A review by randykraft
The Fugitives by Christopher Sorrentino

4.0

A formerly successful novelist, way behind on the delivery of his next manuscript, escapes the mess of his marriage, and a scandalous affair, by leaving Brooklyn for a quiet Michigan town near the locale of fondly remembered family holidays. There he wanders into the library for the regular storytelling of a Native American who delights listeners with indigenous fables. The storyteller begins the novel so you might imagine he features prominently, as he does, and you might also imagine there are fable-like lessons to be learned, which there may be. Enter a reservation expat, now a Chicago journalist, who has received a tip that the storyteller may not be who he pretends to be, and who may be the link to a gambling casino theft. Prepare to read a lot of pages before a crime is revealed, but it’s less important than the personal misdemeanors of each of these characters. Of course the novelist and the journalist are drawn to each other. Of course an elegant wise guy takes note of the journalists exploration and intercedes. Add one angry husband, a few angry exes, Indian reservation police, a lot meaningless sex and a crazy funny literary agent on the rampage, and you have one helluva read. I couldn’t put it down. I laughed, I cringed. I pondered why people forget what they’ve learned. I thought about how deeply failure and grief impact the psyche. I also wondered whether any of these characters would come out in a better place. Christopher Sorrentino is skilled and smart and he wants us to really know our characters as we watch them stumble into each other, and into their own way, and as they become part of the mystery they seek to unravel. Acompelling novel of cultural conflict and personal compulsions.