Review: Seaweed Rising by Rob Magnuson Smith
by Roslyn Joy Irving
Following the intertwined stories of two narrators, Rob Magnuson Smith’s Seaweed Rising (2023), published by Sandstone Press Ltd, is a complex novel which draws together climate anxieties, concerns with reproduction, questions of place, stigma around mental health, and the uncanny dangers of the oceanic space. “The Great Seaweed Bain” is a threat and a promise throughout the story of a natural collective far more powerful than humankind, a conduit to primordial pasts and a sentient force capable of planning and adapting to the future conditions of the earth.
Both Manfred and Nora, the main protagonists, encounter seaweed in different ways: for Manfred, studying and interacting with seaweed and algae becomes an escape from a mundane and disconnected reality; for Nora, it is an unresolved presence, figure and figment infiltrating ignorant humans. The story includes a host of secondary characters equally unnerving and ambiguous. Of these, a coercive Bullwhip seaweed who manipulates Manfred into a suicide attempt, and scientist Mary-Margaret who persuade both Nora and Manfred to participate in ethically questionable phycological research projects, stand out.
Perhaps the most impressive moments in the novel are Smith’s descriptions of Cornwall. Manfred’s slightly chaotic garden which at once resembles a rubbish heap and an art installation feel familiar, as do the moments of community and isolation in the local pub. There is a melancholia to Smith’s construction of Gweek, a run-down village with a local college and a recently repurposed industrial building feeding a burgeoning interest in edible seaweeds. Smith’s Cornwall is a site of beauty, niche industry and insecurity. As Manfred observes, “[i]n Cornwall there was a silence that trained him to be alert to nature” (10).
While the author shifts between Manfred and Nora’s perspectives without losing momentum in his storytelling, there is a slight imbalance between the two voices. Nora’s narrative is perhaps less developed than Manfred’s. Her preoccupation with having children, which is later connected to her age, is a theme which sometimes interrupts other more interesting descriptions, such as her experiences in Spain. On the other hand, Smith’s ability to navigate between different settings is impressive. From England, to Spain, to Norway, the geographical breadth of the novel fully immerses the reader in the oceanic space. The idea of seaweed navigating wide ranging territories, beyond the comprehension of an everyday person encountering kelp on the beach, or even the researchers pursuing them into the arctic, is fully realised.
Seaweed Rising is the perfect addition to the bookshelves of fiction fans with a penchant for narratives of the sea, travel, and the supernatural. While some of the themes, particularly suicide, miscarriage, and global warming are confronting, they are carefully woven into the plot. Rob Magnuson Smith’s novel is an engaging read and the ending left satisfyingly unresolved.
Please join us on January 9th 2024 to discuss Seaweed Rising with the author Rob Magnuson Smith!
Roslyn Irving recently completed her PhD with the University of Liverpool and XJTLU. She currently works at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Her research interests include the Gothic, Eighteenth-Century Studies, and Poetic Forms.