Customer Reviews

The Metropolis Case: A Novel

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The Metropolis Case is an expert and frequently enchanting novel by first-time novelist Matthew Gallaway. It tells a story of epic sweep that bridges both the Old and New Worlds, three centuries, and the destinies of four characters who, besides having a profound engagement, whether as performer or aficionado, with Richard Wagner's epochal opera Tristan und Isolde, are also united by an unusual - and highly original - collusion of chance, fate, or luck. Thus it is in its own way a wily and suspenseful mystery, but one to which the actual solution is far less important than the path there. The attentive reader may be able to twist together the carefully laid strands before the official "reveal" (opera buffs will be clued in to some degree by the marvelously allusive title) but such is the author's masterful control of his art that every moment of revelation is handled with considerable and artful restraint, going further than the mere ticking off of a plot point, and leading the reader to consider ever more deeply the principal characters and their intertwining roles in the vast fabric of time and history and art.

Mr. Gallaway clearly has a special affinity for cities, likewise alluded to in the title of the novel. The novel's main locales - Paris, Vienna, Munich, suburban Pittsburgh, and most of all New York City (the novel is in part a valentine to that astounding metropolis) - are described in an alluring lack of over-specific detail all the better to enable their very different energies, moods, auras - the very taste of them - to filter through to the reader unhampered by any sense of being among tourist sites already well-digested by the culture. Instead: you are there.

It is, in fact, hard for me to think of a novel that I have read in which nature, classically considered, plays so sparing a part. And yet the touches of its presence that Mr. Gallaway bring into the world of his novel, in the forms of the growing appreciation of the vegetable world through the cultivation of a very urban garden and a touching subplot about the adoption of a stray cat, highlight them all the more.

Some might wish that some of the secondary characters, many of whom glimmer intriguingly in the background, might have been more fully developed, and a few might scorn some of the more jaw-dropping coincidences that make up the novel's plot, but these in no way damage the book's considerable magic, and are an integral part of how the novel works. It is in fact a grand fantasy on themes derived from Tristan and Isolde, especially in its main characters' search, sometimes anguished, sometimes amply rewarded, for love and "hoechste Lust" - supreme delight.

You absolutely don't need to be an opera lover or Wagner fan to appreciate this novel, or even have an acquaintance with the opera in question (though I'd urge you to go listen to it - it's great!). For most of all this novel is a tender, profound, impassioned, nuanced, and subtle answer to this question: What is art for? Like the answers to most of the deepest questions we ask ourselves, it is hardly reducible to a sound-byte. But the skillful form of the work, and the substantial pleasure of reading it, nevertheless vouchsafes to the thoughtful reader a haunting sense of having had a revelation that, even as it slips from your conscious efforts to grasp it, leaves behind its tantalizing essence: in short, the very reason that we seek to engage with art in the first place. Truly a book to savor word by word.

I LOVED this book. I thought it started a bit slow and sometimes the language is unnecessarily academic...and it bugs me that the author uses "i.e." so much (it's not a thesis, after all) but these are minor irritations in the overall context of a great read. Wonderful characterizations; and the eventual weaving together of the separate stories is masterful and never forced. I appreciate how 9/11 played a part in the story without overwhelming the main themes. The importance of Tristan and Isolde does not require an intimate knowledge of opera in general or that opera in particular but adds a richness and important focus that cleaves the characters together. Once I got into the first few chapters of this book I found it hard to put down. I'm looking forward to Mr. Gallaway's next novel!

Recently, my husband and I treated ourselves to a weekend of reading. After an enthusiastic review by the New York Times, we chose The Metropolis Case by Matthew Gallaway. What a joy! We found the book to be so compelling that we couldn't put it down. Matthew Gallaway depicted not only passionate outbursts of sexuality, but also carefully nuanced, emotional moments. I loved the romance of the book and have selected it for my book club. Overall, the book was luminous, haunting, provocative, numinous, and stirring. I give my kudos to the author and encourage everyone to read this fascinating book.

The product description describes this book as "ambitious", and I could not agree more. The Metropolis Case has many elements to it, and first among these is Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde. However, it also includes some science (fiction), an examination of friendship and love, many historical elements, and a glimpse at challenges faced by gay men; with a dash of 9/11 and a pinch of family dynamics thrown in for flavor. The writing is absolutely lyrical; this author is clearly extremely talented and very, very smart. However, the book falls short because, in my opinion, the author never really decided what he really wanted it to be.

The book follows three main characters: Lucien, an opera singer from the mid-1800s; Maria, a modern-day opera singer; and Martin, a fortyish lawyer who lives in the Big Apple. If you are not an opera fan, do not despair. While this book is written with the opera Tristan and Isolde as the mechanism to tie all the characters together, this is not a story about opera specifically. In fact, there are many dilettante-ish ventures into subject matter that are not exactly cohesive, which ultimately leaves the story unfocused. I have to say also that while some promotional matter indicated that this book was a mystery, if there was one, it was pretty obvious.

I was never really clear on why some of the major elements of this story needed to be in here. I would much rather have seen a closer examination of Lucien, Martin and Maria's lives and to get to know them better than I could with so much going on in the background. Again, the writer is phenomenal and I think in the future it is entirely possible he will produce a modern classic. Some of the insights in this book were actually breathtaking. However, it just missed the mark with so much going on and, at the same time, not much happening.

Never mind that this has a great story with three endearing main characters with three different timeframes woven from three separate stories into one plot. Never mind that the use of opera accentuates the ideas and experiences expressed, and that you don't need to know much about opera (but may encourage you to learn more like I did). Never mind that it accomplishes the rare feat of convincingly mixing fantasy elements into a realistic modern world.

The best part of this novel is the writing.

It's very hard to find living authors who put the effort into crafting stand-out prose. I hardly ever read new fiction where I root for the author over the someone in the story. That happened to me several times with this novel. A couple of times I even let out a hushed, "wow!" The passages range from poignant lessons about life, convincing dialogue, dramatic passages, to sex scenes (which are very hard to pull off when using more than say, "They made love.").

But beyond specific sections of great writing the whole novel is beautifully composed from start to finish.

Finally, I'm not the type to re-read books - there's just too many! So the best compliment I can give is wanting to read something more than once. I want to read The Metropolis case a second time.

"The Metropolis Case" was highly recommended to me by a friend, and the book description seemed intriguing enough, so I bought it. Boy, I'm glad I did. This is one of those books that you can't put down, but you also don't want to get to the last chapter because that means it's the end. I found myself completely transported to the worlds of these characters. I don't want to say too much about the plot because there are such juicy twists and turns. Please, someone make a movie out of this and not mess it up. I've already bought another copy to give to a friend. I can't wait to read the author's next book. In the meantime, I'm reading the book again, and gaining a new appreciation for all the details I missed the first time around.

While I do not know much about opera, the strong characters and their struggle with art and the importance it plays in their life I could relate to. It did pique my interest though, I really need to check out what this Wagner character is all about.

It was my first try at reading a book on my iPhone. I have to warn you, save the absorbing parts for early in your commute, otherwise you may miss your stop as I nearly did!

I have to echo one of the disclaimers other reviewers have expressed, and add a couple of my own. I'm not an opera fan (although I've always had some interest in it and have a passing general knowledge of it), and I'm not a fan of punk or New Wave music (although I have the same interest in and knowledge of it as opera). Also, I'm not a music critic and I'm not a fast reader. I prefer to read things slowly, and even reread certain things, so that I can truly understand what the writer is saying. I took a month to read most of this book, and then read the final "Act" in a couple of days. More on that later.

In addition, I won't provide a synopsis of the book, which has been done by other reviewers and much more ably than I could have done.

I will say, point blank, that I love this book. Matthew Gallaway has crafted a thing of rare beauty. This is a book to which I will return time and time again, I am certain. The theme of the book, to me, recalls the theme of my favorite book of all time, Lost Horizon. I first read that book when I was fourteen, and have reread it several times in the 35+ years since. My copy of it is thick with pencil marks and underlined passages. That book had, and still has, a profound effect upon me. While I wouldn't (yet) place The Metropolis Case in the same category as that classic, it comes close. I think Mr. Gallaway has his true classic still inside him, and I look forward to it.

A cousin of mine, who is a writer, once told me that first novels tend to be autobiographical. I suspect this is true with The Metropolis Case. In reading the book, I often thought I was getting glimpses into the author's life. Also, Mr. Gallaway writes the way I tend to talk, which provided me with more than a few good-natured chuckles along the way. A co-worker once told me that I give "too much detail" when I told even the simplest story about something that had happened to me. My response was, I want the person who's listening to know the story as well as I did when it happened to me. "Too much detail" can be a good thing, and I think it is in the case of this book.

I've always, since childhood, had a keen interest in big-city life and especially the lives of artists. Growing up in a very small town in the Deep South, things like this seemed exotic and exciting. Mr. Gallaway, I think, provides realistic glimpses into the lives of such people.

The book is set up in three "acts." The first one sets up the story and characters; the second develops the plot(s). My opinion is, setting up a story with so many main characters made the first act interesting, but the second act bogged down slightly for me. However, Chapter 18 was probably the most shocking and fascinating one in that act. The description of Maria's audition was brief, but jaw-dropping in its surrealism. This passage resonated with me so, I've reread it several times. Also, the final sentence in that chapter was one of those cliffhangers, but beautifully and (again) shockingly rendered.

After all that, though, Mr. Gallaway treats us to a stunning, revelatory final act. In it, not only does the author tie up all of the ends of the story, but also seems to want to explain that this is a fable. The title of the chapter "The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths" says that to me. Also, the following passage, I think, provides a poignant look at what the author intended with this work:

"...for it seemed to confirm that in the beckoning aura of the approaching light, there would be a familiar, theatrical sense of possibility, a necessary suspension of belief that would allow his audience to understand his story ... without questioning its plausibility."

Perhaps some of the reviewers who didn't like this book sped through that passage without understanding it. I'm glad I didn't.

The final chapter is mystical and dreamlike. I love that. And the reason I read the third act so quickly (as compared to the first two) was that I could sense that it was heading in that direction. I was well-rewarded.

To respond to some of the criticisms of this book, I'd say that the coincidences that drive the story are not that unbelievable, if you consider it a fable. Surely we haven't lost our capacity for that. I'm a big fan of coincidences anyway; my life has been filled with many happy ones. As for the "purple prose" and fancy words, well, I liked the creamy texture of Mr. Gallaway's writing style, and that a book makes me take out my dictionary to learn words I've never heard or read before is fine with me.

My own criticisms: I feel that Mr. Gallaway had to sacrifice some character development in the interest of length of the story and heft of the book. That's understandable and okay, but one of the storylines seemed a little too facile for me. Not a huge problem, though; once I reached the final act, I had forgotten about that. Additionally, there are a few errors I caught that I will mention to the author himself privately (however I can contact him; I don't know him personally) that I chalk up more to the editors not paying attention.

All in all, an impressive debut from a writer who, bien sūr, is a force to be reckoned with.


Robert le Diable


P.S. I took the jacket off while I was reading the book to preserve it. It's a lush, beautiful jacket and I want to keep it that way!

This book is absolutely lovely. Gallaway weaves his disparate storylines together so that each thread is rich and engaging - there was not a single page that bored me. This book is obviously full of thorough research, but it never feels bogged-down or heavy. In fact, for a book holding so much in its pages, this book is surprisingly light, not in that it's frivolous, but just effortlessly engaging. It is a rich appreciation of art, music, and love. Most importantly - a beautiful joy to read.

I had been wanting to read some current fiction but wasn't sure where to start-- I'm really glad I chose to start here! Reading a favorable review in the NY Times of Matthew Gallaway's first book inspired me. I am a slow, thorough reader. I like to savor the prose and integrate what I read before moving on. I finished "The Metropolis Case" in just four days-- I couldn't put it down and happily lost sleep staying up late to find out what happens next.
The book artfully weaves together three tales across time. The story has it all: life, love, art, passion, music . . . and the disparate tales are unified in surprising ways at the end. The book draws inspiration from Richard Wagner's 19th-century music drama "Tristan and Isolde," an opera that I saw in Seattle in 1998. While there are clear links to the opera and Gallaway's book, one does not need to know opera to appreciate and enjoy this story. After reading "The Metropolis Case," I have a renewed appreciate for life. I look forward to reading more from Matthew Gallaway. Bravo!