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lori85's review against another edition
4.0
Narrator Ethan Muller, scion of a wealthy American dynasty, is estranged from his father and the family business. He runs his own gallery and hangs with the ultra-trendy, ultra-ironic New York art scene where the race is always on to discover the Next Big Thing. Life is a non-stop whirl of money, drugs, publicity, and personality until Muller is contacted one day by the superintendent of a seedy tenement owned by his family's company. Some 135,000 drawings have been discovered in the apartment of one Victor Cracke, a reclusive old man who has recently vanished. Despite his cynicism, Muller recognizes the value of the pieces right away.
But then Muller receives a call from a retired NYPD detective who had seen the New York Times review of Crackes' critically-acclaimed showing at Muller's gallery. The three cherubs shown in Panel 1, he explains, are all children who were raped and murdered in the late '50s and early '60s. He was the investigator assigned to the cases, but the killer was never found.
It soon becomes apparent that someone wants Muller to stop selling and exhibiting Cracke's work and may up the ante if he refuses to comply. So who was Cracke? Was he the killer? And why are we being given the complete century-long Muller family history, beginning with Solomon the Jewish-German immigrant peddler?
Kellerman's story ultimately centers on the issue of what constitutes art and what human activities can be elevated to the status of genius. My initial reaction to this book was that it was just too good to be "low-brow" genre fiction. In addition to tackling the complex themes of art, madness, and brilliance, Kellerman also employs advanced literary techniques such as irony, stream of consciousness, metafiction, and pastiche (the Muller family flashbacks are reminiscent of Gothic literature and the historical saga). In terms of satire, Kellerman's portrayal of the New York art scene blows away some more "literary" books I've read. When a whack to the head lands Ethan Muller a prescription for Oxycontin, he decides he will give the drugs to his girlfriend, a prominent art dealer, to pass it out as party favors.
But above all, The Genius is a mystery novel that it never forgets its original purpose. The plot twists, turns, and thickens and gives us a vivid portrait of New York City along the way, from its centers of power and wealth to its courts and cops to its most marginalized denizens. Indeed, if true genius and true art are those human creations that are unconscious and unintentional, then what is New York's "savage garden"? The sprawling oeuvre of Victor Cracke, in all its vivid and multifarious contradiction, is the world he occupied in mind and body. And as Ethan reminds us several times, he, our narrator, is the star of a real-life detective story and here's how it compares to your typical book of the genre.
At this point, I suppose I could make an underhanded compliment and say that it's a shame The Genius has been relegated to the mass-market paperback section at your local CVS. Except that would be to miss the whole point. I don't know if Jesse Kellerman is a genius or not (although he certainly outdoes both his parents) but I hope anyone looking for a good, solid, entertaining read will consider checking him out. Sorry, Jonathan.
Original Review
I lack the vocabulary to describe to what I saw. Regardless: a dazzling menagerie of figures and faces; angels, rabbits, chickens, elves, butterlies, amorphous beasts, fantastic ten-headed beings of myth, Rube Goldberg machinery with organic parts, all drawn with an exacting hand, tiny and swarming across the page, afire with movement, dancing, running, soaring, eating, eating one another, exacting horrific and bloody tortures, a carnival of lusts and emotions, all the savagery and beauty that life has to offer - but exaggerated, delirious, dense, juvenile, perverse - and cartoonish and buoyant and hysterical - and I felt set upon, mobbed, overcome with the desire to look away as well as the desire to dive into the page.
But then Muller receives a call from a retired NYPD detective who had seen the New York Times review of Crackes' critically-acclaimed showing at Muller's gallery. The three cherubs shown in Panel 1, he explains, are all children who were raped and murdered in the late '50s and early '60s. He was the investigator assigned to the cases, but the killer was never found.
It soon becomes apparent that someone wants Muller to stop selling and exhibiting Cracke's work and may up the ante if he refuses to comply. So who was Cracke? Was he the killer? And why are we being given the complete century-long Muller family history, beginning with Solomon the Jewish-German immigrant peddler?
Kellerman's story ultimately centers on the issue of what constitutes art and what human activities can be elevated to the status of genius. My initial reaction to this book was that it was just too good to be "low-brow" genre fiction. In addition to tackling the complex themes of art, madness, and brilliance, Kellerman also employs advanced literary techniques such as irony, stream of consciousness, metafiction, and pastiche (the Muller family flashbacks are reminiscent of Gothic literature and the historical saga). In terms of satire, Kellerman's portrayal of the New York art scene blows away some more "literary" books I've read. When a whack to the head lands Ethan Muller a prescription for Oxycontin, he decides he will give the drugs to his girlfriend, a prominent art dealer, to pass it out as party favors.
But above all, The Genius is a mystery novel that it never forgets its original purpose. The plot twists, turns, and thickens and gives us a vivid portrait of New York City along the way, from its centers of power and wealth to its courts and cops to its most marginalized denizens. Indeed, if true genius and true art are those human creations that are unconscious and unintentional, then what is New York's "savage garden"? The sprawling oeuvre of Victor Cracke, in all its vivid and multifarious contradiction, is the world he occupied in mind and body. And as Ethan reminds us several times, he, our narrator, is the star of a real-life detective story and here's how it compares to your typical book of the genre.
At this point, I suppose I could make an underhanded compliment and say that it's a shame The Genius has been relegated to the mass-market paperback section at your local CVS. Except that would be to miss the whole point. I don't know if Jesse Kellerman is a genius or not (although he certainly outdoes both his parents) but I hope anyone looking for a good, solid, entertaining read will consider checking him out. Sorry, Jonathan.
Original Review
moncoinlecture's review against another edition
4.0
Une presque relique de ma pile que celui-ci et j'ai bien fait de le sortir de là car je suis toujours friande de romans où il est question d'art. Ici, une caricature de cet univers bien réussie, une narration intéressante et un personnage principal imbu de lui-même mais pris malgré lui dans une histoire qui le dépasse.
Bref, un bon moment de lecture. ,
Bref, un bon moment de lecture. ,
frostling's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thatgirl_wyatt's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
wren_fox's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
glitterbomb47's review against another edition
3.0
I've had this book on my to-read list since 2007. I can't remember why I added it. I rather wish I never had.
The main character is a pretentious @$$ who I despised. He is a NYC art dealer who hasn't been on the subway in a decade. The book is full of self important rich person references. I can't decide if the main character is sexist or the author is. One of the characters uses a running joke that is pathetically unfunny.
However I give the book 3 stars because I was interested in the unfolding story of Victor Crack and his mysterious artwork. The resolution left something to be desired as it was essentially a deus ex machina.
In summary, I would recommend this only to big fans of NYC AND mystery. To everyone else, avoid.
The main character is a pretentious @$$ who I despised. He is a NYC art dealer who hasn't been on the subway in a decade. The book is full of self important rich person references. I can't decide if the main character is sexist or the author is. One of the characters uses a running joke that is pathetically unfunny.
However I give the book 3 stars because I was interested in the unfolding story of Victor Crack and his mysterious artwork. The resolution left something to be desired as it was essentially a deus ex machina.
In summary, I would recommend this only to big fans of NYC AND mystery. To everyone else, avoid.
justcallmelexie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5