City of the Sun: A Novel by David Levien
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Book Summary Author: David Levien Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2008-02-26 ISBN: 0385523661 Number of pages: 320 Publisher: Doubleday |
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Book Reviews of the City of the Sun: A Novel
Customer Review: Compelling and engrossing; "The Searchers" for the modern era
Summary: 5 Stars
In many ways, this compelling debut by David Levien is a retelling of the John Ford/John Wayne classic.
In "The Searchers", a young girl is kidnapped by raiding Commanches, and an aging ex-Texas Ranger -- aided by her adoptive brother -- tracks her down through the underbelly of Texas, their own contentious relationship turning into a partnership of mutual respect along the way.
In "City of the Sun", a young boy is kidnapped, and an aging ex-cop -- aided by the boy's father -- tracks him down through the sub rosa world of sex slavery, their own strained relationship turning into a partnership of mutual respect along the way.
"The Searchers" was a classic, and "City of the Sun" ably steps into those shoes as a literary retelling of a story with such raw emotional power.
The characters are fully three-dimensional and believable; you can feel the anguish and torment of the parents as their marriage slowly disintegrates in the aftermath of the kidnapping, and they desperately hope for the best while slowly growing to accept that their son has died, with all the attendant self-blame and guilt.
Frank Behr, the ex-cop, is meanwhile trying to deal with his own demons, and come to terms with the death of his own young son many years before.
A novel of complexity and great depth, written in a fluid and fast-paced style, this is a very solid five-star performance.
According to the flyleaf, this is the debut of a series featuring Behr; if so, I eagerly await the next installment.