I am sure this book has some deeper meaning or symbolism. But I just couldn't get into it and just stopped caring. Or never started, really. ( )

http://bogbrokken.blogspot.com/2012/05/nathaniel-rich-borgmesterens-tunge-2012.h... ( )

Like [a:Tom Robbins|197|Tom Robbins|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1198683922p2/197.jpg] without the humorous sarcasm. [b:Inkheart|28194|Inkheart (Inkheart, #1)|Cornelia Funke|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1277805573s/28194.jpg|2628323]-like characters but ones that tease with possibility and dissapoint rather than fascinate. The predictive fatalism and tortured relationships of [b:The Shadow of the Wind|1232|The Shadow of the Wind|Carlos Ruiz Zafón|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1247930410s/1232.jpg|3209783] without the dramatic tension. Overall, read any of these other three if you are tempted by [b:The Mayor's Tongue|2246240|The Mayor's Tongue|Nathaniel Rich|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1206116116s/2246240.jpg|2252113] unless you want to read the excellent dialogue that anchors the bellcurves of the story. Perhaps this forte is where the author's talent really should be concentrated? The dialogue between the pairs of: Eugene and Alvaro, Eugene and Abe, Schmitz and Rutherford is good bordering on great, but it is sandwiched between some OTT grotesque descriptive passages and lame attempts at spicing things up with voyeuristic sex. Overall a time sink not an entertainment. ( )

ingewikkeld maar facinerend boek ( )

This book started out with great promise, and then started to stumble about half-way through. It remained good, however, until it suddenly ended with no rhyme or reason. It looked like someone decided to cut 100 pages off the end by simply removing them and trying to wind the story down in five pages.

Further, the two interweaving story lines, while interesting in and of themselves, left the task of deciding how they interact, if at all, to the reader. There is no real explanation, and instead of making this interesting or edgy, it just seemed a little lazy.

Unfortunately, I thought this was a big disappointment after a strong start. I hope for more out of this author in the future, however. ( )