Select one of the keywords
Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa    by Benjamin Constable Amazon.com order for
Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa
by Benjamin Constable
Order:  USA  Can
Simon & Schuster, 2013 (2011)
Hardcover, Softcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Barbara Lingens

If you love a treasure hunt, this one is for you, but be forewarned, it's going to be a bit different. First, author Benjamin Constable is a character in his own story, and as he says on his website: 'I wanted to play with the reader and provoke memories and a little discomfort.' Hmm.

Set in Paris and New York, the novel explores the friendship of two interesting characters. Tomomi Ishikawa, also known as Butterfly, tries to help Benjamin with his writing and in so doing, sets him off on an anguished adventure that has him thinking she committed suicide. But did she?

While Benjamin tries to figure everything out, we are treated to views of Paris and New York that are both charming and alarming. Through e-mails, letters and journals all sorts of topics are aired: death, dreams, memories. And we are left with something similar to Benjamin's disorder, prosopagnosia, where a person cannot easily recognize faces.

We cannot easily recognize what exactly Benjamin the writer is up to with Benjamin the character and Butterfly. Which, I think, is exactly what Constable wants - we will be thinking about this story long after finishing it.

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