I can't say I love this book, as there were many, many times when it felt like I was slogging through a marsh, and reading it was less wonder than it was work. But I found myself so attached to (oddly) the 40-something gay attourney, Martin, and related to him so fiercely that there's no way I can say that I didn't love this book. It pushed me to tears at times.Alright. I think this book has a little magic in it. If I were more musical and less visual, I think I would have appreciated the cadence and lyricism more. Instead, I can only truthfully admit to being engaged by certain scenes. But those scenes were wonderfully moving.I have talked to a friend a couple of times about how more stories need to be told about the cost of realizing your dreams, the story about the afterwards. This is like that.The plot is glacial. My fantasy and sci-fi reader friends may like this less than I did for that reason. It's really about feelings. But it offers rewards for persistance, and not all novels do. I have to be honest with you, when I started reading this book I was a little confused, since it was changing POV’s and eras at a great speed without a real logical connection. However, every single POV had its own appeal in the richness of description and intention of each narrator.Mr. Gallaway has that dashing touch of magical realism that I love in many Latin American authors, Garcia Marquez, Allende, Vargas LLosa, which you rarely find in works written originally in English. The story moved fluidly between the ages, taking you with apparent non-connection, but there was always a subtle sense of cohesion. So subtle you literally don’t find the links until almost the last moment.As the throng of evacuees from the terrorist attack walked around the transported ones, Martin heard a woman next to him said to a colleague, “Do you think we could hitch a ride if we poured vacuum cleaner bags over our heads?” That to me was the best line of the book.I bawled when Beatrice died, and I don’t cry easily. It was a truly moving moment.I highly recommend this book.
What do You think about The Metropolis Case (2010)?
What an interesting book and concept. Characters tied together by the opera, Tristan and Isolde.
—jojo
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mr. Gallaway, please write more.
—emmakun
