Harkaway Gnomon Sparknotes

Nick Harkaway’s 2018 novel, Gnomon, is a science fiction mystery novel which takes place in a dystopian world in London, England. The story follows a detective, Mielikki Neith, who attempts to uncover the secrets of a dead Diana Hunter by investigating the different realities of her mind. Throughout the novel, the ancient Greek ideas of catabasis, the journey into the underworld, and apocatastasis, the state of being restored, play major roles in developing the story's plot. Four examples from the novel that support this are Neith’s descent into Hunter’s mind, the catabasis of Athenais Karthogensis, the death and revival of Hunter, and the return of Kyriakos, Athenais, Bekele, and Neith from the underworld. One example of these Greek ideas takes place during Neith’s descent into Hunter’s mind throughout the story. In the futuristic world of “Gnomon,” Neith

A final example of the Greek ideas of catabasis and apocatastasis in the novel occurs during the conclusion of Gnomon. At the end of the story, Kyriakos, Athenais, and Bekele all return from “a magical room that exists outside of time” (655) to their realities to continue their lives, while Neith is finally offered a way “out and up” of the darkness (661). The instance of Kyriakos, Athenais, and Bekele returning to their worlds is an example of apocatastasis in multiple ways, as they are not only returning to their original position but also given a new beginning, as mentioned by Kyriakos (647). However, in Neith’s case, her example shows both the ideas of catabasis and apocatastasis. When Neith is offered a way out, she is brought back to the overworld, her original position, which is apocatastasis, but she also completes an anabasis, the Greek term for “going up” and the opposite of a catabasis (Stewart,