The Fugitives by Christopher Sorrentino

The Fugitives by Christopher Sorrentino is a sort-of mystery thriller that takes a literary deep dive into identity in today's world, as well as its dance with friendship & betrayal. Sorrentino treats these issues with a prose that is light and fun. Sandy Mulligan is a successful novelist with writer's block. He's a likeable bumbler who leaves his failing marriage & family, and heads for the hinterlands to recharge...and hopefully write. His publisher & editor are hounding him for some progress. He's not making much. 

Sandy becomes fascinated with John Salteau, a native Ojibway storyteller who performs at the local library. Sandy is intrigued with the freedom of John's art & process, a sharp contrast to his own stall. However, John does not look like an Ojibway or sound like one. A relentless reporter from Chicago, Kat Danhoff, takes an interest in John, but not as a story teller. She believes he might be a mob courier who fled the local Indian casino with a large pile of cash. She has several interviews with a sharply dressed "consultant" who has a vague assignment at the Ojibway casino. These exchanges are great cat & mouse exercises that thrust the issue of identity further under the lens of the book.

Needless to say, no one in the story is who he or she appears to be. Not quite...Sandy & Kat are exactly who they slowly reveal themselves to be: totally damaged human goods. A doomed affair shakily begins between them. The more we learn about Sandy, the less likeable he is. In fact, my only disapointment with the book, is that in the last few pages this picture becomes quite harsh. This is not surprising, but disheartening none the less. Forget that! The this book is a romp, a fun collision between satire and big existential issues.

So Much Blue by Percival Everett

So Much Blue by Percival Everett is a wonderful read: well written, empathetic characters, and deep insights. The prose moves from brainy to irreverent to humorous with ease. Everett has penned many books and in different genres. I have read that he might take a genre that he's never written & dive in, usually with success. In this case, I'm not sure what genre one would call Blue, but he's written with great humanity about family, friendship, art and secrets.

Blue is told in the self-deprecating first person voice of Kevin Pace, a 56 year old successful painter who seems mystified at his success. His self-absorption keeps him mystified about much of life, which he readily admits: his marriage, his relationship with teenage children, the art world. Kevin's candor about this gives the book much of its charm. Many passages about this are beautifully written. The one thing in his life that Kevin seems to have a solid footing with is his longtime friendship with Richard, that goes back to college days.

There are three story lines that are told in alternate chapters by Pace. Sometimes I'm not crazy about this structure, but in Everett's hands it works well. In each strand there is a secret that is slowly revealed. In the present, Kevin is struggling with his relationship with his wife, Linda, & two children. He is working on a huge painting in a separate locked studio that he will allow no one to see. This is not well received by Linda or Richard. They see it as Kevin's aloofness made tangible. Also, Kevin is asked to keep a secret that creates a very difficult situation for him. In his college years, he accompanies Richard on a search for his brother in El Salvador, as the country moved into civil war. This becomes quite dangerous & is evoked with the bumbling foolishness of youth. Kevin keeps a secret from this trip for over thirty years from Richard & Linda. The third strand is a bit less fulfilling. It is the story of a brief affair with a much younger watercolorist in Paris, Victoire. This is affair is a secret, but, secrets are also revealed for the first time, to Victoire. This seems believable because Kevin likely feels safe doing it there: they both know that the affair will end quickly & is so separate from their real lives. In the end, the three strands intertwine nicely, and secrets are revealed that might help Richard and Linda strengthen their relationship.

I'm a sucker for books about painters and novelists. Most of the time I am disappointed, but not in this case. Kevin's bemused attitude toward the frothy verbiage of gallerists critics, and towards his own success, is delightful. His reaction is basically: I'm just a painter, I put paint on a canvas.

If this novel were written by a lesser author, it might have been three times as long, and not a better book. In an age of unedited 500-700 page novels, I love it when a writer has the chops to tell a story cleanly, & get the message across elegantly, with no excess baggage. Everett has done this in Blue, & I highly recommend it.