KALKI

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.