2.5 ( )

How much do I love the idea of a 19th century astronomer obsessed with digging an enormous equilateral triangle (300 miles on each side) in the Egyptian desert, filling it with pitch and setting it aflame to convey our presence to our Martian neighbors? A lot. More than I love the execution of that premise. More here. ( )

A deliberately paced novel, but brilliantly written. Very slow, without much intimacy with the characters--but it's a great story and compelling nevertheless. Just don't expect science fiction--this is definitely written with a literary audience in mind. ( )

In the late 1800s, Giovanni Schiaparelli's discovery of "canals" on Mars has allowed a (fictional) astronomer to fan interest in Mars into worldwide financial and political support for the building of a massive equilateral triangle in the deserts of Egypt. Over three hundred miles to a side, with a paved roadway filled with liquid oil, it is to be set on fire when Earth and Mars are close, in order to alert Martians that the inhabitants of Earth are ready to take their place among the universe's intelligent species. Our intelligence will be demonstrated by various astronomical and geometrical signs, including the timing of the fire, the exact shape of the image, and the directions the triangle points. 900,000 African workers have toiled for two years at the time the book opens, and despite mutinies and thefts, public support is still high and the image is set to be finished more or less on time.

Although these events never happened, of course, the author uses the notions and prejudices of the day to spin a delightful story which leaves today's reader in wonderment at what was believed at the time: that the "canals" indicated a highly developed and ancient civilization on Mars which would recognize the symbolism of the Equilateral and want to contact us. Particularly wonderful here are the portrayals of parallel Western biases which presume to understand the natures of both the Martians and the workers, the latter of whom are considered an underclass, destined to provide labor but incapable of understanding the significance of the endeavor. In fact, the astronomer is certain the Martians have long ago evolved into two species (intellectuals and laborers), to enable works as grand as the canal system to be built, and he is sure they will see the need for force in dealing with the workers as a phase they too will have had in their past. The astronomer thinks a great deal about what Martian society is like and how the two planets can best communicate.

In many ways this seemed to me a companion piece to Arthur Phillips's "The Egyptologist", a book I loved and keep on my shelves. Phillips' protagonist is an archaeologist who is determined to prove that a little hillock he's excavating holds as important a burial site as the Tut tomb, which has just been discovered. Madness ensues. The astronomer has a much more willing audience and is not reduced to the same measures, but his quest is still a fantastical undertaking which we of the 21st century can observe with humor and some shaking of our heads. His ability to bring off the political and economic alliances necessary does seem a bit unlikely, but aside from that this is a delightful tale which extrapolates from history to describe an absurd conclusion and jumps off from there. Very entertaining. ( )

This is a novel about a British astronomer (Sanford Thayer) in the late 1800s who designs and oversees the construction of a giant equilateral triangle in the middle of the desert in order to contact intelligent beings on Mars. Based o this description, I thought this would be a science fiction novel, but it turned out to be more (and less) than that.

Kalfus paints a picture of a refined genius and his patrons who are all convinced they are working to achieve the greatest feat in human history; there is no way the African and Middle Eastern workers who slave away building the triangle can even comprehend the magnitude of what they're trying to accomplish. But, of course, the opposite turns out to be true. Thayer, increasingly becoming more self-deluded, is almost manic in his conviction that there is intelligent life on Mars and that they must be contacted. His secretary tries to hide her feelings for him while at the same time keeping an eye on the servant girl whom Thayer covets.

I thought this book was an excellent and strange look into the minds of humans who think themselves the epitome of intelligence (at least on Earth), and who are almost comically ignorant of their own follies. ( )