December 18, 2002
This book intrigues me. From
This book intrigues me.
From Booklist
Mixing genres and styles, Marlowe has fashioned a novel based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe. What begins as relatively straightforward biographical fiction quickly becomes a baffling blend of the real and the surreal. As Poe copes with creative frustration and unabating poverty, he finds himself intrigued by a story his sea captain brother, Henry, once told him--a magical tale of a remote South Sea island where Henry and his shipmates destroyed a stone god and brought disaster upon themselves. Henry claims he escaped with only a stone shard from the shattered idol--a shard that may possess magical powers. Poe sets out to recover the shard, perhaps as a way to escape the dreary frustrations of his life. As the tale progresses, characters from Poe's books step into reality; doppelgangers abound; and time blurs into a confusing blend of past, present, and future. Marlowe's premise is a fascinating one, and his writing is skillful and often engrossing. Whether readers will see this experimental novel as a brilliant work of art or a baffling maze, however, remains to be seen. Buy it because it will make a provocative addition to fiction collections. Emily Melton