Reviews – Books: M
RATINGS KEY
0/5 – Terrible. Avoid this book at all costs.
1/5 – Bad. Only read it if you’re a truly hardcore fan of the author/topic.
2/5 – Okay. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.
3/5 – Average. A decent one-time read.
4/5 – Good. Worth reading and worth buying.
5/5 – Excellent. One of my favorites; a worthy classic.
The Man From Beyond by Gabriel Brownstein
4/5 | Reviewed 9.13.06
Into the midst of my obsession with all things Houdini comes this novel, a creative story that’s both old and new. Set in the 1920s, during the brief and unlikely (and entirely real) friendship between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, the book turns their personal and professional relationship into the setting for a supernatural mystery spurred by a young medium named Margery; drawn into this web is Molly, a young reporter who is struggling both to get the story and to discover her own true nature. Normally, I get irritated with fictional retellings of factual tales, but this one is set apart from most banal attempts by the quality of its prose and its storytelling. The basic tenets of reality remain the same—Houdini is a debunker, Doyle a believer—but the character of Margery has been stripped of all but the most basic facts and rebuilt as an enigmatic young woman with a manipulative husband who may or may not be pulling her strings. Molly, the main protagonist, is appealing, likeable, and realistic; her inner turmoil is poignant and real. The prose is spare and yet hauntingly lyrical, dry humor laid over quiet melancholy; I envy this writer’s style and grace. It’s a much more solid read than I had expected—entertaining, thought-provoking, and remarkably unsettling.
