Stilled life [Hardcover]

Mikel Dunham (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dunham identifies the characters in his first novel mainly by the ways they move their bowels, drink and abuse drugs. The setting is a SoHo gallery where artist Al Kheel's sculptures, constructions in a box frame, are destroyed and co-owner Emil Orloff is murdered. Orloff's partner is tough, cosmopolitan Rhea Buerklin, who cooperates with detective John Tennyson, in charge of the case. Buerklin and her staff get Tennyson's support of Kheel's proposal to flaunt the broken boxes as an exhibit to attract trendy types and possibly the killer. Composed of parts that don't fit, the mystery resembles the contrived show and can be best described as implausible. The author might have meant to burlesque the phoney, profitable avant-garde world, but the humor will escape his readers, unless they can sustain interest in the dislikable cast.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 279 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312026455
• ISBN-13: 978-0312026455
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,847,698 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Although most of my time is currently devoted to writing and lecturing on college campuses, art and photography continue to be essential elements in my life. I have traveled extensively and lived in New York City, Paris, Munich and on the island of Crete, among other places. In the last 15 years, I have spent much of my time on extended trips to Central Asia. After my apprenticeship with Pema Wangyal of Dolpo, the late thankha master, I was made art director for the mural of two Nyingma Buddhist temples--one in Sarnath, India, and the other in upstate New York. My book-in-progress is about the political crisis in Nepal with particular emphasis on how it impacts women, children and the Tibetan and Bhutanese refugee communities. I now live in southern California with my wife, Margaret. We have two sons, Adrian and Zachary, who also live in the LA area.