The “C” book in my A-Z author read: The agony of defeat.

Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (February 23, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061557692

Javier Calvo – Wonderful World: A Novel

And, this one kicked my arse. It's a great read, but so complex and detailed I kept forgetting who was who and what was what, until I finally had to throw in the towel.

Sad, though. I know if I hadn't been reading eight books at a time, instead reading the C book in my A-Z Author Read by itself, I would have loved it. But I lost the thread, and just couldn't get it back. And I wasn't about to go back to the beginning and start all over.

This, my friends, is a BIG BOOK. It also plays a weird, twisted sort of homage to Dickens – the author's favorite writer. Imagine all those quirky Dickensian characters: some of them beating each other to a pulp, others having sex or doing drugs, while the rest just keep bumbling along, and you have Wonderful World.

But worth it! I insist, it would be worth it. Maybe next time around.

I had no choice but to throw in the towel. It's time to choose the "D" book and get on with things.