David Duchovny's novella The Reservoir was originally published in 2022 but a new paperback edition, which includes the addition of a short story titled "The Scare Owl," will be available in bookstores on January 30, 2024. (Shown above is the new edition's cover.)
Ridley is a Wall Street retiree who has been self-trapped inside his New York City apartment pretty much since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He lives in such fear of this mysterious new virus that he does little else all day long but stare out the apartment window overlooking Central Park while contemplating his past personal failures. It doesn't help that Ridley is divorced and hasn't risked a visit with his daughter in months now. He lives alone, and he is a lonely man.
So when Ridley late one night notices flashing lights coming from an apartment window on the opposite side of the park, he is eager to connect with the mystery light-flasher, a person he convinces himself has to be a woman. He is so eager for some kind of human contact that he ventures outside, and into the park, in search of the woman he has fallen into a strange love-trance relationship with despite her, so far at least, living only in his imagination. Ridley is slowly, inevitably, being driven mad by his extreme isolation, and there is no one there to help him.
What happens to Ridley on the freezing nights he ventures into Central Park is at times surreal, and it is not always clear what is real and what occurs only in the man's head. Fearing now that he has foolishly exposed himself to COVID-19, Ridley retreats to the relative safety of his apartment, convinces his doctor to send the approved treatment to his door, and waits to see what happens next.
The Reservoir is about the way that people coped with the recent pandemic, but it is also a critique of the lifestyle choices and cultural changes initiated by the virus that are still with us today. The feelings of isolation, loss, and detachment from other human beings have become a way of life for too many people - and we were not made to live in that kind of world. The Reservoir may not be a long book, but it one that leaves behind a lot for the reader to ponder well after its last page has been turned.
But that's not nearly all there is to this book because its short story bonus, "The Scare Owl," also offers plenty to think about. This fable about a newly hatched crow raised by a murderous owl is one of the saddest coming-of-age tales I've encountered in a while, one that I am still mining for its complete message several days after reading it.
David Duchovny may be better known as an actor than as an author, but I'll tell you one thing...the man can write.
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| David Duchovny jacket photo |
Hi Sam, very glad to hear that David Duchovny can write because when someone talented in one specialty crosses over to another specialty you just never know. And now that I think about it there are two other writers, Fannie Flagg and Andrew McCarthy who started in TV and Movies who are very talented writers. Check out Fannie Flagg's Red Bird Christmas (wonderful) and Andrew McCarthy is an excellent travel writer.
ReplyDeleteI was no longer living in NYC when covid hit but I know how congested the city is, the trains are packed etc and how do you get to work if not by the subway? Agree, detachment from others becoming increasingly common in society.
Thanks for the recommendations. They are gong on the TBR list that I do for authors instead of for specific titles. I really enjoy good travel writing, so McCarthy is particularly interesting.
DeleteDuchovny wasn't a real surprise to me until after I finished it. Never saw an episode of X Files, so I had no idea how well known an actor he was. Now I get it.
That's interesting & good to know that Duchovny is a good writer. And it seems an interesting plot too. He should keep it going. We tried his recent movie (What Happens Later) with Meg Ryan but couldn't stick with it. The novel seems much better.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I was totally oblivious to Duchovny's work but sort of recognized his face. I had to look him up after I was done with the book to see exactly what he's done. I think he's written at least a couple of other books before this one, and he's definitely a writer who should be at least sampled at some point...especially by those who know his acting creds a whole lot better than I knew them.
DeleteGosh, David Duchovny's a 'blast from the past'. My whole family was addicted to The X-Files. So good to hear he's a decent writer, quite a few of these celebrity writers seem to stick their names on the front of a book they haven't written. But some of them are talented, Graham Norton, Richard Osman and so forth. Good luck to Mr. Duchovny.
ReplyDeleteSome people are just especially talented, aren't they, Cath. I think Duchovny would have made an excellent writing career for himself already if he had not been a busy actor for so many years. I still think about both the novella and the short story today and how unusual I found them to be.
DeleteI didn't know Duchovny had written any books. Must be nice to be so multi-talented. Will you be trying any of his other books now that you've read this one?
ReplyDeleteReally must be. I do plan to find something else of his, but he hasn't published all that much yet, so I'm not sure how easy that will be.
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