Book Review

There’s no easy or obvious way to portray the trauma of loss and the spiraling events of a life that has lost its footing, but a narrative bursting with jokes and told in reverse chronological order might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Fortunately, David Galef is no ordinary writer, and his unique approach is an essential feature in his latest novel, Where I Went Wrong.

As a nod to the structure, I’ll open this review with some final takeaways: Galef’s novel is innovative and funny and well worth the read; the structure is not gimmicky, but does have its challenges. Most importantly, the way the novel is told connects powerfully to the way the protagonist processes the mysteries, miseries, and mayhem of his life.

The novel is set in New Jersey and opens in the year 2000 as the narrator and protagonist, Tony Mazza, is leaving the Burlington County courtroom. Tony has been arraigned on a litany of charges, including motor vehicle theft, driving while intoxicated, larceny, and assault. Through a series of twelve chapters, Galef lets his comic anti-hero take readers back to his birth year of 1959, ostensibly, to figure out where things went wrong.

When the first chapter begins, Tony is working as an orderly in a hospital. He’s twice divorced and has two children. Tony never finished college and has had a string of jobs, some more promising than others. It’s clear early on that Tony is a paradoxical figure: impulsive and reflective, not conventionally motivated but driven nonetheless, capable of consciously making bad decisions without losing faith in his own judgement, a light-hearted man who is entirely weighted down by loss, and a jester who is constantly coping, determined to identify where things went wrong in his life.

Although Tony does have a taste for alcohol and doesn’t shy away from narcotic painkillers, his primary coping mechanism can be found in the telling of jokes. Nearly every chapter in the novel is layered with them, and they become a part of Tony’s personality and character. The punny sort are also in the chapter titles. “Chapter 3: Studying for the Bar (1993),” is about his time as a bartender; “Chapter 4: Breaking into Real Estate (1991),” features an actual break in. In this case, Tony’s closest friend, Sandy, convinces him to trash a staged home. Tony knows that going along with Sandy’s plan is a terrible idea, but he acknowledges how swiftly “No way . . . moved to okay.”

The “Breaking into Real Estate” section also includes a joke that captures the mystery and humor of Tony’s search: “‘An amnesiac walks into a bar, goes up to a woman, and says ‘So, do I come here often?’” As in the joke, Tony is a social creature who is not afraid to approach a stranger; he finds himself in locations and circumstances without knowing exactly how or why he’s there, often looking for insight. But in the broadest sense, jokes serve as a reflection of Tony himself. He’s looking for a punch line, a singular takeaway that can reveal what went wrong and where he lost his way. And, of course, the jokes are semi-fruitful distractions, not unlike the effort to locate the origin of his troubles.

The disappearance of Tony’s younger sister Angela serves as the central loss and mystery for Tony, and readers feel that “big, lousy void” in every decision that Tony makes. It’s a credit to Galef that despite the darkness, the novel never loses its humor, and despite the missteps—laid out in the prologue and highlighted by the title itself—the reader never stops rooting for Tony and never loses hope.

The reverse chronological order of the telling not only charts a path back toward the ghosts of Tony’s past but contributes to the narrative tension. We know from the second page that Tony suffers with a knee injury from a biking accident. When we read about his obsession with and talent for cycling, the smaller details take on greater intensity as we wait for the inevitable catastrophe. We just don’t know where, when, or how it will happen. And the very title of “Chapter 9: Vanishing Act (1970),” relates to the disappearance of his sister when Tony was 11 years old. It’s tense from the outset. The more mundane the details, the more wonderfully fraught the story becomes.

In a masterful way, Galef plays with tension, allowing it to fester, before alleviating it and letting it build again, keeping readers on edge. In the “Vanishing” chapter, there are references to little milk cartons, a red Camaro that “glides by, so slowly it might be a sailboat,” a bush from which Angela pops out, “waving her arms like a ghost.” Benign objects take on menacing qualities. The mystery is part of the horror; what exactly will happen, how, and when are left to loom.

The order and the style (with many parenthetical asides, jokes, and periods of “reverie”), as well as the long list of small jobs—orderly, bartender, drug store clerk, real estate aid, landscaper, bicycle repairman, and more—leaves many characters on the periphery. This can make it difficult to know or remember all the individuals who are referenced and introduced in any given chapter. While the flashes of people and places might resemble the string of brief connections we make in our lives, in a novel, it can be hard to know who or what is important, contributing to name and detail overload at times. But Tony’s self-awareness and self-absorption are highlighted as a result, and the characters who recur and remain take on greater depth the farther we travel into Tony’s history.

In Where I Went Wrong, David Galef provides a path back through the reflections of a character who can’t get out of his own way and can’t focus enough on what’s in front of him to see clearly or to make rational, sensible decisions. But the unique narrative structure and the endearing, familiar protagonist draw us in. They remind us that we’re all searching in some way. Coming here often. Eager to share a drink and a joke.