Sunday, August 23, 2009

Review: The Riverrun Trilogy by S.P. Somtow

The Riverrun Trilogy' by S.P. Somtow is one of the most enthralling novels I've read. The story is told in the first person, by several of the characters; each character relating individual perspective on events. Literary quotes, often poetic, occur in the beginnings of each long chapter, thus setting the mood for coming events. Characters are well developed and the story enrapturing, making one care how it may unfold.
This book makes me look into my own sociological workings, as well as the characters'. There are some memorable quotables to be found therein: for a little taste, "You've spent your entire life mythologizing the mundane. . . . Is that not the function of poetry?"p. 148; "Sometimes when I dream of Katastrofa she is like a dragon and she sucks me into herself and folds her wings around me---"p. 21; "Every man IS an island. The universe splits off a million million times each millisecond, and each of us carries a private universe around with him wherever he goes. Where the universes intersect, that's when we think we encounter other people and we think they are our friends and our parents and the other people we love. But we never really know them because we never cross from our little bubble of reality into theirs."p. 82.
I recommend this book to anyone (who can tolerate a little sexual content and explicit language).
Would that it were better known, so more could enjoy it!

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