Our Napoleon in Rags

April 4, 2005
Haycraft Keebler, the manic-depressive protagonist of Gann's ambitious second novel (following The Barbarian Parade), believes that it is his duty to save the world. Spending most of his time in a rundown bar appropriately named the Don Quixote, Haycraft devises plans to cure society's ills, from spray-painting the city's trashcans gold to creating a "community living room" in the middle of the sidewalk. The regulars at the Don Q, all idealistic misfits in their own ways, affectionately tolerate Haycraft's crazy schemes and outraged polemics, but when he becomes romantically involved with a teenage male prostitute, a disastrous chain of events ensues that throws the community into chaos. Gann explores the lives of various Don Quixote frequenters, including the bar's ageing hippie owners and the pragmatic Romeo, who stumbles into the Internet porn industry. Unfortunately, the plot is disjointed and, until the end, seemingly lacking in direction. Gann's elegant prose perfectly captures the novel's sense of doomed romanticism, but his imaginative characters lack realism, which keeps readers at an emotional distance. Ultimately, this beautifully written novel about lofty ideals and inevitable disappointments mirrors its own themes-it fails to achieve all its goals, but is nonetheless commendable for the valiant effort.

May 15, 2005
Montreux, KY, a decaying urban slagheap, could not be more different from glamorous Montreux, Switzerland. After a PR campaign fails to revitalize the city, bipolar idealist Haycraft Keebler tries to rally people to create "a neighborly, self-sufficient community -&built on the feminine principles of tenderness and compassion." His base is the appropriately named Don Q Tavern, whose other habitué s include libertine anarchist Romeo Diaz, brutal policeman Chesley Sutherland, and an inhalant-huffing teenage male prostitute named Lambret who becomes Haycraft's special redemption project and lover. All serve as narrators, and although all are archetypes, they are real and compelling characters. Their many foibles and competing agendas and philosophies, however well intentioned, lead to disaster. Can one ordinary person change the world? Just when Gann, managing editor of Sarabande Books, seems to say "no," the coda, set a few years after these events, suggests that people can redeem themselves and maybe those closest to them, improving the world incrementally through individual love and a willingness to change. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries. -Jim Dwyer, California State Univ., Chico

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