A Naked Singularity is a big, ambitious first novel, the kind of book where a new writer seems to want to fit in everything he has ever wanted to say. De la Pava surrounds the main story with digressions and philosophical interludes on subjects ranging from the boxer Wilfred Benitez to The Honeymooners.
Our narrator, Casi, is a public defender in Manhattan. In Part 1, he describes in fascinating detail the legal process from the time I am arrested through my arraignment. He handles numerous colorful defendants. In Part 2, one of Casi's fellow lawyers convinces him to commit "the perfect crime," while Casi also tries to help prevent the execution of a mentally-challenged man on Death Row. Part 3 describes the fallout from the action in Part 2, with a heavy Crime and Punishment influence.
I loved Part 1. The plot was realistic, the setting was well rendered, and the philosophical asides were well integrated with the story. (The theme was how/whether we can really know other people.) These virtues were less in evidence as the book went on. The key character in Part 2, Dane, was clearly a Tyler Durden-style projection of Casi's; the heist planning was nowhere near perfect, and the digressions felt random rather than thematic. In Part 3, the tone became entirely comic, and realism flew out the window.
But I sure did like the first half...
Our narrator, Casi, is a public defender in Manhattan. In Part 1, he describes in fascinating detail the legal process from the time I am arrested through my arraignment. He handles numerous colorful defendants. In Part 2, one of Casi's fellow lawyers convinces him to commit "the perfect crime," while Casi also tries to help prevent the execution of a mentally-challenged man on Death Row. Part 3 describes the fallout from the action in Part 2, with a heavy Crime and Punishment influence.
I loved Part 1. The plot was realistic, the setting was well rendered, and the philosophical asides were well integrated with the story. (The theme was how/whether we can really know other people.) These virtues were less in evidence as the book went on. The key character in Part 2, Dane, was clearly a Tyler Durden-style projection of Casi's; the heist planning was nowhere near perfect, and the digressions felt random rather than thematic. In Part 3, the tone became entirely comic, and realism flew out the window.
But I sure did like the first half...
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