The Book of Air and Shadows

Taylor514ce · 04-29-2008, 07:03 PM

Has anyone read this book, by Michael Gruber? What did you think of it? I'm interested not only in the plot, but also the writing style, since I've not read this author before. Thanks in advance.

zelda_pinwheel · 04-29-2008, 07:15 PM

i haven't, but the washington post reviewer quoted on amazon certainly makes me want to... (i was annoyed to see that, although the book claims you can "search inside", no excerpt is available. as in, you click and you get a lot of pages that all say "This page is not available." really frustrating.)

Sparrow · 04-30-2008, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i haven't, but the washington post reviewer quoted on amazon certainly makes me want to... (i was annoyed to see that, although the book claims you can "search inside", no excerpt is available. as in, you click and you get a lot of pages that all say "This page is not available." really frustrating.)

The links work for me

Taylor514ce · 05-13-2008, 09:10 AM

I just finished this book. Overall, I liked it more for the writing style, rich vocabulary and incredible metaphors and similes than for the plot.

Oh, the plot is wacky enough: old documents point to an undiscovered Shakespeare play. An IP lawyer, budding screenwriter, Jesuit street thug, Polish ex-spy and cryptographer, Russian-Jewish-Israeli mafia, and a mystery girl or two all race to find it. I was just a little tired of it about 2/3 the way through, however.

Then along would come a description about a leather seat "as soft as girls" and I'd be ready to read on!

Overall, it's worth a read.

Patricia · 05-14-2008, 11:48 AM

The trouble with lost Shakespeare plays is that they invariably get destroyed by the end of the novel.
Usually they get burnt, but not before the author has produced a tantalising extract, giving him/her the chance to display their skill at pastiche.

Taylor514ce · 05-14-2008, 11:54 AM

I will not spoil this book by revealing the ending. The author does a nice job of explaining Shakespeare scholarship, the import of any document that reveals anything about Shakespeare himself, etc. An actual lost play, would it exist, is referred to as the "Most Valuable Portable Object in the World" in the book. There is interesting background in scams and forgeries of old documents, and the tension between "is it a scam, or not" is well-maintained until the very end. All of this background material is revealed by the characters in the normal course of very readable conversation, rather than as dry, tedious asides.

Spoiler: the ms was devoured by ninja squirrels.

P.S. Patricia, did I get the Kanji right?

Patricia · 05-14-2008, 04:04 PM

Don't ask me, Taylor. I only did Japanese for a year and we stopped before kanji. The teacher tried us with hirigana instead. And now I've forgotten most of that.

kilohertz53 · 06-30-2008, 06:32 PM

I just finished "The Book of Air and Shadows" yesterday. I did enjoy it, although it had just a few too many plot twists towards the end. Overall, I think Michael Gruber's new novel "The Forgery of Venus" is better. It has the same sort of style and subject matter, but the plotting is streamlined and there are fewer characters to keep track of.

"The Forgery of Venus" does for painting what "The Book of Air and Shadows" did for Jacobean manuscripts. Definitely worth your time.

04-29-2008, 07:03 PM	#1
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	The Book of Air and Shadows Has anyone read this book, by Michael Gruber? What did you think of it? I'm interested not only in the plot, but also the writing style, since I've not read this author before. Thanks in advance.

05-13-2008, 09:10 AM	#4
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	I just finished this book. Overall, I liked it more for the writing style, rich vocabulary and incredible metaphors and similes than for the plot. Oh, the plot is wacky enough: old documents point to an undiscovered Shakespeare play. An IP lawyer, budding screenwriter, Jesuit street thug, Polish ex-spy and cryptographer, Russian-Jewish-Israeli mafia, and a mystery girl or two all race to find it. I was just a little tired of it about 2/3 the way through, however. Then along would come a description about a leather seat "as soft as girls" and I'd be ready to read on! Overall, it's worth a read. Last edited by Taylor514ce; 05-13-2008 at 12:32 PM.

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04-29-2008, 07:15 PM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	i haven't, but the washington post reviewer quoted on amazon certainly makes me want to... (i was annoyed to see that, although the book claims you can "search inside", no excerpt is available. as in, you click and you get a lot of pages that all say "This page is not available." really frustrating.)

05-14-2008, 11:48 AM	#5
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	The trouble with lost Shakespeare plays is that they invariably get destroyed by the end of the novel. Usually they get burnt, but not before the author has produced a tantalising extract, giving him/her the chance to display their skill at pastiche.

05-14-2008, 11:54 AM	#6
Taylor514ce Actively passive. Posts: 2,042 Karma: 478376 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: US Device: Sony PRS-505/LC	I will not spoil this book by revealing the ending. The author does a nice job of explaining Shakespeare scholarship, the import of any document that reveals anything about Shakespeare himself, etc. An actual lost play, would it exist, is referred to as the "Most Valuable Portable Object in the World" in the book. There is interesting background in scams and forgeries of old documents, and the tension between "is it a scam, or not" is well-maintained until the very end. All of this background material is revealed by the characters in the normal course of very readable conversation, rather than as dry, tedious asides. Spoiler: the ms was devoured by ninja squirrels. P.S. Patricia, did I get the Kanji right?

05-14-2008, 04:04 PM	#7
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	Don't ask me, Taylor. I only did Japanese for a year and we stopped before kanji. The teacher tried us with hirigana instead. And now I've forgotten most of that.

06-30-2008, 06:32 PM	#8
kilohertz53 Zealot Posts: 141 Karma: 671 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Harwichport, MA Device: Sony PRS-500, Sony PRS-350, Augen "The Book"	I just finished "The Book of Air and Shadows" yesterday. I did enjoy it, although it had just a few too many plot twists towards the end. Overall, I think Michael Gruber's new novel "The Forgery of Venus" is better. It has the same sort of style and subject matter, but the plotting is streamlined and there are fewer characters to keep track of. "The Forgery of Venus" does for painting what "The Book of Air and Shadows" did for Jacobean manuscripts. Definitely worth your time.

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