Who’s Who When Everyone Is Someone Else by C.D Rose

The Bloodless Boy by Robert J Lloyd

Synopsis
Fleeing heartbreak, an unnamed author goes to an unnamed city to give a series of lectures at an unnamed university about forgotten books … only to find himself involved in a mystery when the professor who invited him is no where to be found, and no one seems quite sure why he’s there….

So begins this Wes Anderson-like novel hilariously spoofing modernist literature even as it tells a stirring — and eerily suspenseful — story about someone desperate to prove the redeeming power of reading — and writing — books.

And as the narrator gives his lectures, attends vague functions where no one speaks English, never quite meets his host professor and wonders the city looking for the grave of his literary hero, the reader begins to suspect this man’s relentless faith in literature may be the only thing getting him through the mystery enveloping him.

Review

I was delighted when Nikki Griffiths from Melville House contacted me about beong part of their twentieth birthday celebrations. I have been lucky enough to read several books published by Melville House over the past few years, so the hardest part was choosing a book to review as they have so many brilliant books to choose from. Finally I decided on Whose Who When Everyone Is Someone Else, a wonderful book about forgotton books, and an author giving lectures about forgotton books. This is a story of mystery, wit, humour and a love of literature, perfect for the bibliophile.

Whose Who When Everyone Is Someone Else is such a wonderful story but a little hard to review. C. D. Rose gives no character names as such, the author who is the main character is occassionally refered to as Doctor, the female professor as Profesora, and another author as the Eminent writer. However, some of the other characters are given names, the taxi diriver Jan, who sells books from the boot of his car, and the assistant to the Profesora, Anna. When the book begins the Doctor is fleeing his home country after a failed love affair to go to an unknown country to give a series of ten lectures at a university of forgotton books. Whilst there he finds himself in some surreal situations, meeting an eminent author who he doesn’t know, and in a debate with a critic whom he doesn’t know and about works he hasn’t heard of; as bizarra as this sounds these situations some up the feel of the book. I really enjoyed his exchanges with the Profesora, a woman he describes by her clothing, and who is very sharp and to the point, especially about his lectures.

The Doctor also finds hiself caught in a couple of mysteries, where is the Professor of the university who he was meant to meet, and finding the grave of his favourite author Guyavitch, who some say never existed and was a nom de plume of serval authors. C.D Rose’s writng is wonderful, I was drawn into this strange world that I likened to Alice’s Rabbit Hole; the Doctor being Alice, the Profesora being the Red Queen with her barbed comments, and Jan as the Mad Hatter.

The other amazing part of this book is the ten so called forgotton books that the Doctor lectures on. I loved the sound of these books and would have bought several of them. There is plenty of satire and wit regarding literature, what we regard as good literature, and how just because you haven’t read or heard of a critically aclaimed book doesn’t mean you are lesser of a person.

Whose Who When Everyone Is Someone Else is a wonderful ode to literature, with a bit of satire thrown in for good measure. Book lovers will really enjoy this book, with it’s intriguing and compellling plot, and relate to the ideas of how books can change your life from childhood onwards and that bookshops of any kind are a utopia. This book had me in it’s grip throughout, with it’s intelligent plot and wonderfully eclectic characters; a brilliant book.

I am including links to some of the amazing books I have read that are published by Melville House.

The Bloodless Boy by Robert J Lloyd
Juliet the Maniac by Juliet Escoria
The Immortals of Tehran by Ali Araghi
The Mannequin Makers by Craig Cliff