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Book Review (1987)
Momentum by Marc Diamond
Penguin Books, 1987 (116 pages)
Tales of big city vice are big lately in recent fiction by Jay McInerney, Tom Wolfe, and Mary Gaitskill, to name a few. Readers
who need to learn more about the evil consequences of city life might try Momentum by Canadian author Marc Diamond.
In Momentum, the story is told by Still, a youngish sharp living off unemployment checks and the money he wins betting
on the horses. Since losing his job with the Canadian government, Still shows signs of degeneration. He eats poorly, drinks
heavily, and dresses like a Lost One, a street person. Late hours at the racetrack have also brought about a change within
Still, who feels himself a man apart form his fellows in the grandstand, the folks routing for the claimers, the come-from-behind
horses offering the ultimate payoff. He expresses himself succinctly:
It's this process of identification which a certain kind of gambler senses, distrusts, even despises. His disdain for the
good faith of the crowd, his cynicism, his lack of sentiment, his contempt for the claimers, whom he cares nothing for, keys
his bets, hardens his heart, and wins his money. He is callous. He is not a good sport.
Meanwhile, Still's wife is in New Mexico studying with the Sufis, leaving him free to become involved with three other women.
One is Dorothy, a plump, highly paid Media Relations Expert for The Thing, a sinister sort of World's Fair run by the government.
Another is Wanda, who sells a line of organic health and beauty products, a gentle but flaky soul. Most important of all is
the wealthy Epona, beautiful and elusive. After meeting Epona at the races and helping her with some bets, Still finds himself
fascinated by a woman every bit as cold-blooded as he is. Their relationship involves him in a nasty murder case, which in
turn leads to flight from the city and the end of the novel.
Momentum is a quick read, half as long as Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City and easily as good. Perhaps
that is stretching the truth; with a lately shop-worn theme, Diamond resorts to cliché here and there to pad the thing out.
On two occasions, Still goes to the movies and laconically describes the film action, presumably as phony and fantastic as
modern day life. We are invited to smile at the usual array of modern enthusiasms: New Age philosophy, fitness and health
consciousness, head-long conversion to sexual equality, trendy Buddhism. What makes this book worth reading is the author's
skill at telling a story. Marc Diamond does not waste your time. He is quick, sticks to what is essential, chooses his words
carefully. The narrator displays some wit and much good humor, and Diamond has plenty of harmless fun with the racetrack imagery.
The author wrote Momentum in 1985, but Penguin brought out an American edition only last year, so copies may be hard
to find. For readers who have not gotten enough of the urban fast lane, Momentum should be next on their list.
Copyright, Dermot Whittaker, 1987. |
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