This is one of those books where not a lot happens — but, prospectively, a lot happens, or is about to, depending on how the reader extrapolates its ending. It doesn’t manifest in action on the page, nor in a significant obtaining of wisdom that would pigeonhole it as a conventional “coming-of-age” tale. It is a novel whose magnitude is measured in precise, smaller moments, in which its author microscopically examines the evolution of a close friendship between two gay men as a scorching Melbourne summer ignites.
The Adversary eschews a traditional narrative structure, and casts the reader into the mind of its unnamed protagonist, exposes us to the vicissitudes and complexities of his life — noteworthy for its ordinariness, unembellished by genre-trappings — lays out the jump-start cable necessary to revive him from his almost-paralytic physical and emotional indolence, then shunts the reader out again. It reads like a bridging novel; we are witnessing an essential interval in a young man’s life, unbeknownst to him, and not pockmarked by elaborate embellishment or genre-surreality, that is leading towards something undefined. It is brilliantly true to life and relatable.
Writing with the assurance and authority that belies his status as first-time novelist, Ronnie Scott reveals the contradictions of the human heart and the complexities of friendship, love and sexuality. Compulsively readable, and memorable for its lack of clear-cut finality. The story – the narrator’s life – continues beyond the page.
Simon McDonald 