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lauramariani's review
3.0
In Alan Isler's second novel he continues a few trends from his first, [The Prince of West End Avenue]. The protagonist is a professor of literature and is teaching a class on Shakespeare when we meet him as an adult. He comes from a family of European Jews and is living in America. However, while the senior citizens of [The Prince of West End Avenue] seem to merely dabble in the petty and the vulgar, Nicholas Kraven resides there 100% of the time.
He's a character who some might find difficult to like -- rakish, amoral, sexually predatory, a compulsive and extravagant liar. The intricate plotting (there are many artfully arranged coincidences in the story) is fun, albeit sometimes difficult, to follow, and many characters are somewhat endearing in how over-the-top they become. Isler's sense of humor is what ultimately kept me reading, but I found it very difficult to care about these characters whenever he introduced more serious shades to the plot.
He's a character who some might find difficult to like -- rakish, amoral, sexually predatory, a compulsive and extravagant liar. The intricate plotting (there are many artfully arranged coincidences in the story) is fun, albeit sometimes difficult, to follow, and many characters are somewhat endearing in how over-the-top they become. Isler's sense of humor is what ultimately kept me reading, but I found it very difficult to care about these characters whenever he introduced more serious shades to the plot.
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