THE PRODIGIUM

A man’s investigation into a disconcerting photo takes him on a bizarre journey around Pennsylvania in Steele’s psychological thriller.

The story begins with the narrator spotting a scrolling image on a digital picture frame that captures his attention. The photo depicts a field in which a pair of bare legs are partially hidden by wild grass; the narrator is disturbed by the image and has a gut feeling that the legs may belong to a dead child. His longtime partner, known as Doe, claims that she knows nothing about the picture, despite the fact that the scrolling images are primarily hers. The narrator becomes determined to locate that field and embarks on an amateur investigation—only to wind up stranded when his brand-new SUV breaks down during the search. Luckily, he catches a ride with accommodating hippies, who drop him off at a former fire station that’s now a residence. He eventually finds a garage, where he meets a young man named Nza, who becomes his traveling companion. Together, they search for someone to get the narrator’s SUV running again, which begets a handful of unusual tasks, including retrieving an item from a sorority. Along the way, the narrator picks up disturbing information about Doe, and about himself. Steele’s narrator seems unreliable, since he continually implies that this suspenseful story is a product of his subconscious or possibly a lucid dream. The tale is also laden with footnotes, which sometimes offer elaboration but more often provide startling insight into the narrator (“Call me Roe”) and his relationship with Doe; he’s more timid than his towering frame suggests, for instance, and he’s suffered traumatic events in his past. The use of footnotes wears thin, though—especially when the narrator uses them to cite copious references (literary, cinematic, and musical) or acknowledge his rambling nature. (“Why do I mention all of this here? I don’t know.”) Still, the novel contains an engaging mystery and an ending that will surely stick in readers’ minds.

A compelling novel that offers a grim but fascinating dive into one person’s psyche.