Kalki

Rating:
Summary: Another Bull's Eye for the AMAZING Gore Vidal!
Review: It would be tough to find a writer with such a huge range as the great Gore Vidal in this or any other time! KALKI is surely one his "breezy", less difficult reads, but it scores on every play! The story of a deranged ex-Vietnam vet who metamorphsizes into a huge Hindu cult leader takes direct aim at the super- commercial media society, cults and apocalyptic religions in general, government agencies, ultra feminism, and about any other hyped up cant of the 1970's , or 2000's. It's ultimate message is horrific, especially relevent today. All written in the amusing, satiric, deadpan style of the incredible Mr. Vidal..In short, a bizarre, all too possible, fable for all of us, for all time.

Rating:
Summary: That '70s Book
Review: KALKI is very much a product of its time. And, as that time was the late '70s, one can see that the book is obsessed with many of the same things that other products of that era were fascinated by. The main protagonist is a female, she's an avowed feminist, she's overtly bisexual, she's an airplane test pilot, she constantly thinks about Amelia Earhart, and her autobiography was a rejection of motherly values, ghost-written by a man selected by her publishing company.

The rest of the story is similarly '70s in flavor. An Eastern/Hindu religious sect is claiming that their god Kalki has been reincarnated in the form of an ex-army soldier from the American Midwest. Their scripture claims that when Kalki returns to ride the white horse, the world will end soon afterwards; only the chosen few will survive. Naturally, since this is the '70s, everyone on the planet becomes obsessed with the Kalki story. The newsmagazine show, "60 Minutes" produces an unusually long segment investigating the Kalki phenomenon. Even Walter Cronkite gets into the act, making an amused comment on the impending end of the world.

In between the references to Watergate and the mentions of Ronald Reagan, there's a very effective religious satire going on here. Gore Vidal paints his satirical strokes a little broad at times, but when he focuses, the story soars. Fun is poked at, not only the religious cults that were springing up at the time, but many aspects of pop culture. Some of the jokes still apply today, of course. In fact, were this book to be written now, many of the shots at television news coverage wouldn't need to be changed at all.

Although the book seems most concerned with its satire, it also works extremely well as straight adventure/thriller. A genuinely enjoyable story, I simply could not figure out what direction it was going to go in next. The gothic tone of the ending slips in nicely after the whimsy of the beginning and middle. Vidal manages to get the balance of comedy and drama just right. Some moments are laugh out loud funny, while a page later one will be faced with sudden and utter horror.

Rating:
Summary: That '70s Book
Review: KALKI is very much a product of its time. And, as that time was the late '70s, one can see that the book is obsessed with many of the same things that other products of that era were fascinated by. The main protagonist is a female, she's an avowed feminist, she's overtly bisexual, she's an airplane test pilot, she constantly thinks about Amelia Earhart, and her autobiography was a rejection of motherly values, ghost-written by a man selected by her publishing company.

The rest of the story is similarly '70s in flavor. An Eastern/Hindu religious sect is claiming that their god Kalki has been reincarnated in the form of an ex-army soldier from the American Midwest. Their scripture claims that when Kalki returns to ride the white horse, the world will end soon afterwards; only the chosen few will survive. Naturally, since this is the '70s, everyone on the planet becomes obsessed with the Kalki story. The newsmagazine show, "60 Minutes" produces an unusually long segment investigating the Kalki phenomenon. Even Walter Cronkite gets into the act, making an amused comment on the impending end of the world.

In between the references to Watergate and the mentions of Ronald Reagan, there's a very effective religious satire going on here. Gore Vidal paints his satirical strokes a little broad at times, but when he focuses, the story soars. Fun is poked at, not only the religious cults that were springing up at the time, but many aspects of pop culture. Some of the jokes still apply today, of course. In fact, were this book to be written now, many of the shots at television news coverage wouldn't need to be changed at all.

Although the book seems most concerned with its satire, it also works extremely well as straight adventure/thriller. A genuinely enjoyable story, I simply could not figure out what direction it was going to go in next. The gothic tone of the ending slips in nicely after the whimsy of the beginning and middle. Vidal manages to get the balance of comedy and drama just right. Some moments are laugh out loud funny, while a page later one will be faced with sudden and utter horror.

Rating:
Summary: As a novelist, Vidal's a darn good essayist
Review: Kalki, written in the late '70s and very much a product of that era (for better and worse), was one of Gore Vidal's periodic satires on religion. In this case, the various End-Of-The-World-Movements that were so prominent towards the end of the last century is the brunt of most of Vidal's barbs. The plot deals with James J. Kelly, a former soldier and drug dealer who has recently declared himself to be Kalki, a human form of Vishnu who has come to Earth to end the latest age of mankind. Vidal's uneven book details the last days of -- well, the human race more or less. As an apocalyptic thriller, Vidal's book works. It holds your attention, the final twist is indeed unexpected, and he does a good job of maintaining a heightening level of suspense. That said, this is quite an imperfect book.

The novel is narrated by one Teddy Ottinger, a bisexual aviatrix and aetheist who hero worships Amerlia Earhart and spends far too much time bitterly complaining about the one Herbet Weiss, the man who served as ghost writer for her autobiography. While Ottinger is a vivid narrator, she is also probably one of the most unlikeable and just plain annoying narrators that I have ever come across. Monumentally self-absorbed, Ottinger's obsession with Weiss and her other ghost writer -- Bruce Sapersteen -- borders on the pathological (and, I think, an arguement of borderline anti-semetism could be made as well) and -- especially annoying -- doesn't contain any specific pay-off in the end. I'm willing to give Vidal the benefit of the doubt and assume that he meant for Ottinger to be such a pain but it still doesn't make it any more enjoyable to spend 273 pages with her.

Beyond his narrator though, Vidal never seems to have really settled on just what type of story he was trying to tell. While certainly comedy and drama can be mixed very succesfully, Vidal fails to do so in this book. The first three-fourths of the book is a wild satire on cults, religion, and international intrigue. The humor is a bit forced (and, quite frankly, smugly elitist) but still somewhat effective. However, once Kalki's plans are set into action, the book becomes grimly serious. This final third is the most effective part of the book but its still a jarring transition and Vidal doesn't quite pull it off. It hard to buy that the final third of the book is actually part of the same story that ran through the first half. Still, Vidal does manage to pull off a trick that has eluded many acclaimed authors -- he comes up with a truly killer (and surprising ending).

As a novelist, Vidal has always been a superb essayist. His characters and his plot twists have always served more as a vehicule for him to serve up his special brand of disdain than anything else. Hence, his plots often seem to be rather rudimentary. In his historical novels, this is usually less of a problem since, basically, the story has already been written for him and the characters are already familiar enough to us that he can get away with shallow characterization. However, in novels like Kalki, his weaknesses become more apparent and distracting. Unfortunately, Kalki basically reads like satire written by a satirist who, unfortunately, has no sense of humor.

Rating:
Summary: As a novelist, Vidal's a darn good essayist
Review: Kalki, written in the late '70s and very much a product of that era (for better and worse), was one of Gore Vidal's periodic satires on religion. In this case, the various End-Of-The-World-Movements that were so prominent towards the end of the last century is the brunt of most of Vidal's barbs. The plot deals with James J. Kelly, a former soldier and drug dealer who has recently declared himself to be Kalki, a human form of Vishnu who has come to Earth to end the latest age of mankind. Vidal's uneven book details the last days of -- well, the human race more or less. As an apocalyptic thriller, Vidal's book works. It holds your attention, the final twist is indeed unexpected, and he does a good job of maintaining a heightening level of suspense. That said, this is quite an imperfect book.

The novel is narrated by one Teddy Ottinger, a bisexual aviatrix and aetheist who hero worships Amerlia Earhart and spends far too much time bitterly complaining about the one Herbet Weiss, the man who served as ghost writer for her autobiography. While Ottinger is a vivid narrator, she is also probably one of the most unlikeable and just plain annoying narrators that I have ever come across. Monumentally self-absorbed, Ottinger's obsession with Weiss and her other ghost writer -- Bruce Sapersteen -- borders on the pathological (and, I think, an arguement of borderline anti-semetism could be made as well) and -- especially annoying -- doesn't contain any specific pay-off in the end. I'm willing to give Vidal the benefit of the doubt and assume that he meant for Ottinger to be such a pain but it still doesn't make it any more enjoyable to spend 273 pages with her.

Beyond his narrator though, Vidal never seems to have really settled on just what type of story he was trying to tell. While certainly comedy and drama can be mixed very succesfully, Vidal fails to do so in this book. The first three-fourths of the book is a wild satire on cults, religion, and international intrigue. The humor is a bit forced (and, quite frankly, smugly elitist) but still somewhat effective. However, once Kalki's plans are set into action, the book becomes grimly serious. This final third is the most effective part of the book but its still a jarring transition and Vidal doesn't quite pull it off. It hard to buy that the final third of the book is actually part of the same story that ran through the first half. Still, Vidal does manage to pull off a trick that has eluded many acclaimed authors -- he comes up with a truly killer (and surprising ending).

As a novelist, Vidal has always been a superb essayist. His characters and his plot twists have always served more as a vehicule for him to serve up his special brand of disdain than anything else. Hence, his plots often seem to be rather rudimentary. In his historical novels, this is usually less of a problem since, basically, the story has already been written for him and the characters are already familiar enough to us that he can get away with shallow characterization. However, in novels like Kalki, his weaknesses become more apparent and distracting. Unfortunately, Kalki basically reads like satire written by a satirist who, unfortunately, has no sense of humor.

Rating:
Summary: A tour de force.
Review: Stunning and shocking. I read it and must now buy a copy, as I must own it. One of the very few books I periodically want to go back and reread. Peopled with mystifying characters. What in the world could He want - this self-proclaimed messiah named Kalki? A very different take on Herman Hesse's Siddhartha.

Rating:
Summary: Heavy Handed Plot
Review: The plot overwhelmed this story, turning some fine characters into unbelievable stick people, reducing them to comic book figures. One gets involved with the bisexual narrator, Teddy, only to see the rug pulled from beneath her as she is surreptitiously pulled into a conspiracy to destroy mankind (including her two young kids!). Give me a break. It doesn't rescue the story to call it a satire-satire of what? Doomsday prophets? I enjoyed the zany cast with their double personalities until they were forced to cope with the dystopian horror ending. I don't think anyone could remain sympathetic or interested in such a cast of characters. Yes, the Kelly/Kalki character took mental illness to new heights in believing himself to be a trinity of Hindu gods, creators, preservers and destroyers but all he really did was immolate himself to Vidal's rather ridiculous plot. Is Gore asking us here-look ma, no hands-see what a ludicrous story I can tell?

Rating:
Summary: Heavy Handed Plot
Review: The plot overwhelmed this story, turning some fine characters into unbelievable stick people, reducing them to comic book figures. One gets involved with the bisexual narrator, Teddy, only to see the rug pulled from beneath her as she is surreptitiously pulled into a conspiracy to destroy mankind (including her two young kids!). Give me a break. It doesn't rescue the story to call it a satire-satire of what? Doomsday prophets? I enjoyed the zany cast with their double personalities until they were forced to cope with the dystopian horror ending. I don't think anyone could remain sympathetic or interested in such a cast of characters. Yes, the Kelly/Kalki character took mental illness to new heights in believing himself to be a trinity of Hindu gods, creators, preservers and destroyers but all he really did was immolate himself to Vidal's rather ridiculous plot. Is Gore asking us here-look ma, no hands-see what a ludicrous story I can tell?

Rating:
Summary: The best plot device ever . . . well, devised
Review: This book revolves around the most clever plot device I have ever encountered. It is stunning, twisted, diabolical, brilliant . . . well, you get the point.

This book is also notable in my experience for the seeming inability of friends to whom I loan it to resist skipping to the end to learn what happens. They find the suspense unbearable.

What else do you get when you read Kalki? So much. You get Vidal's elegant prose and his witty dialogue. In fact, spending an evening reading this book must be very similar to spending an evening with Vidal himself. His personality shines through on every page, without detracting from the story.

I believe Vidal is America's greatest living writer. He has turned his hand to nearly every literary form, and aced them all. He should win the Nobel Prize (except he isn't boring enough to win the nod from the Swedish Academy). If you don't know his work, then it's time to get acquainted, and this is a good place to start.

Rating:
Summary: One of the more readable of Vidal's "inventions"
Review: This is a very enjoyable read from Vidal. A cult led by a charismatic figure may or may not be able to bring about the end of the world. This is a funny-and scary-novel. Vidal's dialogue is witty. His observations are dead on target. The story moves forward rapidly, with few of Vidal's usual tangential meanderings. This may be because Vidal realizes that he has a great story to tell or that he was writing with one eye on a film deal (In fact, it was once planned as a movie with Mick Jagger playing the role of the cult figure). Not to be missed.