Talking about "Spy who came in from the cold", I recently read a poor imitation by John Fullerton, "The Monkey House", which attempts to create Spy's somber, introspective mood in bloody Sarajevo. How about something substantially different, other than the location?
Roy's writing shows the distinct influence of Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Is he still around?) in his "One Hundred Years of Solitude" days. Unlike the South American master, however, she can neither develop nor hold a reader's interest. Which is a sorry state of being for an author. The charms of magic realism are starting to fade in the hands of Garcia's less talented brethren. Perhaps, we should have intellectual copyrights for writing styles too.
To be fair, though, Roy coined one phrase I really liked: "a viable, die-able age". Apparently, the author liked it too. She repeats it several times in the book.
I'm not giving away too much of the plot if I say that the heroine of the story, Rahel, is spookily like the author herself. Not just in the obvious things -- where she is from, etc. Even to the details of the nosering she wears (a diamond in the right nostril, in case you are interested) and to the height of her cheekbones. I'm getting sick of all the books that deal with the "journey" of self-discovery, all the sneakily autobiographical books masquerading as fiction. How about a real journey? To a really different place? With well-developed non-magical characters?
I want a swift-moving, character-developing, well-written page-turner of a novel that doesn't insult my intelligence. Why can't today's authors and publishers give it to me?
Having read this, you should read the Admissions of a Grouchy Reviewer .
