People magazine just sent me
Daniel RadoshPeople magazine just sent me the new Bruce Wagner novel, Still Holding, to review and I guess someone does read those People book reviews because there's a quote from my review of Wagner's previous novel in the press release. Apparently what I said about I'll Let You Go at the time was: "Wagner's competing mythologies of millennial California mesh with the precision of gold-plated gears in a luxury timepiece. At its core this is a sincere exploration of life, death and immortality."
That sounds about right. I'll Let You Go was easily the most underrated book of last year. A beautiful, funny, and willfully extravagant fable -- much the opposite of the first book in Wagner's "cell phone trilogy," I'm Losing You, which I thought was both grotesque and dreary, a difficult combination to pull off. I know you haven't read I'll Let You Go, because no one has, but it's just out in paperback, and it's an ideal summer read that will stay with you well into whatever season comes after summer (is anyone keeping track?). Nor do you need to suffer through I'm Losing You first, as the books are connected only by their L.A. settings (and titles).