Outage: A Journey Into Electric City

This strange tome is a meditation on technology and the way it infiltrates our lives. The unnamed narrator, who has similarities to Powe (A Climate Charged), is a teacher and a writer. Obsessed with TV and computer-age technology, he goes in search of ``the wisdom that has been submerged in the information spill.'' Wandering into the city of Toronto, he spends a voyeuristic night at a dance club; watches a TV producer at work; and receives a series of messages on his answering machine from a student who seems to be losing his grip on reality. Mostly, however, he recalls pieces of his past as he channel surfs, deconstructing the experience of watching erotica and televangelists. Before it's over, the narrator flees to Venice--which brings him no closer to the secrets of the information age or to the feelings triggered by his recent divorce. Powe seems to be suggesting that understanding can only be approached by circuitous mental motion. It's not a particularly novel idea; nor are his concerns about ``hightech tribalism'' special. But he writes with distinction, and it's easy to get drawn into his animist vision of data streams and currents. (Apr.)