The Caveman's Valentine

I stumbled onto this book when searching for good mystery authors...I heard that this book won the Edgar award and so I found it at my library. Now I hear that it has recently been turned into a movie with Samuel L. Jackson...all I can say is, you need to read this book because the movie cannot possibly do it justice. A unique twist on a protaganist and a poetic writing style make this book far different from most formulaic detective novels. I was reminded of the beautiful poetic style of Ray Bradbury combined with the twists and turns of a Jeffery Deaver mystery. Most of the book revolves around the fascinating, and almost sane, interior ramblings of the main character, which could never be duplicated on the silver screen. An excellent first novel.

This is a wonderfully crafted mystery. Perhaps more importantly though, in these days of you-gotta-have-a-gimmick mysteries (quilting mystery,cooking mystery,Jane Austen mystery,cab-driver mystery.....) no one has yet to match the unique central character of Caveman's Valentine. Romulus Ledbetter lets us into his world of schizophrenia and, hopefully by the end of the book, the reader understands and gains empathy for this illness that affects one in every hundred people in the U.S.. Romulus captures our attention, our compassion, and our hearts. I salute Mr. Green for finally casting the schizophrenic as the hero in this novel, instead of the killer at the core of far too many mysteries and thrillers to count.

A very fine debut novel by an up and coming new author. The Caveman's Valentine has great characters and a great story. The central character, Romulus Ledbetter, is one of my favorite characters of all time. He's a bum, a vagrant, an intellect, a psychotic, a father, a hero, and just about the most interesting person you'd ever meet. His visions of Stuyvesant as the evil white controller are especially funny. But what really impressed me about this book was Green's impressive ability to move the mystery along without taking away from Ledbetter's conflict with the world around him and with himself. Green does not detract from the real story that interests every reader: what really goes on in the character's head. We read Valentine and feel sorry for Romulus and want him to succeed in whatever he sets out to do. Much of what he says is frank and to the point, which is a way in which we would all like to be. The dialogue and actions of this man are often times d! ownright hilarious. This is a character impossible to forget. While I have gone on endlessly about character and how it plays a great role in this novel, it is important to know that the plot aint to shabby either. George Dawes Green's "The Caveman's Valentine is a definite "must read" for those of you who like great characters, humorous situations, and lively dialogue. Buy it, read it, and enjoy.

I'm glad I read Green's "The Juror" before I read "The Caveman's Valentine." I enjoyed "Juror" but I would have been so disappointed with it after having read "Caveman". I guess I would have been expecting another wonderfully quirky, insane protagonist. I was thinking "Fisher King" by p. 30. Romulus is a homeless man who lives in a cave. His demons are Stuyvesant and y-rays. He's also a brilliant pianist...a Julliard drop-out. But when a dead man is left at his door, he tries to get his head straight to solve the mystery for his friend Weasel. I really loved the main characters in this book. I only hope the author will get back to something like this, instead of trying to please the mainstream readers.