The Ark

Rating:
Summary: Brave new world
Review: Enter this book and enter Atlantis, a strange world full of marine life, mystic religion and a bit of hot gay sex. I don't like fantasy that's too "explainy" ... Kaufman novel avoids this trap. You're in Atlantis, no explanation necessary. Gradually she draws you further in this world, its religion, and some sexy species/

Rating:
Summary: like nothing you've ever read
Review: I don't even know how to start describing this novel; I've never read anything like it. It's not science fiction, but it's not ordinary fiction either. It's lofty, epic, and mythical but it's also completely basic, earthy, and human. You'll see why I'm struggling to describe it when you read it--it's such an imaginative blend of fantasy and reality. I guess the closest I can come to describing it is that it reminds me of a Magritte painting: it looks totally realistic but can't, quite, possibly be, in a way that makes you think. And it's not just the way the world is so close to ours in some ways and so different in others, although I love the way that's done so deftly and unobtrusively--there are the stories and personal histories compelling the characters to be the way they are that's so fascinating to watch.

Rating:
Summary: A looking-glass world
Review: I'm always suspicious of fiction characterized as "fantasy," but this novel transcends that label--and just about any other label that might be applied to it by the compusive categorizer. Neither utopian nor dystopian, it is about a place we recognize without ever having been there, peopled by characters we know without ever having met them.

More to the point, we want to spend time in that oddly seductive place, with those oddly seductive characters, for whom love, intolerance, home, and escape are as important as they are to us. Another thing I'm suspicious of is the book group, but this seems like a perfect text to fuel heated, puzzled, and ultimately inconclusive discussions.

Rating:
Summary: A looking-glass world
Review: I'm always suspicious of fiction characterized as "fantasy," but this novel transcends that label--and just about any other label that might be applied to it by the compusive categorizer. Neither utopian nor dystopian, it is about a place we recognize without ever having been there, peopled by characters we know without ever having met them.

More to the point, we want to spend time in that oddly seductive place, with those oddly seductive characters, for whom love, intolerance, home, and escape are as important as they are to us. Another thing I'm suspicious of is the book group, but this seems like a perfect text to fuel heated, puzzled, and ultimately inconclusive discussions.

Rating:
Summary: Noah Redux
Review: This book is not for the faint of imagination. It is a juxtaposition of otherworldly images. It requires a mindset turned away from the status quo and geared up for high adventure. Your prejudices are best left at the check-out.

Prepare yourself for every turnabout from the philosophical gay hero and his sister Noah who tends lions, to a rain God, a whale divinity, and creatures who live in a volcanic cave feasting on mushrooms and wine.

This writer has hopscotched past Don DeLillo and brings a new and original voice to the art. She has created her own mythology. "The Ark" is ready for boarding. Are you brave enough to sign on?