Negative Positive
Title: B Movie Material from a Likeable Source
Review: I wanted to like this book. I really enjoy Codrescu's essays on NPR, especially when they touch on topics pertaining to New Orleans, where I lived for five years. I also thought the subject matter had some potential. Unfortunately, he is trying too hard to follow in the footsteps of his fellow New Orleanian, Anne Rice. The portrayal of the countess is really unconvincing. She wants eternal youth. Ok, so? She comes across as about as complex as the evil queen in Disney's Snow White. The "present day" subplot makes the game, Clue, seem like an Umberto Eco masterpiece of intricacy. For readers who want a complex representation of a reprehensible villain of the middle ages, go to Joris Karl Huysmans' La Bas for his depiction of Gilles de Rais, who made the Marquis de Sade look like a neophyte. Codrescu should stick to what he does best - write clever essays for NPR. He's no great shakes as a novelist.
Is the review positive or negative? 