My Tango with Barbara Strozzi [Paperback]

Russell Hoban (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Phil Ockerman has fallen hard for Bertha Strunk after meeting her at a tango lesson held in a church crypt. Phil and Bertha are each recently separated, and both their Suns are squared by Neptune. Bertha also bears a strong resemblance to the 17th-century Venetian singer and composer Barbara Strozzi—with whom Phil happens to be obsessed—to the point where Phil is no longer sure where Barbara stops and Bertha begins. On their first serious date, Phil and Barbara watch The Rainmaker, a tale of a battered wife and the murder of an ex-husband. Phil begins to suspect as to whether Barbara’s choice of film is entirely innocent, however, when afterwards he finds himself carrying around a potential murder weapon. Navigating several subway lines and considerable planetary activity, this intriguing romance tangos its way through a world of infidelity, artificial eyeballs, baseball bats, and music without missing a daring, seductive step.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'I urge anyone who thinks of arming or improving themselves with this year's Booker shortlist to tuck up instead with the collected works of Russell Hoban and a bottle of Glenfiddich. He is fun, shrewd, humane; and unique' Spectator 'Hoban is that rare bird: a writer whose voice is utterly his own. For my money, his wonderfully original novels will endure long after most current high flyers have hit the dust ... This is an eccentric, sharply observed, kind book. We need writers like Hoban' Salley Vickers, Independent 'My Tango With Barbara Strozzi is a haunting: exasperating, funny, sad and elegiac. Catch it before it disappears' Guardian 'A deceptively complex novel of ideas, about reality, identity and ontology, that is only masquerading as a sweetly simple boy meets girl story' Independent on Sunday

About the Author

Russell Hoban is the author of numerous novels, including Come Dance with Me, Linger Awhile, and Riddley Walker, as well as several classic children’s books, including The Mouse and his Child and the Frances series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury UK (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747592713
• ISBN-13: 978-0747592716
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,200,840 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SOPHISTICATED ROMANCE, June 17, 2009

By 

The Stranger (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Tango with Barbara Strozzi (Paperback)

Not well-known here, expatriate American Hoban is a somebody to the Brits. This novel is very well-written. Interesting characters, witty exchanges, literature that wastes no punches.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hoban is an eccentric master, December 14, 2011

By 

John Gough "John Gough - Deakin University" (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Tango with Barbara Strozzi (Paperback)

Any novel by Russell Hoban is to be treasured.
He died 13 December 2011!
Although in the USA he may be best known, deservedly, to some extent, for children's picture-story books such as "Bedtime for Frances", starting with his first full-length novel "The Mouse and His Child" (faithfully filmed as a cartoon, and distressingly undervalued as a cartoon -- it ought to be rediscovered as a cult favourite by adults!), Hoban turned into a major adult writer, albeit often wildly eccentric.
The fact that he lived most of his last 30+ years in Britain, and was initially published by British publishers is no excuse for him not being highly valued in the USA.
His post-nuclear-apocalypse "Riddley Walker", written entirely in a striking invented post-bomb dialect -- the Huck-Finn-like Riddley's own speaking voice (!), was highly reviewed in "Time" magazine.
Maybe since then Hoban has slipped below USA radar.

GREATNESS ALERT! -- read Hoban!

John Gough -- Deakin University -- [e-mail]