A review by melaniemgriffin
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

4.0

Two things: (1) I read the scathing review in the NY Times before reading _Beatrice and Virgil_, and I consequently expected to hate the novel; I didn't. (2) I read a library copy that had its dust jacket attached upside down and backwards, which turned out to be very appropriate, given Henry's obsession with the way his flip book would be constructed, but also very, very ungrounding. Which, I suppose, is a way of saying that there are really three things, and (3) is: I thought that _Beatrice and Virgil_ worked. A little overly obliged to Beckett, perhaps, and missing the sucker punch ending that _Life of Pi_ packs, but still pretty fabulous. Like its unintentional binding job, the book kept me off center.