Ring on deli

Eric Giroux has done it again! Zodiac Pets

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Eric Giroux has done it again. Sophomore novels are tricky; some are just a copy of the first, some are rushed, and most are just not particularly good, but Giroux has been faithful to what worked in Ring on Deli and taken his work to a great new level of zaniness!

Zodiac Pets is a paradox, a hilarious, laugh out loud dystopian story set where the Boston suburbs bleed into rural New England. Parts Nancy Drew, parts George Orwell, Giroux masterfully blends the two, sometimes with dry humor, sometimes with brief notes on history, sometimes with jolting juxtapositions like Aristotle’s’ Academy and Cher sharing a page.

Gone is the teenage existential angst of Deli, replaced by a fresh take on a postmodern novel that would make Cervantes proud. Zodiac Pets, weaves a rich and inviting narrative from different points of the narrator’s life -sometimes addressing the reader directly! The political commentary has intensified, Giroux has grasped the zeitgeist of our time, and while still using local politics as a platform, the aim is national.

Zodiac Pets is a coming-of-age story disguised as an observation of modern politics in the US. Or is it the other way around? At any rate, the sides, the interwoven stories, the parenthesis are all just as good as the main thread, they are part of the structure of the story, adding texture, depth, and warmth. If you are looking for a Summer read, look no further.

Ring on Deli by Eric Giroux

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Ring on Deli ready to sail

Ring on Deli ready to sail

A few months ago I got a request from an old teacher colleague and friend to read his book ahead of the publishing date so I could write a pre-review to get the word out. I got the PDF and had it printed at my friendly neighborhood copy shop – where they accidentally printed it twice and bound it as one, making a hefty tome and an environmental tragedy in one. I did not notice until I started reading it weeks later, by which time it was too late to do anything about it but to work on my biceps.

I posted my review on Goodreads. Amazon, on the other hand, will not let me post it because I have not spent $50 in the last 12 months with them, something I am actually quite proud of. At any rate, here is the review, now go read the book!!

Ring on Deli is a rara avis of the current literary scene. Here is a well-built narrative, with a solid cast of characters that add human depth, texture, and color to a story about complex local -and national- issues such as capitalism, education, local government, even pest control! A story that makes you think, laugh, worry, and cheer. Ring on Deli, although satirical in spirit points to real, current concerns. Eric Giroux has hit the nail on the head with his style: a bit of John Irving to weave the narrative, a bit of Philip Roth for dark humor, and a bit of DBC Pierre for freshness, like cilantro. Using satire to sway opinion is as old as literature itself. From Medieval texts to current opinion journalism, through Voltaire and Swift, all have relied heavily on satire to avoid censorship and inquisition (both real and figurative). Ring on Deli is a brilliant read that I recommend without reservations.

Ring on Deli somewhere in the Mediterranean

Ring on Deli somewhere on the Mediterranean