190 words about Anthropica

The future was wide open

The simplest way to explain David Hollander's Anthropica is by saying it's about determinism and free will. But maybe it's also worth considering that a Hungarian boy and the death of the family Very Good Boy, extended Frisbee — excuse me, flying disc — digressions, Oprah, vultures and crabs, cuckoldry, Styx and Radiohead, characters with names like Joyful Noise and Henry Henry Puddin' Pie, a future (ha ha ha ha!) ruled by robots, fractals, and liberal use of the word "goblin" are but a sampling of elements in a novel with all the ambition of Gravity's Rainbow or Infinite Jest at half the diarrhetic length, a giddy tincture of literature's potent promise fulfilled. Are people afraid of stories like this now or did almost everyone I know and every outlet I check just sleep on it? Whatever the excuse, I'm glad I didn't when it found me. Ever read a book where you're afraid you'll accidentally open it and catch a glimpse of the last page, spoiling the joyful quiet of absolute presence? This one's like that right down to the last line of the acknowledgments. This is The One.