Book Review: Flux by Jinwoo Chong

Book #94 of 2023:

Flux by Jinwoo Chong

This sci-fi novel gets stronger as it goes along, yet it’s still weirder and more confusing than it needs to be. The full premise isn’t nailed down until fairly late in the text, but generally speaking, it’s the story of a queer Asian American whose amoral employers are doing something to make his consciousness come unstuck in time. The main narrative repeatedly jumps months ahead or backwards and repeats entire scenes with minor variations, which successfully disorients both narrator and reader alike. There are also two other protagonists we split focus among — one a young boy and one an older man — and you can probably already guess how the three of them are related. This is a book about time-travel, after all.

Ultimately I like the result more than I dislike it. Using the genre trappings to explore childhood trauma is a major strength, and I also like the running element of the old ’80s cop show that looms large over the lives of fans who remember it (and who later have to grapple with #MeToo allegations concerning its star). There’s a fun Theranos vibe to the primary hero’s shady workplace, and some interesting plot twists, especially near the end. Yet overall, I think this title would have worked better if debut author Jinwoo Chong had constructed it in a more straightforward fashion that didn’t keep us in the dark on key pieces for so long.

[Content warning for gaslighting, suicide, and death of a parent.]

★★★☆☆

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