Inamorata

I read this book on the recommedation of a friend, and it didn't leave my hands from the moment I picked it up until I finished it. As an aficionado of both the 1920s, the era in which the novel is set, and mystery novels/spooky settings, I was in heaven. Everything in the book is historically accurate, down to the most minute details. As an F. Scott Fitzgerald scholar, I also enjoyed Mr. Gangemi's occasional oblique references to Fitzgerald's work. Inamorata is a real page-turner, and all-in-all an excellent novel. I'm looking forward to reading more from the talented Mr. Gangemi.

As a college student, it is a rare occasion in which I find the time to read a book of my own choosing. Fortunately I came across Inamorata this summer and I just can't stop raving about it. I am completely amazed that this is Joseph Gangemi's first novel. The character development and dialogue were fantastic and his attention to detail in regards to the era was spot on. As a fan of 1920's culture, I was in heaven. The perfect blend of intelligence, spiritualism, glamour, and romance all in this wonderfully quirky, twisted novel. It has quickly become one of my favorites and I am sitting on the edge of my chair for Mr. Gangemi's next work!

"Never fall in love with the medium" is the anthem for this novel. Martin Finch, a Harvard graduate student, is called upon by his mentor to travel to Philadelphia to observe the seances performed by Mina Crawley. A $5,000 award is the prize for an actual spirit appearance. Martin provides all the gimmicks to prove Mina a fraud. However, he falls in love with her and now we are questioning each appearance by her dead brother. Her much older husband becomes suspect. I loved the spiritualism, seances, and the young Martin, always at odds with his fellow compatriats who must come to a decision as to whether Mina's visions are real or trumped up!

Occasionally a book comes along that reinforces the reasons why, in an age of bad video games and worse reality TV, time spent reading fiction is still the most rewarding form of entertainment of all. The Inamorata is such a book.Among the many positive aspects of the book are the incredible descriptive techniques that are as penetrating as I any I've read in a long time. Gangemi provides a perfectly seamless ride to his 1922 locales and once there, richly developed characters come alive. By the time this tight novel reaches its end you feel know each of them like an old friend. The subtle strengths of Mina Crawley echo throughout, as she confounds the men around her ( who are also each intriguing in their own right) in ways that will haunt you long after you put the book down. There is not a wasted word in the novel. The clear, concise narrative moves the plot along at exactly the right pace while the reader subconsciously digests themes as diverse as a young man's coming of age, the complexities of familial relationships, and the ongoing battle between science and faith. Or it can just be thoroughly enjoyed as an old fashioned ghost story. Either way, this a terrific book, and one I recommend highly.

This isn't an easy book to categorize. Superficially its plot sounds like a supernatural thriller: in the 1920s a young man with a scientific bent is engaged by "Popular Science" Magazine to debunk spiritualists--only to happen upon one that may very well be genuine. But the book quickly veers off in unexpected directions--love story, murder myster, historical roman a clef--that keep a reader off balance and make the book a constant wonder. Sexy, strange, and with an ending that defies easy interpretation, this is simply a terrific read.