Customer Reviews

Vanitas

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Vanitas is a book that can almost be considered a lost work of Jeffrey Ford. Out of print for a number of years, it is difficult to obtain and is Ford's freshman novel.

The book itself tells the story of Scarfinati, a character that would later show up in Ford's trilogy of A Well-Built City (The Physiognomy, Memoranda, and The Beyond.) However, Scarfinati's character in this book is not the same character that appears in this trilogy. In this relatively short book (167 pages) Scarfinati is the savior and local hero of a small town. Having saved the town from a deadly and mysterious plague and having destroyed the corrupt son of a benevolent but deceased land owner, he is viewed as something of a demigod. This view is particularly reinforced when he creates a wooden carnivale with the power to bring back the dead.

However, while the story is essentially about Scarfinati and his scientific and mechanical wonders, the main character is a young girl named Caroline. Born with a mystically enchanting voice she is the pride of the town until one day she kills Scarfinati in a freak accident. Shunned by the town forever after for killing their benefactor and abandoned by her parents, she is forced to live in seculsion and wait for a time when a month of torrential rains will bring to life Scarfinati's carnivale of the dead, so that she can approach him and ask for his forgiveness.

Vanitas is an interesting and essential read for any fan of Ford. While the writing is somewhat raw compared to his later works and at times the storyline can be so prosaic as to be distracting, the fantastic imagery and well-crafted characters make this book worth buying. Additionally, many characters and themes from this novel appear in the Well-Built City trilogy, so reading this novel can give some insight into where Ford drew his inspiration from.