Fame: A Novel in Nine Episodes    by Daniel Kehlmann Order:  USA  Can Pantheon, 2010 (2010) Hardcover     Reviewed by Michael Graves This narrative is a cross between a collection of short stories and a novel. There are nine episodes that are loosely connected, but form enough of a whole to at least partially get credit as a novel. But in the grander scheme of things, not much matters because each of the episodes is a creative joy. In fact, the author's creativity and imaginative situations are the high point of the novel. The stories are interesting but it is the characters and their circumstances that provide the real fun of the book. The writing is clever and playful and above all never boring. The book is translated from German (by Carol Janeway) and the author was born in Munich in 1975. In an interesting twist he sometimes places himself as author in the novel where at least one character pleads with him to change her fate. Each story is unique, without a common protagonist or theme, but all have an interesting twist or two. If there is a fault it lies only in that the book is a mere 175 pages long. Kehlmann is a great young writer and one I expect we will hear more from in the future. At least one can hope. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews