Pierluigi Urru Urru itibaren Baghaura, Uttar Pradesh 225412, Hindistan
By far the best of King's Martinelli mysteries. A great look at Fools through the ages as related to the mystery.
This was a complicated and sad story. It offered a dispassionate look at relationships that was sometimes quite wrenching. I found a degree of satire in Forrester's prose; or else a sort of veiled contempt at Britain's institutionalized colonialism and hereditary victorianism - and plenty of evidence in the novel that both were dehumanizing. The melancholy that pervades the book seems to stem from the fact that the wealthy, powerful European character seemed so inept at finding happiness. Though I confess I'm not complaining. While trying to avoid gross generalizations, I will say that this book strikes me as a compelling and cathartic portrait of human relationships. And the story itself is rich and slowly interesting. It is well worth reading.
Vonnegut is one of the greatest social commentators of our time. The drawings are a hoot.