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The Caterpillar King
In 2007, private investigator Castor Blue becomes obsessed with a middle school girl. But one night, the girl disappears…
In 2038, a young man is stuck in a ditch with a talking caterpillar. The young man has only one memory, but he has no idea what it means…
In 2084, Arboss Covington convinces his wife to have one more child. But they leave the newborn at the incubation clinic for too long…
The Caterpillar King blends mystery, magical realism, and science fiction to create a story unlike any other. Pearlstone’s debut novel alternates between the surreal and the mundane, weaving humor and intelligence through each of its three stories. In the end, this is a book that shows us how we are all connected across time and space…by caterpillars.
In 2038, a young man is stuck in a ditch with a talking caterpillar. The young man has only one memory, but he has no idea what it means…
In 2084, Arboss Covington convinces his wife to have one more child. But they leave the newborn at the incubation clinic for too long…
The Caterpillar King blends mystery, magical realism, and science fiction to create a story unlike any other. Pearlstone’s debut novel alternates between the surreal and the mundane, weaving humor and intelligence through each of its three stories. In the end, this is a book that shows us how we are all connected across time and space…by caterpillars.
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First published November 3, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 12, 2015
Three novellas woven together in a style similar to the works of David Mitchell, while also being reminiscent of the literary nonsense genre. I thought of Lewis Carroll on more than one occasion while reading this book - in part, because one theme offered up by the first story runs parallel with the speculation regarding Carroll's sexual proclivities (fellow bibliophiles just moaned in response to the spoiler). Noah Pearlstone can definitely evoke a sense of horror with very few words and without relying on graphic detail (which makes the back-story all that much worse when it plays out in my head).
But this book also read like literary nonsense and I'm not a fan of the genre. I wholly blame myself - when I read literary nonsense, I find the loose ends of the symbols/themes but can't follow the thread throughout the whole story which makes it hard to connect all the dots. And this story is exactly like that - I catch bits and pieces without seeing the whole tapestry.
The blurb for this book promises to "show how we are all connected across time and space... by caterpillars" but I still don't understand while feeling like I'm missing something. That being said, like most literary nonsense, this would be a good read for a book club because the symbolism would inspire discussion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
But this book also read like literary nonsense and I'm not a fan of the genre. I wholly blame myself - when I read literary nonsense, I find the loose ends of the symbols/themes but can't follow the thread throughout the whole story which makes it hard to connect all the dots. And this story is exactly like that - I catch bits and pieces without seeing the whole tapestry.
The blurb for this book promises to "show how we are all connected across time and space... by caterpillars" but I still don't understand while feeling like I'm missing something. That being said, like most literary nonsense, this would be a good read for a book club because the symbolism would inspire discussion.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
March 8, 2015
I've finished reading THE CATERPILLAR KING and I have the say the writing is excellent, however I, personally, had a hard time following it. I would be reading and get interested in the story and suddenly it goes into something different. It was as if I was reading parts of unfinished short stories pieced together. Also, I was disappointed when it ended as there were more things I wanted to see, ie how did Blue and the caterpillars come about making a deal? Exactly what is Blue's story? When did the little duck end up meeting Tika? What happened when the little duck asked Tika to take her memories? Did she attempt to talk her out of it? How did the birthing tree come to being? How does it work? How did it come that parents no longer had babies--what exactly happened to cause the change? What of the other kids they had? How was having this baby at home different?
From the title, I was expecting to see more of the caterpillars, but to me there was hardly anything mentioned of them. I would have like to seen details on how they learned to live on memories. How did their lives change? How did they live? Did they feel any guilt over taking those memories?? What was their culture like??? How did the king become the king? Just who is Tika and what of the others out looking for people to bring in to the king.
From the title, I was expecting to see more of the caterpillars, but to me there was hardly anything mentioned of them. I would have like to seen details on how they learned to live on memories. How did their lives change? How did they live? Did they feel any guilt over taking those memories?? What was their culture like??? How did the king become the king? Just who is Tika and what of the others out looking for people to bring in to the king.
December 11, 2014
The stories progressed really well and I liked that is was more like intertwined stories instead of a short story collection. The characters were interesting, and you find yourself trying to put yourself in their worlds and understand what is going on since it's not explicitly said what is happening at times.
Overall, it was a pleasant and interesting read.
Overall, it was a pleasant and interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews