From the Bookshelf of Closter Public Library…

[close] A sprawling often exciting book that makes even uninteresting subjects (to me) fascinating. Two different threads that involve motorcycles make up much of the plots. One concerns a young woman called Reno (not sure if that is really her name; she is from Nevada), who falls into the NYC art scene in the 70's, and races a motorcycle across the Nevada salt flats in order to document the marks by photography. Her motorcycle is made by the Italian company Valera, and the other (to me less interesting) thread follows the teenage boy in early 1900's Italy who founds the company. The book is flooded with ideas and interesting discussions, what held me back from loving it is the passivity of Reno. That seems to be intentional; more than once is she described (even by herself) as someone to whom things happen. She is involved with some pretty horrible self centered men, and the feminist in me would have preferred to see her break away from her own witnessing to be an actual participant.