Review of A Few Corrections: A Novel (Paperback)

Midway through this exquisite novel the narrator recalls, through an alcoholic mist, that, "the most distant object visible by day--the sun-- lies some eight minutes away at the speed of light.The most distant visible by night--the Great Andromeda Galaxy--lies two million light-years away.In terms of visible boundaries, then, night is some 100 billion times bigger than day."Clearly (or murkily), that leaves much to explore.The primary object of exploration in A Few Corrections, Wesley Sultan, the quintessentially American salesman, has departed for the great darkness beyond life, and the obituary of the man is less than illuminating.The narrator methodically seeks to shed light on this mystery.

While the novel is organized around the attempt to make a few corrections to the memory of this rather ordinary Midwestern life, Brad Leithauser makes more than a few fascinating connections, extending to the extraordinary.Some connections work as metaphor.Of Wesley's sister, the babbling Adelle, he writes, "Her monologue is a wandering creek of so gentle a propulsion, you have to take on faith the notion that you'll eventually get out of the woods and into open waterways."The connections work at the larger structural level of the novel, which will have the careful reader returning to the beginning of chapters and earlier parts of the book to confirm the revelations.For fans of Brad Leithauser, there are even connections to his other works of fiction and poetry.I'm anxious to see where this novel will connect to his future work.

The novel is filled with humorous vignettes and is beautifully written.(It's better when you read it aloud.)Though Wesley Sultan is elusive, the narrator reaches small epiphanies with those who aid him in his quest.Leithauser treats his characters with great warmth and understanding.He also effectively evokes an earlier and lost time.A Few Corrections is fast-paced: it's a good read.At the same time, its richness makes it a good re-read, too.



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Review of The Tattoo Artist: A Novel (Paperback)

It's been several months since I read this book, and I still can't forget it. One of my favorite books of last year, and all time. This not a typical novel written in the typical authorial voice generated by writer workshops and popular weekly magazines. This story about art, love, and tattoos explores the mysteries inherent in each, without falling into pat themes or regurgitated meaning. Not a retelling of myth, it works on a mythological level and I was transformed by it, as if I had not just read about tattoos but gotten one. And in a way I have, that's how strongly I feel about this book, it's not just something I read, it's something I experienced.



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Review of Empire Falls (Paperback)

The elegance of this 2002 Pulitzer Prize winning novel can be described best by one of his characters, teenager Tick, who decides "just because things happen slow doesn't mean you'll be ready for them."Miles, the central character of Russo's story, runs the Empire Grill in economically depressed Empire Falls, Maine.He ekes out a life hoping for parity:that his loyalty to the grill and to its wealthy owner Mrs. Whiting will result in his owning the business, that his patience with his daughter Tick will be rewarded with openness, that his soon-to-be-ex wife Janine will find what was lacking in him in her fiancé Walt, that his youthful failure to escape the town will have some redemption.But the complexity of Mrs. Whiting's interest in him remains out of his grasp, and the dynamics of Tick's life are largely hidden from him.Janine has a growing need for exactly what she hated so much about Miles.Worst of all, Miles sees himself as destined to remain a loser who gives and never gets. Russo explores the storylines of all these characters and others, allowing the reader intimate glimpses into their lives. In Empire Falls, relationships between husbands and wives and between parents and children are never simple.Russo's characters suffer in ways that are passionately ordinary - that is, until everything funnels into one explosive, extraordinary moment.I literally had to put the book down to absorb this climatic scene.That this scene was both prepared for and totally shocking speaks to the author's skill.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.The characters are lively and sympathetic - even the ones that might be called villains - and despite the quiet nature of the narrative, it is a difficult book to put down.



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Review of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (Paperback)

The arch tone of the title and the wit of the preface may blind readers to the real wonder of Egger's book:he's telling the truth.In a world of air quotes and the constant misuse of the word "ironic", Eggersis trying very hard to tell a difficult story.He writes of the death ofhis parents in the most unflattering terms, without the soft focus andbelabored sentiment our culture has lead us to expect.The slow death ofsomeone you love is sometimes horrible, and this story never denies that,or the way your mind escapes from that horror and focuses on trivia.Whilethe writing may be self-conscious, it isn't pretending to be anything else,and the wonder is that Eggers is willing to accept everything that comesinto his head, regardless of whether it seems appropriate. No other bookhas so honestly touched me since the death of my father, or more accuratelycaptured what his dying meant to me.

Several reviewers have written ofthe way the book loses focus after the first section, but to me that is oneof its strengths.In fiction the protagonist doesn't wander aroundpointlessly, especially not after a significant event like the death of aparent, but in the real world lives are untidy.As a new parent Iappreciated the author's experimental attitude toward child rearing as wellas his attempt to create a fascinating life for himself.The quality ofthe writing made his business woes, his menus, and his Frisbee obsessionequally fascinating.The memoirs of a man who isn't afraid to show his ownwarts, but is touchingly considerate of those closest to him,this is akind and engaging book.



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