Here, in its entirety, is the review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY on the novel:
"Detman pulls
together various forms and styles in an ambitious novel composed of
transcripts, letters, and footnotes, told in sharp prose. On August 17, 1982,
renowned photojournalist Nathan “Basher” Thomas is fatally shot. Decades later,
Harry Ogletree, one of Basher’s closest friends, decides to write a screenplay
about the murder. Harry visits Basher’s mother to speak with her about the
project and collect a box of Basher’s personal effects. The contents of the box
spur recollections of a road trip across the Mexican Baja peninsula, arguments
in Michigan, and drug abuse in Paris, and also provide insight into Basher’s
death. Harry follows these clues to Rancho Nacon, a mysterious Guatemalan
jungle villa with an enigmatic caretaker. On his pilgrimage, Harry hopes the
people he questions and memories he uncovers will help to deconstruct the
mystery of Basher Thomas. Because of the book’s unconventional structure, the
narrative is fragmented. Although the disjointedness complements Harry’s
fractured search for information and meaning, the story’s momentum is often
slowed by passages that are needed to prevent confusion and explain earlier
elements of the novel. The best scenes focus on the intimate details and
relationships between the characters. Detman’s stylistic choices succeed in the
moments when Harry’s memories and Basher’s documents blur into the present,
layering various methods of storytelling to create a fresh and intriguing work."
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Many thanks to generous fellow blogger Jim at Wisdom of the West, who over the years has left insightful comments on items in this blog. Jim is publishing a serial interview with me about my novel, Impossible Lives of Basher Thomas. This complete interview is available here. The interview took place last month, and covers a variety of items, mainly concerned with character development, themes in the novel, politics in literary production, and the curious question of whether a reader should like or find a protagonist sympathetic.
