Pandora by Holly Hollander

PANDORA, BY HOLLY HOLLANDER is perhaps Gene Wolfe's most mainstream novel. A murder mystery set in a small town in Illinois, the novel contains little of the fantastic elements of his other works, such as his acclaimed masterwork The Book of the New Sun. The book also lacks the puzzles for which Wolfe is notorious, so that the reader gets pretty much everything on the first time through.The narrator of PANDORA is Holly Hollander, a 17-year old girl who, though plainly immature, is no ditz. She has a thing for mystery novels and can think quite logically. The plot of PANDORA is that Holly's mother buys an locked box marked "Pandora" to be the star attraction of the annual town fair. Tickets are sold, and whoever wins the raffle gets whatever is in the box. I can't say too much to spoil the plot, but the box unleashes death and Holly is determined to find the culprit.She meets a criminologist, Alladin Blue, who seems to know more than he should about the people of her small town.PANDORA was the third of Gene Wolfe's turn-of-the-90's trilogy of books with contemporary settings. It is perhaps the least substantial, both THERE ARE DOORS and CASTLEVIEW better reward repeat reading with their numerous riddles. Nonetheless, PANDORA is entertaining, and I'd recommend it to any fan of Gene Wolfe. Nonetheless, for people who haven't read anything by Wolfe, I'd suggest starting with the Book of the New Sun, his acclaimed four-volume work.

This is a great mystery, with odd twists and thrilling turns, told with a refrshingly new voice about a very unseemly murder. Although not overtly at first (ignoring the title), it uses every bit as much symbolism and allusions and references and all that kind of literary stuff that make you wonder--as people who read Gene Wolfe's work already know about--what you're gong to catch the next time you read it. Arthur'd be proud.