8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There's Gold in Them Thar Pages!, October 3, 2010
This review is from: Rock Star's Rainbow (Hardcover)
"You've got to read this," an old friend insisted, handing me a copy. Normally, I take such enthusiastic endorsements with a grain of salt and even wariness, but this was coming from a very trusted pal and literature professor. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of this novel. The first thing I noticed was the faint image of an angel on the cover, beneath some grungy font. As I opened the book, there was the same angel, but now much clearer--from Durer's Melancholia. There was some mumbo jumbo about how the famous artwork was used as a bookmark by the original author. What? I thought Kevin Glavin was the author. No. He takes the credit as editor. And why use Durer as a bookmark?
Well, I was now even more confused, but intrigued. The intro went on to explain how the manuscript was found on a plane, left behind by a tabloid reporter who had been killed for penning this very book--a celebrity scoop about the misadventures of a big rock star. Kevin Glavin supposedly found and pieced together the hurriedly-finished work that was almost lost. I'm a sucker for the classics, and the "found" manuscript, while perhaps archaic, is a technique that has a powerful tradition.
Drawn in, I kept on reading. What unfolds is a bizarre celebrity satire. After spending a few months searching through the multiple layers and allusions, I can say that it was definitely a sublime experience. This is not a book to be read casually. It takes work to track down the implications of all the connections. But in that search one becomes caught up in a discovery of pure literary gold that is almost as valuable as real money.
There are far too many allusions to go into here, but you should check them out on your own to fully appreciate the novel. Just in the first few pages we have Durer, Kierkegaard's Either/Or, Don Quixote, Hamlet, Heisenberg, Joyce's Ulysses, and many, many more. The point of all these references, it seems, echoes T.S. Eliot--we must honor the past while at the same time opening windows to future vistas.
Even without the allusions, the story itself is pretty wild, as I suppose a satire about celebrity and the culture that worships it must be. But the adventure is just the surface part. The real fun comes in going back and uncovering the myriad meanings and hues of the rainbow, and enjoying the hope the work gives to all our dreams.
So dig, man, dig.
P.S. I called my friend up just the other day and thanked him for the find. He laughed and said I should pay it forward, and so I am.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a captivating novel which reads itself, May 21, 2011
This review is from: Rock Star's Rainbow (Hardcover)
Rock Star's Rainbow is the kind of book that you think you've been reading for 10 min but you look up at the clock and an hour has passed. The pages really fly by in this one, and at the end of the book you can't help but want another book of the same unique style. That said its an incredibly captivating tale, but is also not your typical commercial novel. Although the main character has a life worlds different than the reader, unless of course they too are multi platinum rock stars, a deep connection is still skillfully made available to the reader. The worlds different rock star shows a side that is very human with very human problems which is identifiable to any person searching for a rainbow to make mundane life a bit more interesting. The author weaves bits of existentialism into the rock star's journey which probe questions of human nature and magnetically pull the reader to beget his own introspective journey. Aside from that, the book also has quite a bit of action and the author doesn't pan the picture away from any of it. It also portrays the main character's human qualities in very humorous ways giving the reader comical relief as to not allow the plot to get overly tense. It's definitely a book capable of teaching you a lot about yourself if you allow it to. My recommendation is to read the book, and be sure to follow your own rainbow no matter how obscure the end may seem to be.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
entertaining read, March 16, 2010
The story was so captivating I finished the book in one weekend.
The story is very well developed with detailed/ interesting characters, and the major characters grew as the story advanced. The locations such as LA, Amsterdama and India also appear, and their descriptions made me want to travel there.
Besides the adventure portrayed, I (personally) felt that the main theme was very positive, about valuing family and doing what you have a passion for!
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