No, this didn’t work for me. The first part of the book (The Macuto Line) establishes a strong visual trope, an artifact both enticing and mysterious. The protagonist “solves” the mystery, becoming rich and famous. In the second part of the book, he attends a conference where one of his own plays is performed. Simultaneously, he undertakes a “Frankenstein” type of experiment which almost destroys the world, or at least the city hosting the conference.
At one point I stopped reading for a few days. I thought I might enjoy the book more if I read it out loud, or listened to it on tape. The writing has an hallucinogenic quality. Very visual. If you want to get stoned without smoking a magic mushroom, this book is for you. Otherwise, don’t bother.
AMG Reading Journal 