‘The Reservoir’ Review: Literary Eloquence and Emotion, Unmasked

Pandemic time is a strange thing. David Duchovny’s 2022 novella, “The Reservoir,” which recently saw a paperback re-release with the inclusion of a new short story, is a startling reminder of just how recent the Covid-19 era was. At the same time, the book highlights how quickly the world seems to have moved on. Although it lacks a clear message, the book’s thrilling narration makes for a captivating read and stirs up a variety of complex emotions.

“The Reservoir” marks Duchovny’s fifth publication and his first foray into the novella genre. The book follows a divorced, middle-aged man named Ridley during the first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic. A cynical veteran of Wall Street, Ridley remains shut inside his penthouse overlooking Central Park and spends his days filming the park’s reservoir from afar. The vaccine has yet to be distributed, forcing Ridley into complete self-isolation. His growing loneliness leads him to make rash attempts at socializing with strangers, jeopardizing his physical health.

From the start, the book is carried by its narration rather than its plot or characterization. Of the few characters presented, none are fleshed out to a satisfying extent. For example, Ridley spends a great deal of time missing his adult daughter and her children. However, the audience never meets Ridley’s loved ones and is left to speculate about why he never reaches out to them.

This lack of plot and character development makes room for Duchovny's witty, masterful narration to shine. The text is filled with rich sensory imagery that immerses readers into dystopian 2020. When Ridley breathes in the streets of New York City for the first time in months, he “ran through the notes like a sommelier — umami of bus exhaust with an undersong of citric pet piss and fluttery notes of onion bagel.” Such metaphors bring together gloriously detailed descriptions with just the right flair of humor, bite, and shock. At only 131 pages, “The Reservoir” has no space for wasting words.

Duchovny’s word choice is most precise when it comes to humor. Snappy one-liners such as, “He approached tentatively; broaching resolutely that lethal six-foot Fauci line in the sand,” instantly lighten the mood. Given the novella’s heavy setting, these jokes are crucial to help balance out the otherwise sober narrative. The book’s references to contemporary political discourse further emphasize the topical nature of its themes, which are easily accessible to audiences today.

As the lockdown progresses in the novella, Duchovny’s humor evolves to reflect the deterioration of his protagonist’s mental state. By the second chapter, run-on sentences and random fragments of Ridley’s stream of consciousness take over. These frenzied tangents perfectly encapsulate the angst and loss of control Ridley experiences while quarantined. His relatable existential struggles resonate today, as many still navigate the pandemic’s aftermath. Duchovny does not shy away from asking troubling and bizarre questions that many grappled with during quarantine, writing “What is a face if no one sees it?”

Despite its short page count, “The Reservoir” captures several brutal realizations that unveil the unique suffering of older generations during the pandemic. Duchovny scatters blunt, casual understatements throughout the narrative that contrast with the magnitude of this loneliness. For instance, Ridley misses his daughter so severely that he hallucinates holding her hand. Duchovny delivers a swift, devastating blow by writing nothing more than, “She loved him enough to kill him.”

Like this tragic line, “The Reservoir” is touching, ironic, and heartbreaking all at once. The book seems aimless at times, with little substantial plot to drive it forward. The novella’s world-building and characterization also leaves something to be desired, as it fails to develop its secondary characters. However, the absence of didactic messaging is freeing and encourages readers to interpret the work’s purpose for themselves.

Duchnovny’s evocative writing calls forth the many complicated memories and emotions now associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. The novella questions whether these emotions have simply been forgotten or only suppressed. If its purpose is to imbue readers with powerful emotion, then “The Reservoir” undoubtedly succeeds.

—Staff writer Audrey H. Limb can be reached at audrey.limb@thecrimson.com.