I don’t normally recommend a book before I’ve finished reading it, but I’m enjoying this one so much that it seems silly not to. The story is strange and expansive, including a former Marine hunting for a gambler in Las Vegas, a teenage grifter in Los Angeles, and a 16th century alchemist in Venice. But the whole thing is infused with so much mystery and the sense of another world lurking just below the surface that I’m finding it impossible not to be transported. I’m finding myself rationing my reading just because I don’t want it to be over too soon.
In many ways, it’s reminding me of Donna Tart’s The Goldfinch, another book that I adored. It’s not just that both books feature long, beautiful sections that take place in Las Vegas. It’s that both books are so confidently written and contain such a fully conceived world that it’s not a question of whether you get lost–it’s a question of how delightfully lost you’ll get.
inga gardner 