Dark Companion

A tragicomedy with a lot to say. Part farce, part indictment of our corporate culture, part parable on the fragility of human existence. The book opens with a style and pace reminiscent of Thorne Smith and Damon Runyon and Peter De Vries--comic in the way of TOPPER, say, but updated to recent times. With just a few deft brush strokes, Nisbet paints a picture of a simple and reclusive man in a happy marriage, just trying to get along. But as Damon Runyon used to say, "all life is 6-5 against," and soon his life begins to unravel. Jim Nisbet writes well and he interlaces his narratives with images and ideas, laughter and madness, and just as supernovas flare and die, a human destiny might follow its own falling-star-arc as if by deathwish. Here, we watch and admire the beauty of it. And this is indeed a work of art, all the way around. Jim Nisbet's novels are instant collectors' items. The dustjacket of DARK COMPANION is especially gorgeous and symbolically relevant to the text. This is a quick read, even though I made myself slow down to relish it, with just 144 pages and set in an easy-to-read font. A small gem, and easily one of the best novels I've read this year.