July 1, 2008
Like rock-music fanatic Rob, thenarrator ofNick Hornbys High Fidelity (1995), Harvey Briscow holds fast to theobsessions of his youth, running a comic shop in London. An upcoming school reunion in Cornwall hashimreplaying, once again, the time he swapped a Superman One comic, now worth a fortune, for a length of plastic tubing. Hes desperately hoping to run intothe strange boy, Charles Bleeder Odd, with whom he conducted the school-yard swap, and hes shocked to discover that the boy long bullied by his schoolmates has grown into an urbane man of means. Harvey is determined to retrieve the valuable comic, and the absurd machinations he engineers in order to do so give rise to many hilarious set pieces marked by the humor that seems to be the special province of the Brits: turning apoplectic frustration into pure comic gold (think Fawlty Towers). Among the many amusing comic foils, his hostile parents, with their inane phone conversations, and his hapless shop assistant, sent on endless absurd errands, are standouts.Moores dark wit also gives this fun read some edge.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)