book review the war of don emmanuel's nether parts by louis de berniere of corelli's mandolin fame. good, in short. magical realism done well, although given that it takes place in south america, it can't but help feel a bit derivative. which harks back to the conversation with my friend about copying. in the end i can't fault it too much, its a fun and amusing book, but with darker undertones of nasty politics and the viciousness of ideology (whatever it happens to be). Except in the case, it all, or mostly, ends well, and even the dead aren't so bad off. The array of characters is as brilliant as it is in corelli's mandolin and the level which humor operates is very similar, and one of my favorite sorts of humor.

speaking of de berniere, I'm also reminded of red dog which is a short little book, telling the tales of a dog in nw australia, who travels from town to town winning the hearts of those he encounters. It's really brilliant - funny and sage, and sad too. Maybe it reminds me a little of my youth reading tales about Old Yeller. I read one chapter on his encounter with Red Cat, to great effect (with an australian accent of course) at a story telling party a while back.