| Lancette Arts Journal Founded in 2000 |
Book Reviews |
December 2005 |
Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, paperback, 182 pages, $16.95, ISBN 0-7475-6165-6
The Bat Tattoo, paperback, 238 pages, $16.95, ISBN 0-7475-6163-X
Come Dance With Me, hardcover, 188 pages, $34.95, ISBN 0-7475-7452-9
By Alidė Kohlhaas
If you pick up a Russell Hoban novel, be aware that the author is always ready to surprise you, and that he refuses to be taken for granted. Yes, all of his novels are instantly recognizable as his works; yes, they have many things in common, among them his love for art, for museums, for London, even some characters pop up in more than one book; yet each novel is a surprising entity that invites a host of different reactions from its readers.
If you are a regular reader of Lancette book reviews, you will have come across my reviews of five of his books. Now I have read three more: Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer, The Bat Tattoo, and Come Dance With Me. Mr (no period after the r) Rinyo-Clacton's Offer is a reissue of a book first published in 1998. The Bat Tattoo came out in 2002 and in paperback 2003 (which is the one reviewed here). Come Dance With Me saw publication in 2005 in hardcover format. All are published by Bloomsbury.
I wish I could summarize them in a single paragraph as three interconnected works. But, alas, Mr. Hoban doesn't make it that easy for me. Despite some common elements, and the obvious signature of the author that lets you know at once that this is a Hoban work, these three books require separate treatment. They are individuals that want to be noted as distinct entities.
The protagonist of Mr Rinyo-Clacton's Offer is Jonathan Fitch, age 28, who has just lost a job and a girlfriend. He is contemplating ending it all at the Piccadilly Underground when along comes Mr Rinyo-Clacton, an opera buff. The impeccably dressed . . .
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