June 12 2008
Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
Mister B. Gone is a short novel by Clive Barker that follows the picaresque adventures of Jakabok Botch, a much-abused demon from the Ninth Circle of Hell who has been snared into entering our world. By turns comedic and horrific, Mister B. Gone lovingly details the cruelties of mankind and demonkind alike. Our protagonist, a demon himself, is no stranger to visiting torments on others, which makes for an interesting reading experience; while Jakabok is our only real point of contact in the novel, he’s an entirely unlikable character. The reader’s odd relationship with the narrating demon is further underscored by Jakabok’s fourth-wall-breaking direct appeals to the reader. Most often, he attempts to convince the reader to burn the very book he holds in his hands.
During his travels and travails, Jakabok joins up with a more powerful, and pure, demon named Quitoon. Quitoon is obsessed with mankind’s technological innovations, which leads the duo straight into a battle between heaven’s angels and hell’s infernal forces—at stake is which side will control Gutenberg’s recently-invented printing press. While many reviewers seem to have been disappointed by this novel, I think they may be missing some of the subtleties in Barker’s book. The real musing of the story goes beyond the characters and the plot; in Mister B. Gone, Barker is exploring the relation between storyteller and audience, often with interesting, thoughtful results.
A note on the form of the book itself: the hardcover edition of Mister B. Gone has a rather splendid “aged” appearance. The pages are discolored and stained, and the dust jacket has a worn look. It’s a very aesthetically appealing package. However, for a book that is centrally concerned with the power of words, it is deeply ironic that the novel has been so poorly proofread. I’m docking it a half-diamond for the number of sloppy typographical errors.
