The Invitation 2015 Rating

[Janoc Florez]

Aformer student of mine left me this book at winter break a year or two ago. Its absurdist nature is reminiscent of The Stranger and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, two works we read the previous year in our literature class.

In the novel, a man named Cincinnatus is condemned to death for a crime that is never explained and which he does not understand. The jailers who confine him are absurd: one, the executioner, pretends to be a prisoner, for instance. His visitors bring their own furniture into his jail cell, and the prison employees admonish him for ridiculous things like his lack of manners and his reactions to the events (i.e., his imprisonment and death). His mother and attorney are absurdly worthless during their visits, and his wife is ridiculously unfaithful. During his ordeal, he is given no information about his execution. Like Meursault in The Stranger, he frantically awaits the time each day when his execution would occur and finds uncomfortable relief that he has at least another 24 hours to live.

A series of unreasonable events occurs, some involving visitors like his wife (who is blatantly unfaithful during her visits to the prison and seems to be already planning for a second husband) and the daughter of a prison employee (who is only 12 and precocious, reminding me of Lolita), who is kind but ultimately worthless in helping him escape. Nothing makes sense, including an escape tunnel someone is digging within the prison. In the end, he finds himself irrationally terrified of death and angry at his response to his own death. Finally, he wills away the confines of his imprisonment, realizing everything around him is fake, and walks toward voices he hears, knowing there are others like him who are presumably awoken from the absurd world they inhabit.

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I have been invited to review a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal. Actually, this is my first invitation and I am a bit confused whether I should accept or decline. The subject is in the field of experimental physics which is quite different from my research field which is computational physics. In addition, the subject is also different from my background. I really appreciate any advice on this matter and if anyone can guide me whether I should accept or not and why. Thanks a lot for your help and for your prompt reply.

Normally the invitation to review comes with a time limit. In my field this is typically months in the future but can be limited to weeks. If I have a big deadline or other personal commitment coming up I might pass over the review.

When you are asked to review a paper you are often shown the title and maybe abstract too. The job of a reviewer can be broadly thought of as trying to improve a paper. Even if you are inexperienced you might have other expertise which would add something. If the paper is too far away from your field it may take a very long time for you to read and understand which isn't good for you or the authors.

Reviewing should be a two way street. In effect you are giving your time away for free! Normally there is an implicit understanding the others will give their time for free to read your work in the future so it all plays out fair. Having said that if you are giving your time away you might want to get more out of the task than simply paying your service. I normally interpret this question in a quite friendly way and have never turned down a review for this reason.

If you have answered yes to all three there is no harm in accepting. Your review is a recommendation that the editor may or may not listen too when making a final judgement. There will also be other reviewers. Reviewing isn't something you should take too seriously and should hopefully something you enjoy doing!

Reviewing is a skill (maybe an art!), and who's better placed to help you get started? Now, there is some field dependence in what's considered acceptable. Asking about general advice in abstract terms should be fine in all fields, but in physics it's usually also OK to discuss specifics about the paper with others. E.g. the report submission form for the Physical Review journals asks whether you prepared the review on your own, or if you discussed the papers with others. (For other journals, asking the editor for permission first would be the safe approach.) Since you're on the fence, asking your advisor whether they think you're qualified to review this particular paper might be useful.

Often you're qualified to review part of a manuscript, but not all of it. The editor might know this already, and is maybe looking for a review focusing on those specific parts. Other times they might not be sure what your expertise is (relatively likely if it's your first review), and you should set this straight right away: "I can handle this part, but other reviewers would need to address XYZ". For example, an experimental paper might contain some computations as supporting evidence, which you might be qualified to review, while other reviewers might focus more on the experimental details.

Finally, it's quite common to be asked to review papers about related topics. E.g. as a computationalist, you might be asked to review experiments on systems related to ones you've studied previously, or theoretical papers using methods related to what you've used yourself. If the topic is completely unrelated to your past work, chances are that you're not qualified. However, sometimes system/method A and B have more in common than the names suggest. Learning about such connections and getting a broader view is a very valuable aspect to reviewing.

I do hope The Invitation is one you can squeeze in before you pack in your summer reading! For me, this book also brought about thoughts of Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter. I know so many loved Beautiful Ruins, myself included, so I do hope this will be enough of an enticement for you to grab it before summer comes to its end!

I thought of Beautiful Ruins as a comparison read because in many ways, Foley has also penned a sort of love story to Italy, and movie star characters. Each of the Italian cities visited by this group of characters in The Invitation is beautifully communicated. Descriptions like:

The story alternates from the viewpoints of two characters. There is Hal, a journalist escaping his sad past by squeaking out some kind of paltry existence in Rome. His journalist friend fobs off an invitation to a swanky black tie affair, so that Hal will go in his place. There, Hal meets the Contessa, and discovers she is the one throwing this party, all in order to have a movie she is very passionate about made. While at the party, Hal meets a mysterious and beautiful woman. They have a one night stand and he never anticipates seeing her again.

Later, the Contessa tracks Hal down and offers him an exotic assignment. She wants him to write journalistic pieces while travelling on board a yacht down the Italian coast, as they travel to their final destination in Cannes where the movie will be featured. On board the yacht with the Contessa, will be the actors, directors, and the financial backers of the film.

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The images are pleasant, simple, colorful and well defined. Compared to other products there are some peculiar details due to the need to show particular elements. Mostly dresses, appropriate to a wedding and to the nineteenth-century atmosphere of adventure. The theme of romanticism and intrigue is linked to the original setting called the Eastern Farraway Region, particularly similar in terms of traditions. As we will see, incorporating these types of elements into a classic campaign can be difficult, but certainly not impossible.

On Midnight Tower site you can download maps, handouts, characters sheets and material for online play. The material made available is extensive and it shows attention to the needs of the buyers.

The setting and the situation created give more space to social activities and analysis. There are also moments of combat, but I do not think the choice of this adventure is made by those who aspire to slash relentlessly. It is an investigative adventure, with the unfavorable aspects that, as we will see, derive from playing it with the D&D5e game system. Same consideration for another aspect: dialogues and interpersonal relationships.

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