A Smuggler's Bible Paperback – 1 July 2003

There are many authors who deserve a larger readership (one thinks of William Gaddis, John Hawkes, Harry Crews), but none more so than Joseph McElroy. A Smuggler's Bible fell on deaf ears when it was published in 1966, and because of this is often compared to The Recognitions and Under the Volcano. And the comparisons are valid, to a point: For while Gaddis's and Lowry's novels *have* received a deserved amount of, well, recognition (though it's never enough), McElroy's first novel hasn't. This goes for his entire opus of seven novels, all vastly intelligent, structurally and metaphorically brilliant, and, yes, challenging (and equally rewarding). If, as a reader, you feel you should be treated with respect and not have the novelist lead you by the hand and play you for an idiot, then I highly recommend this and McElroy's other novels. There are few voices as unique as his. Few novelists as concerned with what makes us what we are. And fewer are as capable.To summarize A Smuggler's Bible is a difficult task, but, essentially, an easy one (have I contradicted myself?). David Brooke, on the verge of a breakdown, is attempting to assemble, from eight very different manuscripts, his identity, his place in his friends' lives, as seen through their eyes. And in a variety of styles (the influences are strongly Nabokovian & Joycean), with each single manuscript having more material than many respected novels, the story unfolds, and we too begin piecing together what makes David Brooke David Brooke.McElroy shows a command of characterization, setting, voice, and metaphor that many a lesser novelist has been praised for. I highly recommend this novel, which demands multiple readings, along with McElroy's Lookout Cartridge (currently out of print and perhaps the single most neglected work of the '70's).Joseph McElroy's works far, far better than this hastily composed "review." Please read him.