The hero of this one-of-a-kind novel is Russel Darlington, a born naturalist and an unlikely romantic hero. We meet him in the year 1895—a se...
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reviews
Apr 22, 2011
Raul
rated it: 
Quite simply this is one of the most stunning technical achievements in literature. The rhymes are effortlessly casual and don't really follow any pattern except that each line in a stanza gets a rhyme within that same stanza. Damn good story too -- about a naturalist named Russell Darlington and the various ways in which he falls: a literal fall while chasing butterflies which leaves him crippled; falling in love with the wrong woman; a spiritual fall; and so on.
Jan 27, 2010
Ron
rated it:
A "novel in verse" as real and absorbing as almost any novel written in the last several years. While the quality of the verse itself - as one might imagine for a work this long - can vary from inspired to pedestrian at times, the overall result is delightful, and never caused my interest to flag for a minute.
The book tells the story of one Russell Darlington, a naturalist somewhat removed from the passions and interests of his fellow human beings, whose "fall" ( More...
The book tells the story of one Russell Darlington, a naturalist somewhat removed from the passions and interests of his fellow human beings, whose "fall" ( More...
Nov 12, 2008
Benjamin
rated it: 
A novel-in-verse, loosely tied stanzas of ten lines each. Not as technically strict as some other long verse I've read, but that allowed Leithauser to almost entirely avoid the clunky passages that haunt even the best poets when they take on long poetry. Some truly beautiful passages in this. A pleasure.
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