Evaluate: Jonathan Evison’s magic-infused novel ‘Once more and Once more’

Eugene Miles, the 106-year previous hero of Jonathan Evison’s “Once more and Once more,” spends most of his time alone in his room, ready to die on the Desert Greens elder care facility within the Mojave, whose surrounding mountain ranges are “lovely [and] timeless, like me.”

Those that say life is brief are misinformed, he says. “Life isn’t a breathless dash to the grave, gone in a heartbeat, however an odyssey that stretches on and on into eternity.” Eugene, you see, was born throughout the tenth century reign of Abd al-Rahman III within the Caliphate of Córdoba.

In his eight earlier novels, Evison has demonstrated a roving curiosity, his settings starting from the prehistoric Cascade mountains to modern-day suburbia. He’s additionally confronted the fury of guide banners who objected to homosexual intercourse depicted in 2018’s “Garden Boy.”

In “Once more and Once more,” Evison performs writing magic; regardless of its implausibility, I dedicated myself totally to Eugene’s 1,100-odd years of life, immersed in tales of journey and keenness which might be virtually too good to be true.

Earlier than his current incarnation, Eugene has been Euric, Pietro, Kiri, Amura and York, switching genders and continents with each rebirth. He additionally inhabited a cat — Whiskers — who lived as Oscar Wilde’s feline companion and matched his proprietor’s wit as he noticed human habits from his tufted perch.

Now, Eugene needs to realize a remaining relaxation from the cycle, to be launched from the emotional burden he has carried since his days as a cutpurse in Moorish Spain. Euric was a Visigoth, “the bastard son of a conquered tribe”; unable to seek out any work, he grew to become a “not notably good” thief, which is how he met Gaya, the one real love he would seek for in each certainly one of his succeeding lives.

Wishing now to die in peace, he has remoted himself from anybody he knew as Eugene. With out a customer in eight years, he’s lonely, even when by alternative. When Angel, the younger housekeeper who cleans his room each night time, first seems, Eugene shuns him, however finally they kind a bond cemented by Angel’s eagerness to listen to his tales.

There’s a lengthy Western custom of nested tales informed to maintain the world at bay, going way back to Sheherazade. In Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14 century work “The Decameron,” 10 individuals who have fled Florence throughout the Black Loss of life spin tales to repel the darkness of despair.

Very a lot in that custom, “Once more and Once more” is a novel mirroring the expertise of lockdown. All too conscious of impending dying, Eugene spins tales to attract the younger man nearer to him. Thus the 2 realities — on a regular basis life in a care dwelling and Eugene’s centuries-spanning-tales — play in opposition to one another. I used to be gripped by each.

As Eugene informs him, Gaya rescued Euric at nice threat to herself after he minimize the purse of a really highly effective man. Euric was smitten however suspicious, as Gaya belonged to a insurgent group bent on driving out their Moorish conquerors.

Eugene entertains Angel because the youthful man cleans the room, and finally the 2 males meet for every day lunches. Angel has issues of his personal — he has alienated his pregnant girlfriend — and Eugene provides romantic recommendation gleaned from his many lives. Their friendship turns into a give and take as the 2 males assist one another throughout troublesome occasions.

Finally, Evison introduces the character of Wayne Francis, a psychological well being skilled whose job is to watch the psychiatric well-being of Desert Greens’ residents. Wayne’s voice clashes jarringly with Eugene’s symphony of tales. Regardless of Wayne’s light questions, I discovered myself resentful of him; he was breaking the spell.

“All I’ve ever needed in any of my incarnations was to attach with one other wholly and authentically,” says Eugene, considering again on Gaya. “Disadvantaged of significant connections, we’re ciphers at finest, and at worst invisible. To be seen, to be accepted, warts and all, that has been my best aspiration for over a thousand years. To be adored for my flaws.” A cipher can be a secret code, a method of hiding info whilst it’s communicated.

Wayne has his personal causes for questioning Eugene (no spoilers), and his function as interlocutor takes the novel to its personal fantastical, pleasant conclusion. Wayne features because the voice of Evison’s readers — or a minimum of their innate skepticism.

The ability of the writer grows together with his capability to droop disbelief. Writers do that by a mix of particular particulars, sensory descriptions of a world that involves life within the studying or listening. However all authors are by definition unreliable narrators, imposing that means and construction on a world stuffed with chaos and miscommunication. A talented one can attain inside us and widen our emotional worlds.

Eugene is such a author — which is to say he can spin an excellent yarn. It’s how he’s made connections with these in his life, together with the girl he cherished in twentieth century Los Angeles. However now she is useless, and he’s dejected.

And so he — and Evison — arrive at an deadlock. To achieve the intimacy he longs for, he should put aside his superbly crafted tales and choose up the extra prosaic, imperfect medium of shared private truths. To remodel his listeners into pals, he should embrace the danger of being misunderstood.

The enjoyment of watching Evison braid collectively a number of tales from Eugene’s lives (and the 105 years of this existence) is akin to witnessing a grasp carpet weaver work out a fantastically intricate rug. Look carefully sufficient, and also you’ll see the understitch in each storyteller’s sample: the need to be admired and cherished for the gorgeous factor you’ve made.

I’d gladly have spent many extra pages with the magical tapestry of “Once more and Once more.” In revealing the methods of his commerce, its writer exposes the tender coronary heart of his craft.

Berry is a critic residing in Oregon.