The Plumber of Souls

This utterly insane novel is a complete delight, wonderfully crafted. It's hilarious. It's obscene. It's scatalogical. It's clever. It's sacriligious. It's hilarious. Yes, the hilarity bears repeating. It's erudite and imaginative to boot. It's international, and it touches on mad cows, hamburger joints, feces, perversions and eternal love. Plus the sewers of Paris. And high society. It's a literary roller-coaster of absolute lunacy written by a man with a mind that is hard to imagine. What did his mama say? Did he ever have a mama? Or was he hatched from an egg? Why have I never heard of this fellow? I happened upon the book in a secondhand bookstore in San Antonio, Texas, of all places, and it's turned out to be one of the best buys of the decade. What's the book about? A priest/hit man from the Vatican, basically. But the pleasure is in the writing and the telling. And the reading. Especially that. Be aware this book is not for the squeamish. But if you have an open mind and a terrifically developed sense of black humor, this masterpiece has your name tattooed upon it. And a masterpiece it is.

Guinzberg is the best novelist I've read in awhile. His prose is punctuated by profanity but absolutely real, the language of the streets. His influences are William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginzberg, and Thomas Pyncheon. His description of the sewers of Paris is reminiscent of the passages in V. where Pyncheon describes alligator hunting in the sewers of New York. Although there are four different stories told here, they are related by thematic elements and style. The last story provides the kind of climax for the entire work that novelists aim for yet seldom achieve. There's plenty here that will offend Catholic propriety, always a good sign. His best book since Beam Me Up Scotty. Fans will want to read The Gangsta Wore Red, collected in The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action. Then we can all get together and discuss why this talented author publishes his books first in French translations and doesn't wind up on the best seller lists even though some of his stories take place in NYC.

i loved this book and i would definately reccommend this book; but not to everyone. the book is really four short stories tied together by the central character, an assassin priest who meets these extremely mixed up individuals on missions for the pope, hears thier story, and takes appropriate action. the stories are well constructed and expertly told, and the final story has an interesting twist to it. the author writes beautifully, with poetic turns of phrase and a fresh energy. he uses words expertly, not pretentiously, and i loved reading this book. HOWEVER, if you are easily offended or just prefer not to read books that include off color topics such as pederast priests, deviant sexual content, and liberal use of profanity, this book is not for you. the book is extremely vulgar, but almost in a cartoonish way. the vulgarity and profanity are more of a spice that adds flavor than the main ingrediant. if you can read past the explicit scenes and enjoy the story for the story, and appreciate the way the words themselves are used, you will enjoy every moment of this book. i consider this book true literature. i loved it, but i know this book isn't for everyone.