false 137936 18 The literary history suspense novel has long been a genre appreciated by a small subset of general readers. It is currently enjoying a new vogue and a wider readership with the publication of such novels as <I>The Da Vinci Code</I>, <I>The Rule of Four</I>, and <I>Codex</I>. What these books have in common, and what <I>The Geographer's Library</I> can also claim, is a set of characters in the here and now grappling with questions about things that went on a very long time ago. Another characteristic is the unearthing or explanation of objects of great value. The trick is to weave these two realities together in a compelling way, one that will keep the reader involved in both stories.<p> Jon Fasman has taken a big chance with <I>The Geographer's Library</I>, his debut novel, setting out a complicated scenario in which a collection of priceless objects is stolen from the titular library and, eventually, scattered and re-collected a thousand years later--with very bad results for the final collector. The geographer is a real person, Al-Idrisi, a Spanish-Muslim philosopher, cartographer, linguist, and scholar who served in the court of King Roger of Sicily in Palermo in the year 1154. For the most part, Fasman's risk pays off, although there is a lot of meandering before we finally get to the final revelation.<p> The "wraparound" story is about a young journalist, Paul Tomm, who sets out to write a simple obituary about a professor who died in his office at Paul's Alma Mater. The man is Jaan Puhapaev, an Estonian perhaps, who is a terrible teacher, fires his gun out his office window twice, is odd, unavailable, and reclusive and yet is allowed to stay on for unknown reasons. He also collects only $1.00 a year in salary and has no other visible means of support. The core narrative is a description of the provenance and travels of each of the 15 objects--some or all of which may hold the secret of eternal life--stolen from Al-Idrisi. <p> A professor friend of Paul's, a policemen and a curious editor all get an investigation rolling regarding what really happened to Jaan, who is he, and is he perhaps much, much older than they think? Paul meets and falls for a neighbor and putative friend of Jaan's, a music teacher named Hannah Rowe, which moves the information curve upward. This is the least believable part of the story: it's easier to accept the alchemical power of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes than Hannah. That said, Fasman does bring it all home at the end with an expository chapter and two letters. A bit of a cheat, but at least the reader is neatly taken off the literary hook he has dangled on for 380 pages. <I>--Valerie Ryan</I> 1334338 2004 The Geographer's Library total:768|5:46|4:171|3:306|2:189|1:56| 768 2266 1068 158 2 1 true false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 04 16:36:20 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 04 16:56:59 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Mar 25 18:24:28 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 22:40:48 -0700 2009 1
So it's a do-ov...more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Jan 12 08:14:43 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 12 08:15:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Dec 10 13:40:06 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 13:40:11 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 06:01:56 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 06:02:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 15 07:17:12 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 07:18:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Apr 10 10:51:38 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 10:52:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 19:13:24 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 10:04:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 20 17:08:48 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 20 17:10:00 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 20 16:27:37 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 21 10:38:21 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jan 25 05:16:58 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 05:39:29 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 21:34:40 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 21:45:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Dec 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 01:21:50 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 01:31:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Aug 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 15:26:38 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 31 10:44:28 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Thu Jul 31 05:28:45 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 26 07:27:57 -0700 2009
What the book is about is Paul Tomm, a fresh-out-of-college journalist working for a small town weekly newspaper in Connecticu...more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jul 15 13:15:56 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 13:16:20 -0700 2008
Complaint #1: Okay, I suppose this book was supposed to be "brainy" with the in-depth descriptions of n...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 05:07:45 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 06 09:23:38 -0700 2008
Up until then, I was happily devouring this book with that touch of jealou...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Feb 12 08:50:36 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 08:50:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 19 08:09:43 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 19 08:09:55 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Mon Aug 27 13:24:02 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 13:25:39 -0700 2007 Fasman, Jon – Standalone
The Penguin Press, 2005- Hardcover
Paul Tomm is a young reporter in a small Connecticut town. When a local professor dies, Paul is asked to write his obituary. What starts as...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=780258