This is one of the best books I've read in about ten years. It is difficult for me to be surprised by fiction anymore because I have been a reader for over forty years but in this case Ghostwritten has managed to do just that.

There are flaws in this wonderfully executed work. Mostly when he leaves the literary path of character and style and delves into the forbidding waters of politics, economics, banking, physics, ethics, and philosophy in general. In some cases the answers he gives are...well...at best sophomoric and tended to make me cringe. Let's be clear...I'm not criticizing Mitchell's work on the level of ideology but, rather, on the level of subtly, nuance, complexity, detail, and (in some cases) a firm grasp of the subject. Having said this I have to say this is to be expected on a couple of levels. Firstly, this is a freshman effort. Secondly, the sheer breadth of the narrative and the scope of the subject matter makes this inevitable.

Still, taking the good with the bad (of which there is little) this happens to be a great read. Character, style, plot, structure, suspense, complexity (the book is very much built around the theme of chaos theory - complex systems theory),and details are all bang on. For a book about randomness though it is very well planned...one of the many paradoxes you will find in the book itself.

I am only giving this book three and 1/2 stars though because near the end, with the Zookeeper, it becomes too skynet...too Terminator...for me to keep a straight face. Interesting trope though.

Recomendation: Buy, Borrow, or Steal this book. Excellent read.

If you are looking for more detailed information about the novel (it is a novel though framed as a collection of short stories) see the wikipedia that follows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwri...