Cunningham is one of those rare gifted writers that can take pulpy genres and make them into literature. The book is divided into three sections: past (historical fiction), present (pychological crime thriller), and future (sci-fi). Each section recycles the same three characters and Whitman’s poetry is always present in some form. Each character brings certain resonances from the past story into the current one making it richly layered.

Besides linking the stories together by the characters, Whitman’s poetry also provides a narrative thread. Whitman’s poetry is allowed to shine through the short snippets Cunningham provides yet he places them in a context that questions Whitman’s view of America. While Whitman’s poetry embraced all aspects of the American landscape (even its ugly side), this Whitmanesque embrace is questioned when Cunningham places it alongside the Industrial Revolution and terrorism in modern New York. In the futuristic story violence becomes a commodity which leads you to ask: should we really embrace everything America has to offer? You begin to question the beauty Whitman’s presents in his poetry when its placed in a modern context such as terrorism but that’s the beauty of Cunningham’s writing. The ending provides no clear answer but the questions Cunningham makes you ask yourself is the whole point of the journey.

Hoorah for the first lesbian novel that doesn’t end in suidcide or another equally dreary outcome! Apart from the rare happy ending this book is quite a good read. Teresa’s narrative isn’t overly sentimental about her unhappiness. Even if one isn’t a lesbian one can connect with her sense of not belonging. Although the society depicted is depressing the narrative is not; Highsmith manages to write eloquently homosexulaity in a time when it was demonized (even more than current times). Unlike many other novels about homosexuality that target thier homosexual audience, Highsmith’s writing reaches everyone.

Interesting sidenote: this novel was first published as pulp fiction and shelved with all the other fluffy insipid lesbian fiction targeting men despite garnering favorable reviews from well-respected publications.

The idea is brilliant. We live (or at least think we do) in a secular world where religion has no imapct on our daily lives. Yet with the media buzz on terrorism I think more people are looking closely at religions that don’t fit mainstream norms. Jacobs’ experiment had so much potential to delve into America’s (dis)enchantment with religion but he never quite got there. By the end of first third of the book he begins recycling the same ideas/questions. By the time you reach the middle it just drags as he has already made all the points he’s going to make and makes them over and over. Even the really good questions never really get anything more profound than a truism. He scratches the surface but that’s all.

I never thought I’d say this about a book, because I am one of those rare beings that prefer a book to a film, but… the film was actually better than the book. And that’s saying a lot since the film was sub-par. I liked the approach, trying to bring Austen into the modern world, but it didn’t quite work out. It’s been done before (and done better). Some of the storylines just fizzled out and some were just too predictable. Not worth your time if you are hard-core Austen fan.

Coetzee’s writing is absolutely haunting and I loved the sparse style. The outrage and criticism this book recieved only prove how South Africa is still feeling the ramifications of Apartheid.

However, before one judges Coetzee as being racist or pro-Apartheid one should really read into the literary allusions that the protagonist uses. Lurie views himself as the byronic hero yet Coetzee shows that the world has no need for this romanticism. Sure, he depicts a horrible man who views post-Apartheid Africa as horrible but look at how closely his trial mirrors the trial of ex-prime minister Botha. Lurie is obviously meant to symbolize the Apartheid era and as the end shows that era is dying out. Yet Coetzee does bring up disturbing issues about the future of South Africa and particularly of black people but that what makes the novel so interesting. There is no clear black and white answer and the book’s impact indicates just that.