The blessings and curses of fame, the seismic character of sociopolitical change, and the dream of transcending our earthbound natures are the commanding—though scarcely only—themes of this brilliant epic reimagining of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, by the internationally acclaimed and reviled author of The Satanic Verses. Photojournalist (and “event junkie”) Umeed, a.k.a. “Rai” Merchant relates in a stunningly flexible, observant, and wry narrative voice the story of the volatile enduring love binding two Indian-born musical superstars: coloratura rock singer Vina Apsara and composer-performer Orpheus Cama. That story begins in the late 1980s when Vina perishes in an earthquake (one of this novel’s recurring symbolic events); backtracks to describe, in luscious comic detail, Vina’s violence-haunted American childhood, Orpheus’s youth among a prominent Parsi family ruled by his Anglophilic scholar-athlete father “Sir Darius” (a magnificently drawn character) and shaped by the contrary fates of two sets of twin sons (one of whom becomes a notorious mass murderer), and Rai’s own confused relations with them both. The narrative then surges forward to 1995, after Vina’s apparent “reincarnation” has ironically confirmed Orpheus’s messianic conviction that “There is a world other than ours and it’s bursting through our own continuum’s flimsy defences,” and, in a way Rai could not have foreseen, this Orpheus and Eurydice are reunited. No brief summary can accurately convey this astonishingly rich novel’s historical, religious, mythological—and, not least, pop-musical—range of reference, or the exhilaration of Rushdie’s mischievous transliterations of world history (Oswald’s gun jammed; Borges’s Pierre Menard really did write Don Quixote). It’s a brash polyglot symphony of colliding and cross-pollinating “worlds”; a vision of internationalism that echoes and amplifies the plea for obliterating our differences so prominent in Rushdie’s The Moor’s Last Sigh (1996). An unparalleled demonstration of a great writer at the peak of his powers.
Pub Date: April 13, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-5308-5
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
Copious historical details cannot mask a pointlessly slow pace. Might have worked better as a novella.
A reformed rake has to win the trust of a skeptical lady before he can woo her in this first of a traditional Regency trilogy.
Lady Adeline Wivenly is enjoying her first season in London when she attracts the attention of handsome flirt Frederick, Lord Littleton. “Frits” Littleton’s bloodline, wealth, and title make him a catch, but he is known as a rake. Worse, last year, he jilted Lady Dorie Calthorp, one of Adeline’s closest friends, after leading her on all season long. Frits knows he made a mistake with Dorie, but now he's ready to settle down, and Adeline has caught his fancy. Adeline avoids him as much as politeness allows, in deference to Dorie’s feelings, so Frits finds creative ways to cross her path during the usual social activities of the ton—carriage rides, plays, and balls. As Frits’ basic decency reveals itself, Adeline begins to question Dorie’s perspective. When she overhears another lady scheming to trap Frits into marriage, Adeline decides to warn him, throwing them together even more. In the meantime, Adeline is the target of an unscrupulous suitor who will stop at nothing to win her. Quinn (The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, 2019, etc.) creates a richly detailed traditional Regency world whose social rules dictate much of the characterizations and plot. Frits and Adeline are likable enough—they bond over their love of country life, especially animal husbandry—but their relationship moves at a glacial pace. Worse, they seem to have little effect on one another. While Adeline’s inexperience explains some of her naiveté, she is frustratingly bad at understanding basic human psychology. So many characters are crowded into the storyline that readers may need a chart to sort them out. A late and unwelcome incursion of politics and violence adds no excitement to the romance.
Copious historical details cannot mask a pointlessly slow pace. Might have worked better as a novella.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4967-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The leisurely pacing may frustrate some, but this sweet tale of mutual longing finally expressed repays the investment.
The dangers of fame in the internet era draw a former model and her longtime bodyguard closer together.
Katrina King is a retired model–turned–successful angel investor. She has battled debilitating anxiety and panic attacks all her life, thanks in part to her abusive and controlling father, but became terrified of venturing far from her well-secured home after she was kidnapped 10 years ago. She has a loyal, honest, and incredibly good-looking bodyguard in Jasvinder Singh, who also helps run her many ventures. Katrina has had a deep crush on Jas for years but is reluctant to risk their friendship by making a move. She's finally ready to try some exposure therapy at a local cafe when she becomes the subject of a viral social media post. When Katrina is endangered by the ensuing publicity, they retreat to Jas' family’s farm north of Sacramento. Jas is an Army vet with PTSD from a horrifying event that left him with a busted knee and a sense of deep betrayal. Little does Katrina realize that Jas shares her feelings: “It was her small acts of kindness that had sucked him in, her clever intelligence and sweetness that had kept him hooked.” Forced proximity on the farm finally breaks down her caution and his reserve, and they give in to their desires in sexy, sweet scenes. But Jas, a man of few words not used to acknowledging his pain, must stop hiding from his military past and his family issues in order to earn Katrina's love. With so much going on, the romance can feel secondary at times, although the couple’s strong history somewhat makes up for Rai’s (The Right Swipe, 2019, etc.) slowest of slow burns.
The leisurely pacing may frustrate some, but this sweet tale of mutual longing finally expressed repays the investment.Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-287813-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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