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Débutant takes wing. In the wrong hands magic realism can be just about the most fey artform on the planet, making morris dancing resemble cage fighting by comparison. But get it right and you have Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, or Luis Borges’s A Universal History of Infamy. Rubenstein’s debut doesn’t put him in that league, but it marks him out as a writer to watch.Gullboy hinges on Ernesto - twenty-something layabout husband to Venus, a nascent Internet porn star - discovering a baby with wing-like arms near their Brigton Beach home. Rubenstein lards his father-son narrative with a confusion of sub-plots, from Russian mafiosi to scheming doctors and lawyers, but his ear for dialogue and sharp wit prevent his novel from unravelling, as does his admirable avoidance of sentimentality. Which isn’t to say that he hasn’t got a heart: Ernesto and Franco’s accelerated relationship (Franco grows at avian speed) is beautifully portrayed. It’s almost enough to have you wiping tears off the end of your beak. Gullboy by Wade Rubenstein, out now published by Counterpoint.
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comment by etonian60
Jul 12, 2006
Gullboy is full of the realism of fact colored by rather laborious and overly clever satire. But it has no sustained action, rather as realism or as satire. It is a bulky collection of scenes, types, caricatures, humorous episodes, and facetious turns of phrase, a mine of comedy from which the ore has not been lifted.
comment by wordstew
Jan 28, 2006
And sharp wit, indeed. I loved mr. rubenstein's story, not only for the tale, but for the artful telling. The "Identity Investments" bit was spot on, the internet porn debut hilarious, and the father-son relationship poignantly done. For those who enjoy books that crackle with smarts and raw energy, this story is for you. Just don't expect your village window licker to cotton on.
comment by MsBeano
Jan 25, 2006
The Incomprehensible Tale of a Confederacy of Loons. Author must be barking, totally away with the mixer. This book is as satisfying as a fart in a colander. Send it back across the pond where it belongs.
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