When I was an undergrad in university, in one of my art history or philosophy classes, I can’t remember exactly—we were given an assignment to write about depth: How would we represent it? How would we define it? I was extremely intrigued, but ultimately, I chose the alternate topic to write about because I was too intimidated. The one thing I could picture when I thought about depth was a blank page, a blank space, a white void. I pictured the end of things, the final understanding, when all the universe’s secrets are finally revealed. It sounded like death because perhaps that is the only state where we can see the totality of what it means to be alive.

The ending of Anton Hur’s English novel debut, Toward Eternity, reminded me of this assignment. Elegant and economical at 244 pages, this novel asks enormous questions and, sublimely, achieves something that feels like an answer at the end of all things: the arrival at some final understanding. 

Continue reading ➞ Anton Hur’s “Toward Eternity”: A universe made of poetry