Joelene Reviews: Glow by Ned Beauman

There’s a new drug on the streets for anyone who’s in the know. Glow appeared suddenly and, with the shortage of ecstasy, it is fast becoming popular. Raf and his friend, Isaac, have an interest in unusual narcotics and are both eager to try this elusive latest. Unfortunately, the real thing is not that easy to come by.

And, for Raf at least, Glow may soon be the last thing on his mind because, right now, so much other stuff is going down. Raf catches a glimpse of a stunning girl at a rave, his friend and landlord goes missing and, across London, Burmese men are being kidnapped off the streets.

As Raf begins to sort through the strange occurrences, he realises that they might all be tied to this new drug.

Glow is the third book from Man Booker Prize nominee, Ned Beauman. Not having read previous books by him, I was interested in Glow because of the attention it has garnered in bookstores and with its publishing reps. The scope of Glow is impressive. Set primarily in London, it nevertheless engages in the wider politics of Myanmar, China and, to a degree, the US.

The description of Glow’s London is superb. The eclectic mix of people and the wild, underground night-life brings the city to life. Beauman is also a master at deftly describing scenes, settings, and people.

The difficulty in novels like these is that they are exploring a world that most of their readers know nothing about, and the best way to do this is to introduce the main character to this world so that the readers can learn through him. The issue with this approach is that it plonks a privileged white guy right into the heart of an issue that he has no hope of understanding. And, because of who the main character is, a lot of the central cultural issues in the story are barely touched on, let alone given the depth of analysis needed.

Glow is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, Beauman’s technical talent in writing is evident. His research is also clearly extensive; Glow explores the science behind various drugs and delves into a reality-based sleep disorder that Raf has. On the other hand, half the time I’m not sure what story Beauman is trying to tell. Much of the writing – while lovely – runs off on unnecessary tangents. Where one sentence of description would suffice, we get five. When we need to know about the situation in Myanmar, we find out about Raf’s ex and Isaac’s latest drug experimentation.

Glow is an interesting read purely for its scientific analysis of the way humans work. It has a solid idea at its core and beautiful writing but the one does not necessarily support the other. The authorial voice is unique, though, and enough to make Glow an engaging read.

Glow – Ned Beauman

Sceptre (May 8, 2014)

ISBN: 9781444765526