First Lines of Teju Cole's "Tremors"

"The leaves are glossy and dark and from the dying blooms rises a fragrance that might be jasmine. He sets up the tripod and begins to focus the camera. He has pressed the shutter twice when an aggressive voice calls out from the house on the right. This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened to him but he is still startled. He takes on a friendly tone and says he is an artist, just photographing a hedge. You can't do that here, the voice says, this is private property. The muscles of his back are tense. He folds the tripod, stows the camera in its bag, and walks away."

- Teju Cole, Tremor. 

The best novels teach you how to read them. It's part of the beauty of the form. Thus, reading a Margaret Atwood is different than readying a Ursula K. LeGuin who is different than reading a Don Delillo or David Mitchell. Each of those authors creates a new reality through their structure and dialog, leading perceptive readers to learn what to pay attention to. This is why good novels are so interesting and powerful; it's like learning how to see through different eyes.

So when I started Tremor, I was patient with the absence of a traditional plot. And as the book continued, I learned that the book is an abstract examination of many things - it's wandering narrative takes in African music, Art bias, relationships, disease, and much more. Narrators change and subjects shift, fiction is blended with non-fiction, and topics that were covered early in the book spiral back to be discussed again. I appreciated how Cole brought these different perceived realities to life, and liked how he helps the reader to see the humanity behind all perceptions. I'll be picking up more of his books soon.