Salman Rushdie's book Quicotte (pronounced key-shot) is an homage to the tragicomic literary hero Don Quixote. In Miguel de Cervantes' novel 'Don Quixote de La Mancha', published in 1605, a middle-aged Spanish gentleman named Alonso Quixano becomes addled after reading too many heroic romances. Quixano dubs himself Don Quixote and - taking up sword and lance - embarks on a crusade to help the poor and destroy the wicked.
Don Quixote acquires a sidekick named Sancho Panza who accompanies him on his quest, and they have a series of adventures - including fighting windmills (that Don Quixote thinks are giants). During his crusade, Don Quixote falls in love with a peasant woman named Dulcinea, whom he thinks of as his princess.
In Quichotte, an Indian-American gentleman named Ismail Smile works as a sales representative for his cousin's American pharmaceutical company, called Smile Pharmaceuticals. Ismail travels around the southwest United States, stays in cheap motels, and gorges himself on television, including 'daytime talk shows; late-night talk shows; soaps; situation comedies; hospital dramas; police series; vampire and zombie serials; housewives from Atlanta, New Jersey, Beverly Hills, and New York; singing competitions; cooking competition; business competitions; competition for the affection of bachelors and bachelorettes; baseball games; basketball games; football games; etc.
All this befuddles Ismail's mind, and he falls in love with a beautiful New York television host named Salma R, whom he's never met.
Ismail also starts to behave oddly with customers, so his employer/cousin Dr. R.K. Smile fires him, but provides a nice severance package.
Ismail is now free to pursue Salma R. Thus he renames himself Quichotte and embarks on a cross-country journey to prove he's worthy of her love. Quichotte magics up a teenage son named Sancho to accompany him, and Sancho - who's a phantom at first - becomes a real boy with the help of an Italian cricket called Grillo Parlante (aka Jiminy).
Quichotte keeps Salma R informed about his quest by way of letters, starting with this missive:
"My dear Miss Salma R,
With this note I introduce myself to you. With this hand I declare my love. In time to come as I move ever closer you will come to see that I am true and that you must be mine. You are my Grail and this is my quest. I bow my head before your beauty. I am and will ever remain your knight.
Sent by a smile,
Quichotte
This is followed by more notes, which alarm Salma R, who 'has a bad feeling about them.'
We soon learn that Quichotte is not a real person. He's the main character in a book by an Indian writer called Brother.
Brother, who's been publishing mediocre spy novels under the pen name Sam Duchamp, decides to try his hand at innovative fiction.....and he starts with the tale of "lunatic Quichotte and his doomed pursuit of the gorgeous Miss Salma R."
As Duchamp's fictional story takes shape, it's clear that Quichotte strongly resembles Brother. Both Brother and Quichotte are Bombay-born Indian-American men with physical ailments: Brother has a bad back and Quichotte has a bad leg. Both Brother and Quichotte have successful sisters who survived cancer and are estranged from their brothers, who did them wrong. And both Brother and Quichotte have sons who march to different drummers: Brother's son ran off and got involved in shady internet activities; and Quichotte's son sprang from his imagination. The story alternates back and forth between Quichotte's fictional quest and Brother's actual memories, so we learn a great deal about both characters.
The novel is a rambling affair that touches on myriad concerns of the current era. Brother (who I assume is a proxy for Rushdie) explains that, with his book, he was "wanting to take on the destructive mind-numbing junk culture of his time just as Cervantes had gone to war with the junk culture of his own age;
He was trying also to write about impossible obsessional love, father-son relationships, sibling quarrels, and yes....unforgivable things;
About Indian immigrants, racism toward them, crooks among them;
About cyberspies, science fiction, the intertwining of fictional and real realities; and the end of the world."
Duchamp also wanted to "incorporate elements of the parodic, and of satire, and pastiche", and to write "about opioid addiction too; the American opioid epidemic and the scams associated with it."
Rushdie accomplishes all this this by delving into the history of his characters as well as their ambitions, motivations, behavior, relationships, thoughts, activities, and so on. For example, Dr. R. K. Smile has become a pharma billionaire thanks to the development of a sub-lingual Fentanyl spray called InSmile, which is 100 times stronger than morphine. Dr. Smile got the inspiration for marketing InSmile during a visit to Bombay, where he came across a business card that read, "Are you alcoholic? We can help. Call this number for liquor home delivery."
Hence InSmile is now shipped to every city, town, village, and hamlet in the United States, where it makes a substantial contribution to the opioid epidemic.
In fact Salma R, who's bipolar and a proponent of electroconvulsive therapy, is a pharmaceutical addict who's trying to acquire a bounteous supply of InSmile. This is what eventually connects her to Quichotte, who has access to the drug.
Other noteworthy characters are Brother's parents - who had successful businesses in India; Brother's and Quichotte's sisters and their significant others - one of whom is a male judge who dresses in evening gowns and heels at home; Brother's pedophile grandfather; Dr. Smile's ambitious social climber wife, called Happy; Salma R's mother and grandmother - both of whom were famous actresses; Salma R's staff - who enable her drug addiction; scientist Evel Sent, who's built a portal to an alternative Earth; and more.
A good part of the book focuses on Quichotte and Sancho's road trip across the country, from the southwest United States to New York, where Quichotte hopes to meet and woo Salma R. Like their 17th century predecessors, Quixote and his Sancho have many memorable experiences. For instance:
- Quixote and Sancho camp at Lake Capote in Colorado, and take out a map to plot their journey. A stocky young white woman - suspicious of the map - approaches and says, "Where are your turbans and beards? You shave your faces and take off the headgear to fool us? You look shifty to me. You up to something. You can dress yourself out of J Crew but you don't fool me." The following kerfuffle with campers gets Quixote and Sancho ejected from the campgrounds.
- In Billy's Diner in Tulsa, a confrontation with fellow diners results in slurs like: "F**k you. Get out of my country and go back to your broke bigoted America hating desert shitholes. We're gonna nuke you all" and "Where did you hide your turbans and f**king beards?"
- Quichotte and Sancho stop at a New Jersey Motor Inn, where the owner wants to examine their ears, noses, and teeth before allowing them to check in. It seems that people in town are spontaneously morphing into mastodons....and wreaking havoc to their surroundings.
There's plenty more going on in the novel. Among other things, both Brother and Quichotte attempt to make amends with their respective sisters, which sheds light on the women's grievances; Brother meets his son after many years, and tries to coax him onto the right path; and Quichotte has a memorable interaction with Salma R.
I got a kick out of the novel's innumerable references to popular culture, which are liberally sprinkled throughout the book. It makes me smile to think of Salman Rushdie plonked in front of the television or computer, or trolling the streets, making copious notes.
Salman Rushdie
If you like literary novels, you'd probably enjoy this book, which is long-listed for the 2019 Booker prize.
Rating: 4 stars
In this 4th book in the 'Jason Kolarich' series, the attorney himself goes on trial. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
While recuperating from a knee injury, criminal defense lawyer Jason Kolarich - a partner in the Midwestern law firm 'Tasker and Kolarich' - becomes addicted to the painkiller oxycodone.
To hide his drug habit, Jason conceals the tablets in an Altoids box and munches them throughout the day.
Jason's opioid dependency may explain the lack of judgment and misguided behavior that results in his being tried for first degree murder.
Early in the story, Jason has a meeting with a potential client named James Drinker - a big stocky man with curly red hair, large black glasses, and a substantial beer gut. Drinker announces that two women of his acquaintance have recently been murdered, and - though he claims 'I didn't do it' - Drinker fears he'll be framed for the killings.
Drinker asks Jason EXACTLY how a person might go about framing someone, and the lawyer provides a step by step primer. (So that's not too bright.) Before long more women are killed, and each time Drinker claims 'I didn't do it.' As the bodies pile up, however, Jason comes to believe Drinker DID do it. All this leads to big problems for the attorney.
Meanwhile, Jason meets a beautiful court reporter named Alexa Himmel.
Jason and Alexa go on a few dates, have a lot of hot sex, and become a couple. Alexa is very sympathetic about Jason's 'hurting knee' (which is completely healed) and encourages him to take all the painkillers he needs. In fact, Alexa even obtains (illegal) pills for her boyfriend. Soon afterwards, Alexa manipulates the situation so that she's practically living with Jason.
Jason's law partner, Shauna Tasker - who's concerned about Jason's sickly appearance, weight loss, and odd behavior - hints that Alexa is bad news.....but the drug addict doesn't want to hear it.
In a coup de grâce Jason returns home one night to find a dead woman in his living room, shot with HIS gun.
The attorney is arrested, charged with murder, and put on trial. It looks like someone very cleverly framed Jason!
Jason insists on being defended by Shauna, even though she's a civil litigator, not a criminal lawyer. Shauna nervously takes on the task, knowing she'll have guidance from her partner.
The story is told from the alternating points of view of Jason and Shauna, and switches back and forth between the trial and the events leading up to it. There are numerous court scenes, with lots of maneuvering by the prosecution and defense - so plenty of fun for fans of legal thrillers.
The book is well-written, with a variety of interesting secondary characters, including: the district attorney, the judge, and the private investigator - Joel Lightner - who makes inquiries for Jason. Lightner's discoveries are very important to the story.
The author does a good job with twists and surprises, which are cleverly woven into the novel. We also see Jason deal with his opiate addiction and withdrawal, a topic that's very relevant these days.
All in all an enjoyable mystery/thriller, recommended to fans of the genre.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Tsukuru Tazaki, 36 years old and living in Tokyo, is a moderately wealthy, well-educated engineer who designs and builds railroad stations - a job he's wanted since childhood.
Nevertheless Tsukuru has few friends, is lonely, and can't see a happy future for himself. Part of the problem is a trauma Tsukuru experienced as a teen. In high school Tsukuru was part of an extremely close group of friends - two girls and three boys - that spent most of their free time together, always had things to talk about, and loved each other's company.
Soon after Tsukuru started college however, the group shut him out - told him not to try to see or call them - with no explanation.
The resulting depression almost killed Tsukuru; he lost weight and his physical appearance changed dramatically.
Tsukuru eventually recovered and went on with his life but he avoided visiting his home town, rarely saw his family, and was afraid to trust people for fear of being hurt again.
At the urging of Sara, a woman he's currently dating, Tsukuru decides to find and confront his friends - one at a time- to discover what happened all those years ago.
The story moves back and forth between the past and the present and we learn about Tsukuru's relationship with his friends, college years, career development, and so on.
We discover that Tsukuru swam for recreation when he was in college and developed a friendship with a fellow swimmer, Haida.
Haida helps Tsukuru develop an appreciation for classical music and becomes a frequent weekend guest at his apartment. This part of the story has aspects that seem like magical realism.
For example, Haida tells a story about his father taking a year off school as a young man to work as a handyman in a rural spa. There he met a kind of 'hippy' Jazz pianist who saw colored auras around people that revealed things about them.
Tsukuru also has vivid erotic dreams about the girls in his teen group and Haida - and has difficulty separating these dreams from reality.
In the course of the story Tsukuru tracks down most of his old friends and gets an explanation for their behavior, which helps him move on. The story is slow-moving and Tsukuru is too laid back a character for my taste. It's hard to believe Tsukuru didn't act sooner to discover why his friends abandoned him. Also - when he got the explanation - his reaction should have been more dramatic. However, this probably isn't the point of the book which is about Tsukuru's quest to understand his life and find happiness.
Murikami does a good job with ambiance, and provides colorful descriptions of people and their surroundings. I got a feel for parts of Japan and Finland that are described in the story, and the characters were interesting if not always believable.
Japanese town
Finnish town
Not a bad book but not really my cup of tea. Fans of Murikami would probably enjoy the book more than I did.
Rating: 3 stars
In this 5th book in the 'Orphan X' series, the death of a forensic accountant enmeshes Evan Smoak in a fight against formidable opponents. The book provides enough background information to be read as a standalone.
*****
When Evan Smoak was a spindly twelve-year-old living in an orphanage - where he slept on the floor between bunks - he was 'rescued' and placed in a black ops program that trained orphans to be highly skilled assassins. Evan was dubbed Orphan X.
After doing his assassin job for many years, Orphan X left the black ops program and set himself up as 'The Nowhere Man', a badass who helps people in trouble. When a person in dire straits is given Evan's number by a former client, the call goes to Evan's uber-encrypted RoamZone phone, which he answers with the phrase "Do you need my help?"
Max Merriweather badly needs Evan's help. A few months ago, Max was entrusted with a yellow envelope by his cousin, forensic accountant Grant Merriweather.
Max was instructed to give the envelope to Los Angeles Times reporter Lorraine Lennox in the event of Grant's death. Now Grant has been brutally tortured and killed.....and when Max tries to give Lennox the envelope, he finds her dead. Max is now REALLY scared.
Max is a sad sack who's a failure in a family of overachievers and whose ex- wife - whom he still pines for - can't bear to look at him. Wanting to do at least one good thing in his life, Max is determined to take care of the envelope business before it blows back on Grant's wife and pregnant daughter.
Terribly frightened and not knowing what to do, Max stumbles into a coffee shop and collapses onto a stool. As it happens Evan's previous client, an autistic savant named Trevon Gaines, sits down beside Max.....and the RoamZone number is passed on.
Max calls the RoamZone, and Evan agrees to help the beleaguered man.....which turns out to be a Herculean task.
The envelope Max was given contains a thumb drive that details an Armenian gang's multi-million dollar money-laundering scheme. The Armenians are determined to kill Max and get the drive, so they search Max's house, ransack Grant's office, and eliminate anyone who gets in their way.
Evan manages to hide Max in a dilapidated house in the poorest part of Los Angeles, where the downtrodden man is supposed to remain until the coast is clear.
Evan uses his superb skills to neutralize the Armenian gang, and thinks job well done. Max is now safe.
But nooooo. It turns out there's someone more powerful than the Armenian gang leader calling the shots, and that person continues to send killers after Max and the thumb drive.
As things shake out, every time Evan defeats a nemesis, there's someone even higher up - and better connected - going after Max and the drive. (In my own mind, I was thinking, 'How far up does this go. The mayor? the governor? the President? Putin?' 😏)
The book isn't quite non-stop action, but it's pretty close, and Evan has to grapple with innumerable human killers as well as vicious fighting dogs. This gives Evan the opportunity to show his softer side, since he rescues a 'bait dog' and brings it to his protégé, a 16-year- old girl called Joey.
Joey is a gifted computer hacker who has an apartment chock full of computers, monitors, and high-tech gadgets....and a healthy supply of orange juice, Red Bull, and Twizzlers.
For a bit of light relief, Evan interacts with the other tenants in his apartment building, who think he's an importer of industrial cleaning supplies. When Evan is charged with bringing 'nibbles' to an HOA meeting, he's REALLY out of his depth. 😊 Still, Evan is compassionate when a mugger snatches a necklace from his neighbor - octogenarian Ida Rosenbaum - and that thief is in for a bad time.
As usual in this series, Evan gets into trouble with Mia, the district attorney who lives a few floors below him. Mia is attracted to Evan, but knows there's something 'off' about him.
For his part, Evan likes Mia and her 9-year-old son Peter. In VERY different circumstances, Evan and Mia might be a couple, but killers like Evan can't form romantic bonds.
As Evan deals with one threat to Max after another, he keeps saying he's going to quit being 'The Nowhere Man' after this mission, so he can lead a normal life. That would be a shame.
I like the novel, which is fast-moving, exciting, and a good primer about various weapons and explosives. If you enjoy action stories, this is the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Gregg Hurwitz) and the publisher (Minotaur Books) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
