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Caremore: Act I
This satirical drama, set in New York City, follows the exploits of protagonist Gavril Herve LeDouc as he drinks, fights, smokes, rants, and makes some unexpected friends and enemies along the way. The work satirizes urban living, modern relationships and consumer culture, while developing the themes of violence and exploitation.
112 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2014
166 people want to read
About the author
M.I. Bulancea
1 book3 followersM. I. Bulancea was born in Bucharest, Romania during the Cold War and emigrated to the U.S. in 1990. His experience growing up in New York City provided the impetus to write. He has written short stories, novels and plays. In 2013, he founded Mellivora Capensis Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 10, 2014
I was a little apprehensive about this book because I had an inkling it wouldn't be my cup of tea. I couldn't have been more wrong.
I read it in three sittings (on the bus, in the bath, and on the bus again) and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a romp into the mind of a slightly off-kilter chap and the glimpses of the people he encounters. As a self-confessed 'people-watcher' it was these little glimpses which most intrigued me and I enjoyed 'filling in the gaps'; I liked the fact that the author didn't feel the need to spoon-feed the reader.
It's a fascinating and insightful look into contemporary society.
I read it in three sittings (on the bus, in the bath, and on the bus again) and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a romp into the mind of a slightly off-kilter chap and the glimpses of the people he encounters. As a self-confessed 'people-watcher' it was these little glimpses which most intrigued me and I enjoyed 'filling in the gaps'; I liked the fact that the author didn't feel the need to spoon-feed the reader.
It's a fascinating and insightful look into contemporary society.
February 9, 2017
Reviewed by F.T. Donereau for Rebecca’s Reads:
The style of M.I. Bulancea’s novel, Caremore: Act I is a thing different than any I have come across before. The work of fiction is done almost but not quite entirely in dialogue. This makes the work flow for any reader encountering it on the page. I imagine it might make an excellent production for the stage though it is meant to be a work of fiction, a book. The main character, Gavril Herve Le Douc, a.k.a. Harvey, is interesting and intense and bordering, I think, on deranged; he is a protagonist in the fashion of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s fictional anti-hero, in Crime and Punishment, Rodion Romanovich Raskolinkov. They rant similarly and hard angle their way through the world in ways that ought to be hated, yet certain innocent qualities inherent in their beings allow you sympathy and almost love for them. Long speeches by LeDouc get his world view across and the odd encounters he has with others make for interesting happenings. You hear this man and want to know him but really, only from across the room, at a safe distance.
The problem I encountered with Mr. Bulancea’s novel is the lack of description; it is hard to fully feel the world we are meant to inhabit here because we are not given enough brushstrokes on the canvas to live wholly in it. Actions take place where you immediately become invested in new characters and what is going on, then, quite quickly, all is dropped and a new scene introduced. It makes you long for more of what has just arrived, and wonder why Bulancea did not invest more in what are interesting ideas. Really I am giving a compliment here, though to the detriment of the novel: M.I. Bulancea knows how to conjure interesting, even fascinating things. I think he needs to trust himself more and expand and let grow these instincts. The book could be fuller simply by giving us more of what has been begun and expanding, or lying out, place settings.
I must say, Caremore: Act I will not bore you. The ideas brought forth sparkle with beautiful edginess. LeDouc and Jasper Felix and Marly Davey and the others make up a ring of offbeat sensualists that would not be out of place in William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. They vibrate, and Herve LeDouc especially lays down driving philosophies that fill the head and keep the reader thinking. I would like to have been able to fall more fully into this production. The experiment of mostly dialogue works but also fails: I want at least sketches of the places I am taken. I would like the characters fleshed out more fully through description. Some is there but not enough and not consistently. M.I. Bulancea is on a wild tract of invention here. I wish he had trusted himself enough to stretch the different areas and ideas within the book. It would be a much longer work, but I believe a much more enriched one as well.
Reviewed by Darn:
I would love to read Act II. I've been reading a ton these past 5-7 years, and I haven't come across anything in the style and format as what you've written. It's not just novelty, I think what you got down is a great intro to something that I see maturing and developing over the years.
Shot in the dark: Do you have an ebook version of the Neal Humor book? If not, I'll bite the bullet and read the analog version you gave me. Seriously, and I mean really seriously, after reading Caremore, I'm eager to read whatever you’ve got!
Besides hearing the echoes of our shared experiences in your work, I find myself hanging on what you've got to say next in your writing. You're actually making points, answering questions and explaining things! Keep it up!
The style of M.I. Bulancea’s novel, Caremore: Act I is a thing different than any I have come across before. The work of fiction is done almost but not quite entirely in dialogue. This makes the work flow for any reader encountering it on the page. I imagine it might make an excellent production for the stage though it is meant to be a work of fiction, a book. The main character, Gavril Herve Le Douc, a.k.a. Harvey, is interesting and intense and bordering, I think, on deranged; he is a protagonist in the fashion of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s fictional anti-hero, in Crime and Punishment, Rodion Romanovich Raskolinkov. They rant similarly and hard angle their way through the world in ways that ought to be hated, yet certain innocent qualities inherent in their beings allow you sympathy and almost love for them. Long speeches by LeDouc get his world view across and the odd encounters he has with others make for interesting happenings. You hear this man and want to know him but really, only from across the room, at a safe distance.
The problem I encountered with Mr. Bulancea’s novel is the lack of description; it is hard to fully feel the world we are meant to inhabit here because we are not given enough brushstrokes on the canvas to live wholly in it. Actions take place where you immediately become invested in new characters and what is going on, then, quite quickly, all is dropped and a new scene introduced. It makes you long for more of what has just arrived, and wonder why Bulancea did not invest more in what are interesting ideas. Really I am giving a compliment here, though to the detriment of the novel: M.I. Bulancea knows how to conjure interesting, even fascinating things. I think he needs to trust himself more and expand and let grow these instincts. The book could be fuller simply by giving us more of what has been begun and expanding, or lying out, place settings.
I must say, Caremore: Act I will not bore you. The ideas brought forth sparkle with beautiful edginess. LeDouc and Jasper Felix and Marly Davey and the others make up a ring of offbeat sensualists that would not be out of place in William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. They vibrate, and Herve LeDouc especially lays down driving philosophies that fill the head and keep the reader thinking. I would like to have been able to fall more fully into this production. The experiment of mostly dialogue works but also fails: I want at least sketches of the places I am taken. I would like the characters fleshed out more fully through description. Some is there but not enough and not consistently. M.I. Bulancea is on a wild tract of invention here. I wish he had trusted himself enough to stretch the different areas and ideas within the book. It would be a much longer work, but I believe a much more enriched one as well.
Reviewed by Darn:
I would love to read Act II. I've been reading a ton these past 5-7 years, and I haven't come across anything in the style and format as what you've written. It's not just novelty, I think what you got down is a great intro to something that I see maturing and developing over the years.
Shot in the dark: Do you have an ebook version of the Neal Humor book? If not, I'll bite the bullet and read the analog version you gave me. Seriously, and I mean really seriously, after reading Caremore, I'm eager to read whatever you’ve got!
Besides hearing the echoes of our shared experiences in your work, I find myself hanging on what you've got to say next in your writing. You're actually making points, answering questions and explaining things! Keep it up!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews