Clinton, South Carolina, Monday, March 30, 2020, 7:45 p.m.

When I read Don Quixote, I found it astonishing to learn that the art of comedy had not notably advanced in over four centuries.

Salman Rushdie’s Quichotte takes Miguel de Cervantes forward and adds levels that would not have been structurally feasible in 1616, when the final part of his masterpiece was publishly shortly after its author’s death.

Rushdie’s weighty tome is a modern retelling of the classic tale, enhanced by heaping helpings of politics, science fiction, fantasy, and tales within the tale. Quichotte bursts out of Don Quixote as Blazing Saddles cinematically bursts out of the Old West.

What seems convoluted at first becomes wildly humorous as it seems to stabilize, then careens off into subplots that cross all imaginable bounds, some of which are difficult to anticipate and others impossible.

All of it is a commentary on the dysfunctions of today. It’s hilarious right up to the point where the reader starts to weep at how delightfully awful the world has become.

It all works in spite of a series of outlandish surprises that don’t end until the final page.

 

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Lightning in a Bottle, the first of my two motorsports novels, is now available in audio (Audible, Amazon, iTunes) with the extraordinary narration of Jay Harper.

My eighth novel, a political crime thriller, is called Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. It’s right up to date with the current political landscape in the country.

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