The problem may be that "Gardener" is following one of the great reads of my lifetime: Peter Matthiessen's "Shadow Country." I would recommend this book to anyone with a pulse and the willingness to stick with 892 pages of a completely haunting character profile and a really effective, looping and relooping stylistic approach. Any recommendations of other Matthiessen novels or nonfiction to read????
Here's the real mystery: How can a book be so good that after reading all those pages I went back and re-read the first 250 or so again, because I'd learned so much by the end that I felt compelled to revisit the beginning? I'm in awe.
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Hooray for Pelecanos. I have been a fan since his very first published works. I'm lukewarm about some of his characters, but I admire his efforts to stretch his repertoire of characters. The Night Gardener is a fabulous read--although I agree that the current read often falls under the influence of the book you read last. And now it sounds like I may have to read the Matthiesen book you recommended.
Thanks, Kascha. Are there any other books by Pelecanos that you'd recommend to TodaysFrase's mystery fans? What do you think of his work on The Wire? The episodes that he wrote during the second season (corruption in the longshoremen's union) are some of the best things I've ever seen on TV.
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