At the time of its publication, 1932, this was the longest mystery ever written. Would you believe, 313,000 words -- many of them in a strange Hispano-German dialect. It's a simple story about world war in 1942 between an alliance between Germany, Japan and Mexico against the US and the rest of the world. 3D TV figures prominently, as well as a cactus that proves to be the world's most perfect food source. Did I mention the nuclear bomb that gets stolen?
Not many books written in 1932 mentioned such things but we've come to expect things like this from Harry Stephen Keeler. He went waaaaay overboard with THE BOX FROM JAPAN and reading it is one the most essential -- and excruciating -- things you've got to do before you shuffle off. It's a rite of passage into the world of literary torture. The pages will never end. Plot begets plot.
No comments:
Post a Comment