Louis B. Jones

I feel like I'm on a personal quest to rescue certain books from obscurity, and this is one of them. It really ought to be much, much better known. It's stylish, blackly funny, and often quite profound. Maybe I have a soft spot for novels that deal with physics (who doesn't?), but this is a wildly imaginative ride, full of energetic and often hilarious prose. Here's the opening line:

"Say there is a very fortunate young newlywed, a theoretical physicist named Mark Perdue, who has just purchased a deluxe semidetached unit in the Cobblestone Hearth Village Estates development--across from the Paradise Mall in Terra Linda--at the edge of the new-built Phase III section where the lawns and driveways aren't installed yet but where all the foundations meet new seismic code requirements and everybody is guaranteed a Mount Tamalpais view."… (más)

Radiance was a puzzle for me. I really did like the way the book turned out, with the starlet obsessed with stardom coming into her own, but it was the in between that was a blur. A self-depreciating father, a mother who we never really get to know, a family tragedy...all of this whirls into a cacophony of literary prose that makes the reader want to continue, want to see what happens, no matter what the opinion of the book previously was. On a moral sense, I didn't like how easily the author addressed adultery but I suppose that is the way the world has gone, in this day and age. Louis has a way with words, and if you want a good coming-of-age story, with a number of life lessons along the way, this would be good for you. I just thought there were too many elements that didn't quite jive together nicely for me.… (más)

People use a variety of ways to identify themselves. Their profession, their friends and the amount in their bank account are but a few. Mark Perdue defined himself for a long time as a brilliant physicist as did others around him. His colleagues no longer find him interesting and his memory is fading under the effects of Lyme Disease. He was looking forward to being a new father again. The weekend in Hollywood with Carlotta is his time away to process his life and spend time with Carlotta before she becomes independent and leaves home for good.

I think anyone who is married or has looked at the state of their life can empathize with Mark's state of mind. Much of the novel is an interior dialogue commenting on the weekend's events. Jones hits on some universal truths.

Radiance: A Novel is well written but isn't for the person who wants lots of locations or action in their stories.

This would have more stars if I could've connected to any of the characters.… (más)