Customer Reviews

The Translation of Dr Apelles: A Love Story

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Treuer's "Dr Apelles" is a powerful tour-de-force. The writer proves himself well-read and well-stocked with echoes from western literary tradition as well as Native American storytelling content and structures. The novel assembles all of the parts into a splendid love story--love of stories and storytelling, romantic love, and caustic love of self and of other. Brilliant as the writer proves himself I believe Treuer goes a bit too far. Clearly a reader's writer, the author overextends his hand with too much repetition. The doubling of character ideas, actions, gestures, and phrases are necessary to weave this complex tapestry through motifs and modalities. However, additional editing would have been helpful to move Teuer's brilliance forward. Lots of high notes in this novel, but more ideas through less words were needed.

The Translation of Dr. Apelles is a great story for those interested in some good "beach reading" and a fantastic literary criticism of what Treuer calls "Native American Fiction" for those interested in the field of indigenous authors.

Treuer's style is highly readable yet very complex and symbolic at the same time. The book is full of allusions and referenes to past literary works (see Hall's review) but can be read simply for pleasure as well.

Treuer finds an enduring theme which translates across all cultures and nationalties-love. the love stories on both levels were moving and touching. I liked the contrast between the beautiful indian lovers from the translation Bimaadiz and Eta they are noble, and beautiful like lovers in a fairytale. Apelles is not very socially graceful and lives a lonely isolated life nothing like the brave warrior Bimaadiz. Campapse is beautiful, but is nothing like Eta. This novel does not work unless Treuer can move the readers to sympathize and feel for his characters and he achieves it beautifully.