Sussman’s writing is nearly always...florid, therapized and sentimental. It is radically un-Dylanesque ... His novel is bereft of drama and close observation. Almost everything in it is rounded off and softened, like pebbles on a shore. If not for the Dylan angle, we wouldn’t be talking about it at all ... There are several sections of this novel, told from June’s perspective, that are winning in their directness and simplicity ... Has a coddled quality; it’s as if Evan were one of those mail-order pears and grew up inside tissue-paper wrapping. The novel’s tone seeks to be childlike but is instead childish.
Read Full Review >>