We experience “The Book of Chameleons” as though watching a slide show. In brief, concise chapters, these lost, searching souls grapple with painful pasts and threatening presents. One measure of José Eduardo Agualusa’s artistry and effectiveness: we certainly don’t mind that it’s narrated by a man who had returned to life as a gecko – for substantial parts of the narrative, we barely notice. Who better to tell the story of these human chameleons? As Angola struggles to emerge from decades of ruinous...
September 23, 2010
"Mr. Toppit" by Charles Elton
Charles Elton/ modern fame/ show biz satireIn an exceedingly funny debut, Charles Elton hoists modern fame-hungry society on its petard of greed, ego, and hypocrisy. “Mr. Toppit” features oddballs and prickly characters galore, and the strife between and within these denizens lurks never very far from the surface and frequently boils over. Almost never have I laughed out loud so often reading a book. A Modesto, California, woman takes a vacation in London in the early days of Reagan and Thatcher. It’s somewhat out of character for her...
September 11, 2010
"The Abacus and the Cross" by Nancy Marie Brown
Arabic science/ medieval court intrigues/ medieval papal politics/ Nancy Marie BrownIt’s impossible to say to what extent fear of the Apocalypse gripped medieval Europe as the calendar crept toward the year 1000 AD, but there were churchmen and self-promoters willing to preach terror and penitence to the gullible masses. Gerbert d’Aurillac, monk from southeastern France, later canon, archbishop and pope, was clearly not one of these.In “The Abacus and the Cross” we learn of the public progress of Gerbert, the great scholar and tutor and adviser to emperors. The most sought-after...
September 03, 2010
"All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost" by Lan Samantha Chang
fiction of relationships/ Lan Samantha Chang/ poetry in academia/ W.W. NortonAs I progressed through “All is Forgotten, Nothing is Lost,” I felt the hand of a careful artist, demanding the highest performance of her lean language, and observed her continued bountiful success in meeting that demand. Lan Samantha Chang has given us a deep, arresting, memorable piece, whose characters stay with us long after their story ends.Young Roman Morris strives to write poetry and succeeds brilliantly – he wins an early fellowship and later in life, the Pulitzer Prize for his deep, unique,...
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