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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Tangled Web,
By A reader (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Book of Lies (Hardcover)
This ambitious novel by Picano turns out to be overly so and the result is a tangled web. The question is: Will the reader persevere to the end and thus be able to disentangle it? It can be done, but the going is tough at times and the "payoff" is questionable, though Picano pulls off one major surprise at the end, and some minor ones along the way. Even for those who have most assiduously read the work of the authors of the Violet Quill, this is not an easy --nor short-- novel. It's hard enough to keep the authors (more of whom are dead than alive) straight (I really didn't mean a pun), not to mention their partners/boyfriends and/or literary executors. Although the point is by no means to identify them all with real-life counterparts (though 3 are easily enough identified for those who know about the authors and their works, and a good guess can be made about at least one other), most of the authors never really stand out and it's hard to care about some of them. Overall, this novel probably does give a good general picture of the personal and writing life these men led, but something -maybe a sense of "aliveness"-- seems missing. There are a few juicy tidbits, real or imagined, along the way, but don't read the novel for this reason. Much more interesting is the young man, Ross Ohrenstedt, who's writing his Ph.D. dissertation on these authors, and the students he teaches, but those readers not in academia may not appreciate some of the details, and those in academia will probably find that Picano doesn't have a 100% accurate take on the inner workings of academia. There's also a bit of mystery regarding an unidentified ms, along the general lines of Henry James' THE ASPERN PAPERS, which may pull in a few readers interested in this very particular type of mystery about literature, though even here I found the "payoff" again dubious. I've admired many of Picano's novels and this effort is admirable, but as much as I wanted to love this novel, I had to conclude he's written a half-dozen better ones. This novel can be passably satisfying, but only for the most fanatic readers of Picano and the others that comprised the Violet Quill.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good - But Not His Best,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Book of Lies (Hardcover)
For readers of the Violet Quill, this book will hold your interest. Although you may be distracted by trying to figure out who all the characters may or may not be. There is a heavy dose of academic/publishing world insider trivia that seems a bit unnecessary. Otherwise, it's an interesting read. Still, I pine for the nostalgia of The Men Who Loved Me.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Men with Words,
By
This review is from: The Book of Lies (Paperback)
Ross Ohrenstedt is a literary scholar whose interest in the Purple Circle (fictionalization of Picano's Violet Quill Club) borders on obsession. He methodically searches out the widowers of the group's members and the few members who remain alive in search of a mysterious man who was rumored to be associated with the group. Amidst his literary finds we are given glimpses of his personal life, aspirations as a scholar and his ambiguous sexuality. This is a book of mysteries layered upon mysteries and the reader ultimately has to draw his own conclusions about what actually happened within this group. The lush prose and biting dialogue lead to a triumphant climax where the ground beneath your feet is obliterated.The mysteries of this book are only a costume for the real problems it is working to unravel. It is a quest to understand the male identity and how we negotiate sexual relations. Its most pressing issue probes the meaning of a self-defined gay literature which the group claims didn't exist before they established it. The need for a category of gay literature extends to sociological issues, but the primary focus of this novel is to explore the impact of this literature upon the general population. By unearthing the multifaceted expressions of homosexuality it celebrates both love and the problems which inspire the need for a defined gay "community". Ross's primary search is for scholarly achievement, but his desire is to find an understanding of himself which can encompass a fluid sexuality. This is an involving tale and a deep meditation on gay writing itself.
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