Kirkus Reviews QR Code
THE STEAGLE by Irvin Faust

THE STEAGLE

By

Pub Date: July 18th, 1966
Publisher: Random House

TOBBOU OBBUS OBBIN THOBBIS SOBBITOBBY OBBAND OBBI SOBBAY FOBBOR OBBALL OBBOF OBBUS THOBBAT DOBBEMBOBBAND THOBBIS, FOBBUCK YOUBBOU OBBALL."" You have just been listening to the last words of the last lecture of Dr. Hal Weissberg on the day of the Cuban crisis just before Dr. Weissberg takes off on a crazy cross-country tour where he visits places he's been before and takes in the scene and the scenery and some of the old shiksas and lives up a storm and sees America first and does mad, wild last rites which include shooting up a movie set in Hollywood and making touchdown runs in a deserted stadium while absorbing ""Indiana flashing past."" Gas vats, derricks, Howard Johnson bad eggs, orange, green, gray, black, FABDUZALL, COKEPEPSQUIRTKINGSIZE, WINSTONTASTESGOODLIKEACIGARETTESHOULD"" and thinks about the good old days with Mendy and the gang discovering Sinatra and Bogie and sitting through the old greats like Flaming Guns and Doorway to Hell ten times and mama and papa and the last war ""CHOONGCHOONGCHOONGCHOONG"" etc. etc. etc. etc. because Dr. Weissberg knows that this time we've had it and the big bomb is going to go boom and he's taking it all in fast, faster, fastest and America, America wasn't it all just something and wasn't it a pity and ain't it a shame that Dos Passos has been here before Mr. Faust and maybe the bomb should have been boomed halfway through this novel which suffers from a hyperthyroid condition which may intrigue the reader for awhile until he realizes that it is all just too-too-too much.