REVIEWER’S NOTE: This book has multiple, near-constant depictions of aggressive sex, including sexual assault. Extreme content warnings apply.
The protagonist of M.A. Biggam’s ALEX FISH is, without a doubt, a terrible person. He makes no effort to hide it from the reader, though he goes out of his way to carefully curate his exterior for everyone around him. A mix of quirks from renowned British actors, fallback lines (“We have a real connection”), and a pick-up artist mentality guide Alex from one sexual conquest to the next. Every female in his path is a potential one-night stand. And when he isn’t having sex, Alex is either watching pornography or doing drugs. Often he’s doing some combination of the three.
This action comprises the bulk of ALEX FISH, with the narrator incapable of clapping eyes on a woman without viewing her as little more than a convenient orifice. Eventually, his behavior catches up with him, as a drug-fueled night of sex results in him brutally killing one of his conquests. For a time, Alex is sobered up, attempting to dispose of the body and fearing every police siren. This is one of the points at which the book is at its strongest, promising the potential of true tension as Alex attempts to elude the consequences of his actions. But, before long, he doubles down on his debauchery and jumps a cruise ship to Amsterdam.
Very late in the book, Alex begins to open up to the reader about his past: from classroom embarrassments to his own very real sexual trauma. Stray names and memories come home to roost as, in rare bursts of desperate romance, he finally comes clean about why he is the way he is and what he hopes his behavior will eventually do for him. As revelatory as these moments are, they come far too late—when the reader is already worn out by graphic, dozen-page-long descriptions of cocaine-laced orgies. Had the number of sexual exploits been quartered, perhaps even halved, the goals of ALEX FISH would have come through. As it stands, however, any intent is lost in a read that, while well-written from a purely technical standpoint, is unpleasant and unnerving in a way that may alienate readers (or worse) before the endgame unfolds.
While M.A. Biggam’s ALEX FISH appears to be distressing and wearying in a very intentional way, the fact remains that it is both of those things. Any explanation and payoff are buried late in the book, with the distasteful build-up continuing far too long for any context to feel meaningful or satisfying.
~Kara Dennison for IndieReader