Review: The Girl with the Phony Name

"Read this," a friend of mine said to me, handing me a book. "It's very odd."

Well, I'm all for odd, and so I happily plunged into The Girl with the Phony Name which was not nearly so odd as I thought it might be. I'd say the applicable word is wonderful.

And the people in it are wonderful. They include Lucy McAlpin Trelaine (maybe), an orphan and Harvard dropout who has spent her life looking for her parents, and Tak Wing (pronounced Take Wing), a warm-hearted entrepreneur whose Neat 'n' Tidy Funeral Parlors are overextended but who nonetheless joins Lucy on her quest.

There are so many wonderful details in this book, down to the smallest unexpected word choice. Wing has a metabolism "like popcorn." Lucy's receding hangover remains only as a "dissonance." Extended scenes from the past are related with verve, while only the smallest piece of it furthers the plot.

Which itself is compelling, twisty, and fun. This is one of those books where you just sit back and let it take you where it takes you. And if you end up in Nova Scotia, well...why not? It's obvious you were meant to go there.

I'm glad to note that Charles Mathes has a number of other books. I like his style. I hope the rest live up to this one.

Read this. It's very odd. Also wonderful.