditional sense. I feel this rather simplistic observation is worth noting because this tendency for the novel to propel the reader forward can be a little misleading—it is a book that rewards slow, thoughtful consideration. My initial feelings at the end of the book were a little ambivalent and I can see how this story may be somewhat divisive—there is a lack of closure that one can see as either disappointing or thematically appropriate. At first, it felt a little incomplete, as if some of the elements lacked cohesion or like some threads had been left hanging. But the longer I sat with my thoughts and considered the connections between the characters and their various quests, the more the structure and the ideas came together. I will say my only real complaint is that very few of the POV characters are given a chance to be much more than props to the mystery and I would have liked to see them fleshed out more.

I mentioned that one of the writers Tidhar’s work called to mind was Michael Ende, author of The Neverending Story. Like that fantasy metanarrative, this novel has the story-within-a-story structure that plays with the nature of perception and highlights the collaborative process of creating stories that is performed by author and audience. The story is as much about what you bring to it as what says—a true full-circle experience.

Like Nabokov writing a sci-fi book, it's very, very meta--sort of a book within a book within a book masquerading as a book. While that sounds like a lot of fun, the writing is a bit dull and derivative of hardboiled detective fiction.

This book was a hard one to wrap my head around.

The premise is that an author from the Golden Age of science fiction wrote a book, where he supposedly encoded great secret truths about God and the universe. Except maybe he didn’t, and it’s all just people finding meanings that aren’t there. Except maybe the book never existed in the first place, because almost no one has ever seen a copy, and the only semi-reliable cases where one appeared ended abruptly when the book dealer in question ended up dead.

There are a variety of main characters here, and it’s difficult to say who among them might be the “main” character. There’s an albino woman from the South Pacific island where the author in question spent WWII. There’s her husband, a math professor terrified he’ll never make that grand contribution that will help him achieve mortality. There’s the face-blind used book dealer turned investigator trying to track down the husband after he disappears. There’s a Russian mobster who threatens him into searching for a copy of the book. And there’s flashback sequences of journals and letters written by the author and his contemporaries (including folks like Robert A. Heinlein and John W. Campbell).

We also get a few chapters from this book, which might not ever have existed in the first place.

The author, I eventually figured out, is based to some degree on L. Ron Hubbard. A religion, or possibly a scam, was founded based on his writings: the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes of God.

(As an aside, it took me a little bit to figure out that he was based on Hubbard. I was thrown by the name of the religion, which made me think of the Church of All Worlds that got started based on *Stranger in a Strange Land*. This confused me, because Heinlein is a character within *The Circumference of the World*. It wasn’t until the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes of God bought a cruise ship that I realized it was Scientology, not the Church of All Worlds.)

(As another aside: it’s very funny to me that I had a moment of “Oh, this is the *other* religion based on mid-twentieth century pulp science fiction.”)

Anyway. The book alternates between the present (actually 2001), where various actors are looking for the book; the 40s and 50s, when science fiction was in its golden age; and a middle section coming from the book in question.

The flashback sequences were very well done. I know more than a little about the period and the players, and I think Tidhar did a great job of capturing both the optimism and the confidence/cockiness of the genre of the time (as well as the sexism and racism of guys like Campbell and Heinlein).

The excerpts from the book-within-the-book were fantastic. If you told me it was something written from that time period, I would believe you. I honestly want to read this book in its entirety.

The Russian mobster’s flashbacks to his time in the Soviet gulags were interesting, and again were well crafted, but also rather brutal.

But overall, I didn’t particularly *enjoy* this book. It felt a little pretentious, in a Jonathan Franzen-esque fashion. I don’t like feeling like a book is over my head. This was my second try at Tidhar, and I doubt I’m going to try a third.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lavie Tidhar has earned a great deal of acclaim for his novels Central Station and Neom, both set in a futuristic Tel Aviv replete with cybernetic implants, abandoned virtual pets, and androids. The Circumference of the World is a very different book. It follows three characters in the modern world, all searching for a book that may or may not exist. The book, written by a reclusive science-fiction author, is so beloved that it actually spawned a religion. Whether said religion is true or false, its premise is intriguing enough that the search for the book results in kidnapping and perhaps even murder.

While much of the book follows the three main characters, we also get an excerpt from the possibly-imaginary book Lode Stars and a section from the POV of its enigmatic author during his stint on a remote Pacific island in World War 2. This construction gives the novel a broad, wide-ranging feel. The excerpt from Lode Stars is a great excursion into Golden Age-style sci-fi, and the cosmology it posits is an interesting take on simulationism.

There were some elements of the story that I thought were underdeveloped, such as Daniel’s prosopagnosia. But overall, this was an interesting, thought-provoking book.

Another story about stories, this time a metafictional romp through a Scientologyesque religion and the end of the universe. Lavie Tidhar’s The Circumference of the World is imaginative and, dare I say, quite a bit wacky; however, it never coalesced into something I would call enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for the eARC.

Delia is a mathematician from Vanuatu, though now she lives in London. Her boyfriend’s disappearance causes her to start looking for a book so rare some think it doesn’t exist. This pulp science-fiction novel is at the centre of a cult-like church that believes reading the book conveys protection against the “Eaters,” mysterious creatures connected to black holes (I am keeping the details vague to avoid spoilers here). Delia enlists the help of a book detective, essentially, who then falls in with a gangster, who then … you know what, it’s turtles all the way down.

The best and perhaps also worst aspect of The Circumference of the World for me was the structure of the narrative. We leave Delia in the first part of the book to follow Daniel, and then leave him to follow Oskar, and there is also an interstitial moment where we are in the Lode Stars story itself, which may or may not be real or even more real than the rest of this story. The way that Tidhar plays with the flexible nature of reality and fiction is skillful and thought-provoking. The scenes set within Lode Stars, in a far, posthuman future, demonstrate some really neat thinking about the nature of humanity and the cosmos. The wider novel as a whole dances around notions of the simulation hypothesis, albeit coming at it from a very different angle than we might be used to.

This is all to the good. Where the book failed to work for me was the characters themselves. The narration often felt stilted, and I had trouble connecting to most of the main characters. Although I like the segmented structure of the book, I wish we had come back to Delia and spent more time with her than we did. Overall, the book itself felt both too long and too short—with characters and plots being picked up and then dropped without resolution.

File this under “some amazing science fiction happening here but in a way that never comes together as a single coherent story.”

The Circumference of the World
The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great novel that should have been titled The Lodestar. I mean, void, man, sure, it would have sounded like a pulpy SF novel, but it's YOU, Mr. Tidhar, writing it, so it's not only f***ing self-aware and erudite, it's a commentary and it glories in the subject matter while pulling off one hell of a hat-trick of an ACTUAL SF novel all at the same time.

What the hell am I talking about?

The Circumference of the World starts out as one great Noir-type investigation novel featuring the murder of a book seller and the questionable reality of a novel named The Lodestar written by a certain Eugene Charles Hartley who used to bump shoulders with all the late great SF writers like the big three and all the old SF greats. This fictional SF writer seems to be a mash-up between PKD and L. Ron Hubbard, and the missing, even apocryphal book in question seems to have a mathematical equation hidden within it that prevents the Eaters from nibbling away at our holographic universe that is lodged in the great eye of a final black hole at the end of time.

We get sections in this novel from unbelievers, true believers, and the creator, himself. I can't tell you which I love the most. The mystery is absolutely hard-boiled and perfection. The hard SF is fascinating and hard-core, feeling right out of Pohl's best, and the Golden Age SF retrospective brought tears to my eyes, being a huge fan of all these authors and having read them all.

Mr. Tidhar's love of SF is real, ya'll, and the total shift in styles and tone and voice just makes me want to clap with joy. Again, he shows me what a world-class talent he is.

No spoilers, but this novel is truly delicious. Even if the title lacks... um... everything. :)

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Neom last year was one of my favorite SFs, I loved the stacked story within a story structure of it and Lavie Tidhar has done it again. The Circumference of the World is a similarly structured story that begins simply enough with a woman seeking her missing husband. From there the story spirals out, the book he was seeking - others are seeking it. Then we see the madness that drives some people to seek the book and ultimately the strange way reality has twisted for individuals affected by a religion that idolizes? Uses? the book. I spent so much of the book going ‘what the hell?’ in the best way and by the end, I’m not going to lie I was so amused.

First off, I’m going to say as he says at the end. The religion in this book is fictional and not based on any real world religion. But if you know you’re history of religions… or cults… you may see some **interesting** parallels to some real world things.

And that is the real selling point for me here. This is a story about a book. Is the book truth or is it fiction? And are the people who are interacting with the book genuinely experiencing these things or is it simply giving voice to deeper problems. I would 100% would have read so many more of these stories to see more people in this world (and universe) and how they were/are affected by the actions and items here.

It was a wild ride, a fun ride, and one I loved. I really recommend this for my fans of weird SFF or for a fan of religion/cults in fiction. It will likely tickle your nerd buttons.

I was so excited to see a new title from this author, as I loved The Escapement. I remember being a tad confused at the beginning of that one, but was quickly captivated. I stuck with this one, waiting for it all to completely coalesce for me. I’m still waiting. It’s a book, about a book… that’s actually the answer to the God and the universe. The story shifts from the search for the mythical book, to the book itself, to the author, and…I am so confused! To quote a line from this book “There is a good idea buried somewhere within this tale, but for the life of me, I am having trouble comprehending it.”

This was a fun ride, substantially more meta than his other novels, think Philip K. Dick ([book:Ubik|22590][book:Ubik|22590][book:Ubik|22590]). We have a book, a book about the book, a book about the author of the book, and a narrative that challenges the reality of everything in the novel. Whee!

Worth reading more than once, maybe more than twice, though I might need Douglas Hofstadter to talk me down from the top levels of re-interpretation.

TL;DR

The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar is a fantastic mix of style and character. It collects interesting people and writes about them in interesting ways. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.

Review: The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar

Unexpected gems are one of the best things about life. Finding a craft beer bar in a strip mall surrounded by chains is exciting. The five dollar game bought impulsively on Steam that you’re still playing one hundred hours later is amazing. A book that surpasses and then reworks your expectations mid-read is beautiful. I recently read that book. It’s The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar. Reviewing books takes a toll on me, and burnout is a constant danger looming on the edge of my reading. When I picked up The Circumference of the World, I was expecting a science-fiction mystery about a book that may or may not exist. What I got was so much more.

The life of Delia Welegtabit is where Tidhar starts this book. Delia is a native of Vanuatu. She loves her home; she loves math; and she eventually leaves for London where she falls in love with a man obsessed with big questions. So big in fact that they lead to his disappearance. Tidhar takes from Delia’s birth to the moment her husband exits her life. From there, the story enters Daniel Chase’s point of view. Daniel is a book dealer in London, and since Delia’s husband is obsessed a book that may or may not exist, she asks Daniel to find him. Daniel, though, is face-blind, and his search for Delia’s husband puts him into a game much bigger than himself, one that may even take him into the past. Oskar Lens is one player of that game. Lens is a Russian mobster, an ex-inmate in the gulags of Siberia, and a beneficiary of the corruption that followed the fall of the Soviet Union. His encounter with this book in prison occupies him into the present. He must find the book again to learn its secrets. But the Church of the All-Seeing Eyes attempts to stop him. The book is meant only for members of the church who reach the top levels since it was written by the church’s founder, Eugene Charles Hartley. Hartley is a pulp science fiction writer who founded a religion for either profit or because he discovered a terrifying secret about existence. Hartley’s journals take readers through the so-called “Golden Age” of science fiction with many names from science fiction’s pantheon of writers appearing.

Tidhar has given readers an interesting mix of character studies and stylization. The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar is a book that presents four point of view characters in five different ways of a telling a story, which, by the way, all work very well. It’s a book in which the craft and the art dominate the experience. Readers can luxuriate in the writing. The plot is minimal, but it really doesn’t drive the novel. Getting to know the characters, exploring their lives, and caring for them is what kept me glued to the page.

Beautiful Characters

All four point of view characters are great. Tidhar excels at getting me interested in his characters. Each perspective is unique and could carry the book wholly on their own, but lucky for us readers, we get the eclectic mix of characters. Delia is the islander transplanted to London. Daniel is the London native in over his head. Oskar is a gangster with a mission, and Hartley is man who fell into writing because it was easy for him. All are reducible; yet, all are so much more. When point of views were switched, I was sad to leave the other character but quickly got hooked by the new the character.

If I had to have a favorite of the book, I’d say it was Hartley. I didn’t like him, but damn if he wasn’t compelling. Tidhar used his portion of the book to walk readers through the writers of post-World War 2 United States in a way that gave commentary on Hartley and the science fiction scene of that era. Even at the end of the book, I couldn’t tell if Hartley was insane or really did happen upon one of the deep secrets of the universe. If he is commentary on another pulp era writer who started their own religion, I’m sure that’s just coincidence.

Wonderfully Stylized

This book contains memoir, a hard-boiled detective section, a prison journal, portions of a non-existent book from the pulp era of sci-fi, and the letters of writers. It’s brilliant. Switching between the styles was exciting for me as a reader, and each style felt tailored to each character. They were yet another way to provide characterization. Characters are the aspect of reading fiction that I love the most, and this book is no different. Yet the stylization comes close to being my favorite part of the book. There’s enough of a through line that it doesn’t feel like a collection of short stories, and yet each section almost feels like it’s its own thing.

All fiction is art. I have to put that disclaimer because it’s the internet and someone will email me if I don’t. But The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar is pushing the art of fiction in a way that I needed. It’s more artful than a lot of books I’ve been reading lately. That doesn’t mean it’s better or worse than the other books. It means that it’s refreshing. The Circumference of the World was the read that I didn’t know I needed. Books that push what stories can do or how stories are presented scratch a different itch than other books. Genre books too often get dismissed because the stereotype of the Tolkien clones persists. But books like this help shatter that stereotype and show just how dynamic genre can be.

Minimal to Non-Existent Plot

I loved The Circumference of the World by Lavie Tidhar, but I don’t know what happened in it. Other than people looking for a book that may not exist, I don’t know what the plot is, and I don’t really care that much. The characters and the craft are why I love this book. But if plot is important to you, this might not be the book for you. Or I could be wrong and completely missed the point of the book. I might have been blinded by writing.

Conclusion

Lavie Tidhar’s The Circumference of the World is the book I needed at the exact moment I read it. It’s a refreshing reminder of what genre is capable without sacrificing entertainment. It’s artistic, readable, character-driven, and enjoyable. It’s a wonderful melange of style and character, character and style. If you’re looking for something different than your usual science fiction novel, try this. You won’t be disappointed.

This short cerebral, mind-bending fable whisks you through the golden 1960’s years of science fiction, while delving into a heavy philosophical take on whether we’re all just memories echoing and trapped within black holes. And yes, you have to work hard to follow along.

Delia grows up on a remote sea island and infused with a love of mathematics. Fast forward to London 2001, and Delia has married mathematician Levi who hopes to make sense of the universe. Levi goes off in search of a mythical and obscure 1962 sci-fi novel Lode Stars, as he thinks it holds the answers he’s seeking for his mathematical proof. Delia hires a book dealer with vast literary acumen, but who also suffers from face-blindness, to find Levi. Daniel as he embarks on his quest gets kidnapped by Oskar, a dangerous Russian gangster and fellow book collector looking for a copy of the book.

But the story hinges Eugene Charles Hartley, the author of Lode Stars, who believes all of humanity is just smart memories trapped in black holes, and at risk from predators known as “Eaters” who gobble up these sentient memories – unless you happen to have a copy of Lode Stars as protection. Along the way, Hartley blends all of this into a religion: The Church of the All-Seeing Eyes, before Hartley himself vanishes. In the book within a book, another Delia searches for her missing father in a distant star.

All this mind-bending plot, and revisiting of vintage Sci-Fi, boils down to a philosophical and existential questioning of why humanity has come to exist at all. An eclectic, original read.

Thanks to Tachyon Publications and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy.

I have read three of Tidhar's works and I have to say that I really like how he writes. It is sure and innovative, and versed in intersting topics and questions that plague so many of us whether layman or scholar.

This one follws a group of people who are drawn into each other's spheres because of one book, a book that doesn't exist; a book seller, a book collector, and a mathematician who seems to be at the very heart of this nonexistent book and its rippling effects.

What kept me hooked on this story bar the overarching mystery of the book, was how very human Tidhar made his characters. They are all just trying their best to move through the world and its mysteries in a way that makes the most sense to them. Asking questions, seeking answers, and drawing conclusions from what they have gathered. In this way, he uses history, science, religion, and philosophy to anchor his telling.