![]() ![]() The book is unpolished in places, and Ricky’s partner Adele might have made a more compelling protagonist, but this thematically meaty tale is recommended. Big Machine is a wonderful, original, and crazy novel. But Big Machine is centrally concerned with doubt: the way it can cripple those marginalised from society by race and poverty (arriving at the library, Ricky and his fellow recruits fear to sit at the grand table laid for them, half-convinced they're not guests but the “help”), and the danger of those – cult leaders, true believers – who don’t have enough of it. There are also echoes of Neil Gaiman in the portrayal of an America alive with the mythologies and tragedies of its many peoples. ![]() ![]() There are chases – of a sort (Ricky can’t drive and has a gammy knee) – and even some explosions, but the narrative priorities are motive and consequence rather than incident. Biography and booking information for Victor LaValle, Award-Winning Author of The Changeling, Destroyer, the Ballad of Black Tom, Big Machine & More. It sounds like the start of a madcap adventure, but LaValle keeps the pace measured and the tone reflective and sardonic. ![]()
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