[.ca] bang BANG: A Novel (ISBN 1601640005)

It's WYSIWYG:
In Lynn Hoffman's fabulous Bang BANG, what you see is literally what you get. Hoffman writes in such an immediate, descriptive style, scene after scene comes alive in the theatre of your mind. It's like watching through the lens of some 16 megapixel digital camera as it clicks off four frames a second. The cast of characters is special. I love Paula - who wouldn't - but the rest are wonderfully vivid too. Here's Manny Cardoso introducing himself: "...I have become, thanks to a set of circumstances and predilections too bizarre to mention, a man whose ruling passions and personal madness have been stripped away. With the core of my craziness gone, a great deal else is gone too. I find myself almost completely without lusts and cravings. It would not be too much to say that I barely have preferences. I have a few consistencies, almost enough to give me what may be thought of as a personality, but my most compelling characteristic right now is my almost total emptiness a blankness that's not like the desolation of winter but closer to the expectant vacancy of early spring." Throw in Harvey Lichtman, the "Urban Ranger", assistant counsel to the city council whose hobby is malicious gossip and low stakes blackmail Caterer Connie Battaglia, "...lean and spare, long black hair on skinny shoulders, grace in her spidery arms." and Lawyer Daniel Farber, admiring Paula from a distance, and you have the ingredients for a rather special experience. Which brings us to the food. Three words: off the planet. Hoffman's encyclopedic knowledge and appreciation of food and its accompaniments shines so brightly the rest just had to be extra special too, or be eclipsed. Fortunately for all of us, it is. Bang BANG is a winner. Be sure not to miss it. Art Tirrell, author of 'The Secret Ever Keeps' ISBN 1601640048.