Lentricchia proclaims his aesthetic autonomy in a work that crosses genres with alacrity. As fiction, it’s bold and...
A hybrid of literary comment and fictional creation, this latest from critic, memoirist, and novelist Lentricchia (Johnny Critelli and The Knifemen, 1996) perfectly captures the voice of the critic agonistes: the once-detached scholar no longer hiding, or hiding behind, his judgments and values.
In this case, the critical focus is Melville, whose “story-disdaining” masterpiece obsesses Lentricchia’s alter ego, Thomas Lucchesi, a somewhat mad novelist whose only published work in 43 years is a 5-page piece in an obscure journal. A “scrooge of art,” Lucchesi hoards his words and tries to recapture the past through language itself. He fantasizes life before he was born; lingers over an unrequited love from his teens; and imagines a scenario in which he substitutes for Pavarotti on stage in Milan. He meets his hidden muse, a gangster with the same last name, whose bodyguard is Frank, the Whale. As a teacher, Lucchesi lectures on The Whale (the English title of Moby Dick). Eventually, his total immersion in “Melville’s troubles” leads to troubles of his own, and he becomes “terminally sick” of himself. And no wonder. This “commercially untouchable” writer, like his hero Melville, barely functions in the world. His classroom behavior (he’s given to screaming, apropos of Melville: “I AM AFRAID OF THIS COCKSUCKER!”) gets him fired. At length, however, he returns to play a significant role in the course of American Wittgenstein studies when he uncovers the autobiographical truth others scholars have ignored. The end of philosophy is then enacted on a transatlantic flight with a sexy attendant: Lucchesi redeemed.
Lentricchia proclaims his aesthetic autonomy in a work that crosses genres with alacrity. As fiction, it’s bold and challenging; as criticism, it belongs right next to the unconventional Melville commentary of Charles Olsen and Paul Metcalf. In short—and it is short—this demanding book rewards those willing to take a chance.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8223-2654-X
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Duke Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
Not as thematically ambitious as Whitehead’s earlier work, but a whole lot of fun to read.
Another surprise from an author who never writes the same novel twice.
Though Whitehead has earned considerable critical acclaim for his earlier work—in particular his debut (The Intuitionist, 1999) and its successor (John Henry Days, 2001)—he’ll likely reach a wider readership with his warmest novel to date. Funniest as well, though there have been flashes of humor throughout his writing. The author blurs the line between fiction and memoir as he recounts the coming-of-age summer of 15-year-old Benji Cooper in the family’s summer retreat of New York’s Sag Harbor. “According to the world, we were the definition of paradox: black boys with beach houses,” writes Whitehead. Caucasians are only an occasional curiosity within this idyll, and parents are mostly absent as well. Each chapter is pretty much a self-contained entity, corresponding to a rite of passage: getting the first job, negotiating the mysteries of the opposite sex. There’s an accident with a BB gun and plenty of episodes of convincing someone older to buy beer, but not much really happens during this particular summer. Yet by the end of it, Benji is well on his way to becoming Ben, and he realizes that he is a different person than when the summer started. He also realizes that this time in his life will eventually live only in memory. There might be some distinctions between Benji and Whitehead, though the novelist also spent his youthful summers in Sag Harbor and was the same age as Benji in 1985, when the novel is set. Yet the first-person narrator has the novelist’s eye for detail, craft of character development and analytical instincts for sharp social commentary.
Not as thematically ambitious as Whitehead’s earlier work, but a whole lot of fun to read.Pub Date: April 28, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-52765-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2009
BOOK TO SCREEN
A steamy, glitzy, and tender tale of college intrigue.
In this opener to Kennedy’s (Hot & Bothered, 2017, etc.) Briar U romance series, two likable students keep getting their signals crossed.
Twenty-one-year-old Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis is expelled from Brown University in the middle of her junior year because she was responsible for a fire at the Kappa Beta Nu sorority house. Fortunately, her father has connections, so she’s now enrolled in Briar University, a prestigious institution about an hour outside Boston. But as she’s about to move into Briar’s Kappa Beta Nu house, she’s asked to leave by the sisters, who don’t want her besmirching their reputation. Her older brother Dean, who’s a former Briar hockey star, comes to her rescue; his buddies, who are still on the hockey team, need a fourth roommate for their townhouse. Three good-looking hockey jocks and a very rich, gorgeous fashion major under the same roof—what could go wrong? Summer becomes quickly infatuated with one of her housemates: Dean’s best friend Colin “Fitzy” Fitzgerald. There’s a definite spark between them, and they exchange smoldering looks, but the tattooed Fitzy, who’s also a video game reviewer and designer, is an introvert who prefers no “drama” in his life. Summer, however, is a charming extrovert, although she has an inferiority complex about her flagging scholastic acumen. As the story goes on, the pair seem to misinterpret each other’s every move. Meanwhile, another roommate and potential suitor, Hunter Davenport, is waiting in the wings. Kennedy’s novel is full of sex, alcohol, and college-level profanity, but it never becomes formulaic. The author adroitly employs snappy dialogue, steady pacing, and humor, as in a scene at a runway fashion show featuring Briar jocks parading in Summer-designed swimwear. The book also manages to touch on some serious subjects, including learning disabilities and abusive behavior by faculty members. Summer and Fitzy’s repeated stumbles propel the plot through engaging twists and turns; the characters trade off narrating the story, which gives each of them a chance to reveal some substance.
A steamy, glitzy, and tender tale of college intrigue.Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-72482-199-7
Page Count: 372
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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