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27th out of 131 books
—
232 voters
The Grand Complication
Critically acclaimed for his international bestseller, A Case of Curiosities, Allen Kurzweil has been called one of today's most gifted new voices in fiction. Now he returns with The Grand Complication -- a modern-day tale of literary intrigue, deviant passions, and delicious secrets. Behind the majestic walls of a Manhattan town house, a stylish young reference librarian...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
August 21st 2002
by Theia
(first published August 1st 2001)
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The basic plot seems simple enough: a rich older gentleman hires a research librarian to help him track down an object that once resided in a compartmentalized case (in fact, the case is the eponymous Case of Curiosities from Kurzweil’s first novel). The search, its results, and its aftermath form the framework of the book. But hidden within this seemingly bland framework is a story as wonderfully complex as an Escher print: characters are not who they seem to be; motivations are called into que...more
The Grand Complication follows a New York public librarian, Alexander, on his adventure to solve a case of a missing watch for a patron, the mysterious Mr. Jesson. It's no ordinary watch though, but the real life legendary Marie Antoinette watch that really was stolen out a museum in Jerusalem in 1983. This all sounded delightful to me and I was happy my husband bought it for me for Christmas, but it turns out that the premise is the best thing about this book. It honestly took the author about...more
Nov 08, 2009
Shalyn
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
librarians-in-fiction
I'm a sucker of fiction in which a main character is a librarian -- that's how I ended up with this book.
The story sounded promising: a librarian who does research independently as a side job takes on the task of figuring out the meaning behind a collection of items that belonged to an 18th Century inventor for a wealthy (how convenient), eccentric client who is a bit of a mystery himself. There's also a kind of anti-love story goin on, and while parts of it are interesting, basically what's ha...more
The story sounded promising: a librarian who does research independently as a side job takes on the task of figuring out the meaning behind a collection of items that belonged to an 18th Century inventor for a wealthy (how convenient), eccentric client who is a bit of a mystery himself. There's also a kind of anti-love story goin on, and while parts of it are interesting, basically what's ha...more
The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzweil was a mixed bag. Alexander Short is a librarian working at a large public library in New York City. One day, while working at the reference desk, he is approached by a man who wants “to steal a moment of his time” and requests a book about secret compartments in old furniture, a topic Alexander is furiously interested in. The two, Short and the patron, Henry Jesson, embark on a quest to find a lost watch to complete Jesson’s collection. The journey is int...more
to be honest, i don't remember much from this book... except that it's about librarians... and has this really great scene where library workers are playing this annual game, maybe it's a holiday game?, in the basement of i think it's the NYPL humanities research library... and the game is who can come up with the most accurate dewey number for a book. i so geeked out over that one...
It’s weird when someone gives me a book they think I might like. First of all, how obligated am I to read it right away- or at all? I mean, I have my own reading list to go through. There’s also the issue of what if I don’t end up liking it?
The book in question was “The Grand Complication” by Allen Kurzweil. Someone recommended it to me because the main character was a librarian and had all these inside jokes about libraries and working in one. Luckily, I enjoyed reading it because of those thin...more
The book in question was “The Grand Complication” by Allen Kurzweil. Someone recommended it to me because the main character was a librarian and had all these inside jokes about libraries and working in one. Luckily, I enjoyed reading it because of those thin...more
As a suspenseful mystery thriller, this novel could very well become an entertaining film, especially with the final scenes in the book.
I enjoyed the 'insider' humor on conducting research, and working in libraries. Someone less familiar might need to look up certain terms and practices regarding the organization and operation of libraries. That should not deter readers from this book; it's not that complicated...
Actually, I believe the author's intention (or one of them) is to motivate us to...more
I enjoyed the 'insider' humor on conducting research, and working in libraries. Someone less familiar might need to look up certain terms and practices regarding the organization and operation of libraries. That should not deter readers from this book; it's not that complicated...
Actually, I believe the author's intention (or one of them) is to motivate us to...more
Oct 16, 2011
Micha
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
book people, mystery or puzzle lovers, antiquarians
Shelves:
books-2008,
re-read
I loved the idea behind this novel and getting to know the library the main character works in. It's characters are fascinating and being a part of their lives for awhile was my favourite part of this book. Unfortunately, I found the writing style a little dry, so it was difficult to really get into the parts that didn't directly connect with the library itself. Perhaps it deserves a second look from me, as there were many parts about this book that I loved and would recommend it for readers, l...more
Sep 25, 2011
Lynn
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes fact-based mysteries
Shelves:
mystery
I very much enjoyed this book ... and even more so after the fact after doing a little research and discovered that the Marie Antoinette is not a figment of the author's imagination but, in fact, very real, and that its theft was as described in the book.
(FACT UPDATE: I was delighted to learn that, 25 years after the occurrence of the theft described in the novel and several years after the book was written, the mystery was finally solved. All but a very few of the items stolen have been recover...more
(FACT UPDATE: I was delighted to learn that, 25 years after the occurrence of the theft described in the novel and several years after the book was written, the mystery was finally solved. All but a very few of the items stolen have been recover...more
Your Local library may have this book shelved as a Mystery. Well it's not really a mystery at least not a traditional mystery yes something has been stolen and the main character is looking for it but that is really a side plot to the greater mystery of human relationships. Alexander short has to uncover the secret to gettign along with people. His wife his coworkers his mysterious benefactor. Everyone really. Normally I would avoid a book like this but it was so well written that I did realize...more
Aug 06, 2011
Matthew
added it
Unfortunately, as good as A Case of Curiosities was, it only heightened the dissappointment of The Grand Complicatioon. Trying very hard to be Richard Powers or Paul Auster was not the way to go here. The tone of the first book is completely missing. I love historical novels, and the sense of time and place in A Case of Curiosities was captivating, but totally lacking here. Too much twee nonsense about library nerds, boolean search strings and art heists. None of the characters seemed the least...more
Yet another mystery book that took me about 5 weeks to read, I don't know what is wrong with me. By the end I enjoyed it so for the rating (I don't know why every book needs a personal rating) I'm really on the fence between a three and a four.
I picked a three because of the amount of time it took me to get into it. It about a librarian that gets commisioned by a rich individual to solve an artifact mystery. Because I'm a librarian some of the attempted dewey humor came off as lame or grating at...more
I picked a three because of the amount of time it took me to get into it. It about a librarian that gets commisioned by a rich individual to solve an artifact mystery. Because I'm a librarian some of the attempted dewey humor came off as lame or grating at...more
This is set in NYC, the hero being a librarian and eccentric. He is hired by an even more eccentric patron to research a watch originally dedicated to Marie Antoinette and stolen 20 years ago from the museum that housed it. The search goes along well-enough but then Our Hero discovers he is actually retracing his employer's steps, and then he gets angry. Bizarre, somewhat pleasant, good characterizations of life as a library employee.
Like many other readers I have to say that this story is not exactly one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's a bit like watching a weekly drama on TV, little things happen that progress the story, but overall it's like watching life in slow motion. I enjoyed the book, I liked the characters and settting of library and research work, and would like to see a series using the main character.
The Grand Complication by Allen Kurzweil is a pure work of art. The mystery which revolves around the search for a lost historical timepiece contains all of the elements of an intriguing mystery. The eccentric characters are an added pleasure while the construction of the text itself into a novel of 360 pages reflecting the importance of the timepiece is truly inspired.
A great read. Obsessive-compulsive librarian as main character, a hunt for a mysterious watch to fill a cabinet of curiosities, an ailing relationship with a French woman who makes pop-ups, and an eccentric old man who may or may not be more than he seems...
What's not to love? I especially liked the library quiz/party towards the end.
What's not to love? I especially liked the library quiz/party towards the end.
This mystery was great fun and I loved the chosen setting of the New York Library reference desk. Great writing, a good vocabulary builder too! Even for its title, the overall plot wasn't all that 'complicated' which is why I didn't give a full five star rating. If you like libraries and mysteries, its for you.
The author of A Case of Curiosities presents a follow up novel which can be read independently. One of the openings in the case of curiosities is empty. A mysterious gentleman seduces a librarian into helping him with the search for the lost object. Witty, erudite, sexy and sinister. Very good read.
A New York "mystery" with obsessions of 18th Century chronometers and library science. This had a pretty high credibility hurdle for me, but Kurzweil makes it interesting and enjoyable. His characters have more intellectual than emotional depth but the pace covers this well and this perspective on the public library is priceless.
A clever (maybe too clever) tale of adventure involving the relationship between an experienced librarian and his wealthy dilettante employer. Marred, as many novels often are, by a less than satisfactory conclusion... a bit too far-fetched in my opinion.
Interesting idea about a librarian employed to track down a beautiful watch, but the execution was lacking. Boring characters, contrived ending, and the whole thing with the 360 pages and little gears just seemed to support that the book was much more a concept than a realized story.
A fun novel. Sort of a detective story with a love conflict thrown in. Alex Short, a librarian, is hired by a rich guy to find a watch once owned by Marie Antoinette called the Grand Complications. of course he encounters other complications.
This is part of my "rereading my bookshelves" binge -- I'm trying to only keep books that I'd really want to read again. This one is a fast-moving, quirky mystery, and the main character is a reference librarian in New York.
Mar 05, 2013
Ayelet Waldman
added it
This is a wonderfully complicated trick of a first novel. The writing is engaging and the story is fun. I've decided to believe that all the library details are absolutely correct, especially the Lord of Misrule.
A wonderfully quirky novel, starring a protagonist with 18th century interests, living in the present and becoming embroiled in a mystery that that jumps between past and present. Delightfully eccentric
Complicated-re a librarian and her cataloging mysteries!
I am half way done--about a pocket watch belonging to Marie Antoinette-gets stolen from a museum in Jerusalem-interesting method of solving mystery-researching through library card catalogues for information on its history. Good read--a bit complex like the workings of the insides of a clock!
I am half way done--about a pocket watch belonging to Marie Antoinette-gets stolen from a museum in Jerusalem-interesting method of solving mystery-researching through library card catalogues for information on its history. Good read--a bit complex like the workings of the insides of a clock!
Very readable and fun book. I'm not sure that much stick with you. Definitely a book for librarians and people that work there. There's a little more to this book than the usual mystery, but not really worth trying to figure out what that is.
It isn't every day that you find a mystery-suspense novel about librarians, and these sort of books don't usually make for good airport reading. But this one did keep my attention riveted, was easy to jump into amidst the chaos of my reading environment, and had numerous section breaks inside short chapters so that I didn't mind multiple interruptions. I appreciated that the small gear which separated the sections turned by exactly 360 degrees throughout the book and that the pages numbered 360...more
The premise was better than the execution. It was complicated, but not grand.
This was a fun book to read. I don't usually like mysteries. The story involves librarians, books, research, libraries, enclosures, etc. I would actually recommend this one to friends.
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The son of Viennese émigrés, novelist Allen Kurzweil was raised in Europe and the United States. Educated at Yale and the University of Rome, he worked for ten years as a freelance journalist in France, Italy, and Australia before settling in the United States and turning his attention to fiction.
Devotion to the complicated passions of his characters has led Allen to take courses in pop-up book de...more
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Devotion to the complicated passions of his characters has led Allen to take courses in pop-up book de...more
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