Written by the ineffable Jeff VanderMeer and published in the Post. Brief reviews of Brasyl, Bright of the Sky, Shelter, Outrageous Fortune, and Brave New Words. I have a copy of Brasyl in the stack, but haven't gotten to it yet.
Jeff and Michael Dirda and the Washington Post are all substantially smarter than most of us and deserve the scant attention we can spirit away from our video games and reality tv.
From the article:
"BRASYL By Ian McDonald Pyr. 357 pp. $25
Ian McDonald's Brasyl, with its three storylines, is as close to perfect as any novel in recent memory. It works because of great characterization, but also because McDonald envisions Brazil as a dynamic, living place that is part postmodern trash pile, part trashy reality-TV-driven ethical abyss . . . and yet also somehow spiritual. Whether it's Jesuit priest Luis Quinn's journey up the Amazon with a French spy in 1732, TV producer Marcelina Hoffman's search for a reviled former soccer player in 2006, or the exploits of the thief Edson Jesus Oliveira de Freitas in 2032 (and the mind-blowing scene in which he steals a futuristic purse), McDonald's novel is always in motion. This movement extends through time and alternate realities in ways both wonderful and wise, as the three storylines interlock for a satisfying and often stunning conclusion. McDonald has found new myths for old places; in doing so, he has cemented his reputation as an amazing storyteller."