STEVENSON UNDER THE PALM TREES, by Alberto Manguel

This is kind of a strange little book that reminded me in some ways of some of Hawthorne's or Melville's tales. The Victorian south seas setting was well described. The story describes the strange final days of the life of expat British writer Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa. The heavily psychological, supernatural orientation of the story gave it an interesting feel. The author is an Argentinian, and indeed, there is a Borges-like feel to the story that is very compelling. All-in-all, it's a creative and entertaining piece, concisely written.

For a review of the novel from The Guardian, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2004/jan/10/fiction4

 

MESOPOTAMIA, by Arthur Nersesian

Being a big fan of Nersesian, I found Mesopotamia somewhat disappointing  I cannot say it's a badly written book, but it lacks the gritty street smarts of his New York based novels like Chinese Take Out and Unlubricated. Maybe I just couldn't relate to the whole Elvis/Appalacian theme and the rather complex plot. The book's protagonist, Sandy Bloomgarten, is a 30-something Korean-American tabloid journalist with a drinking probloem who had been adopted as a child and grew up in sticksville, (AKA Mesopotamia, Tennessee). It seemed like a bit of a stretch. She is harder to relate to than the wiley and creative artistic losers of Nersesian's New York novels and I found myself not caring too much what happens to her. I was really pulling for the book to be a strong effort, but it seems undistinguishable from the mediocre output of many writers and basically lacking in force and flare.

For a review of the book from The L Magazine, click here: http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/life-between-two-rivers-mesopotamia/Content?oid=1701243