A Cure for Gravity (Hardcover)

by Arthur Rosenfeld (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this messy but charming tale of one teenage boy's lucky bank robbery, Arthur Rosenfeld takes us not only cross-country, from South Florida to Port Townsend, Wash., but also across a few spiritual dimensions, such as the one separating life and death. The boy, Umberto Santana, robs a bank in Boca Raton on the day when the bills are unmarked. The bank has brought in this money for Suzanne Emerson, an heiress with a taste for expensive antique automobiles, who wants cash on hand so that she can drive a hard bargain at an upcoming auction. Umberto's dumb luck holds as he gets out of town on his Honda. His cross-country trip is lonely, however, until he meets up with Mercury Gant, who is also fleeing Florida, on his 20-year-old motorcycle. Gant is trying to shake his memories of his ex-lover, Caroline, who was lovely, smart and gruesomely widowed; her husband apparently shot himself and their boy, Xavier. Or did he? That story unfurls in Gant's mind as he makes his way to the last bit of his recent pastAhis daughter, living with Caroline's mother in Port Townsend. Meanwhile, in Florida, Umberto's robbery has caused some excitement: a U.S. senator in the bank at the time died of an asthma attack brought on by stress, and her husband is out for the perpetrator's blood. Eagle Cooper, the FBI agent investigating the case, quickly falls in love with beautiful Suzanne. When Umberto's father uses cash to buy a Jaguar from Suzanne, Eagle closes in, and a sadder, wiser Umberto performs a charitable act. Rosenfeld throws too many subplots into his zany mix, and the dialogue is often corny, but there's a bravura innocence at the heart of this offbeat novel that eventually wins the reader's affection. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Mercury Gant and Umberto Santana are about as different as two cross-country motorcyclists can be. Gant is full of uncertainty, heading west to meet the six-year-old daughter he didn't know he had. Santana is fleeing a bank robbery during which a U.S. senator happened to die from an asthma attack. Thrown together (literally) by a tornado in the Oklahoma panhandle, the two decide to ride together as well. This precis doesn't begin to explain the complexity and delicate layering of Rosenfeld's picaresque novel. Combining a realistic narrative technique with elements of magic and the occult, the author creates a touching ghost story that eludes easy comparison to any other book. Where else will you find a character like Gant's daughter, Audrey, who is blind but can communicate with whales and whose other senses are so highly developed that she can navigate a runaway shopping cart through expressway traffic? An amazing voyage that is as rewarding for the reader as it is for the protagonists. George Needham
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (October 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312874553
• ISBN-13: 978-0312874551
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,248,681 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where I've Never Gone Before, January 29, 2001

By	Kinney Thiele (California) - See all my reviews

A CURE FOR GRAVITY is a (motorcyle) tour de force. The scenes are countless, brief, heavily loaded with information in short sentences, and all lead to a tightly woven conclusion. Arthur Rosenfeld wastes no words, nor spares us the details to take us to places we might never know could exist--in space and in the mind. Nothing is gratuitous. He isn't afraid to take on issues of morality, to extoll beauty, to introduce flights of fancy, or rub our faces in horror. I was enthralled by the author's talent and hooked on the story from beginning to end. Excellent. Excellent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Novel -Fast Paced and Fun, October 9, 2000

By	Howard Korn (Beltsville, Md. USA) - See all my reviews

The Cure for Gravity is a modern novel in the best sense. It moves quickly like modern life with a fast stepping story line filled with adventures, quirky characters- all of whom you'll like- And some way out sub-plots. You'll almost feel like you're riding a bike on the California coast on one page and sailing off Florida on the next. There's just enough tension drawn on the situations our heros are in as well as the anticipated resolving of story lines to keep the pages turning.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh and lovely writing, September 21, 2000

By A Customer

I could not put this book down! The writing is wonderfully fresh and the story is captivating. With rich characters tied together by serindipity and themes of love and friendship to murder and betrayal, this book was a delight to read. I laughed, I cried...I wanted more when it ended. Rosenfeld's thought provoking ideas and magical tones make this book a must read. I can't wait for the movie!