May 17 2009
The Mystery Roast by Peter Gadol - a review
Peter Gadol wrote The Mystery Roast in 1993 - actually, I take that back, it was published in 1993 - and I cannot believe that I haven’t heard of this book at anytime during its 15 year mainstream existence until really recently (thanks to Books on the Nightstand again!). The Mystery Roast is the name of a coffee shop in the West Village that begins its life as an eclectic hole in the wall. Too bad it couldn’t stay that way - I actually prefer coffee shops like this (kind of like what The Curious Liquids Cafe in Boston used to be like before it closed - gosh how i miss those days, but that’s another post for another time) - but it ends up hitting its stride when Eric Audin appears. Eric has become estranged from his ambitious wife, Margot, and, in the weeks following their estrangement, he opts to go to the New York Museum of Art (I think it’s a facade for the Met) and, while there, walks away with a piece of art. He lifts a Cycladic statue called the Goddess of Desire. As his relationship with the Goddess grows, so, seemingly, does his success. Eric begins a successful business marketing and selling knockoffs of the idol (which become an insanely popular fad as the theft from the museum hits the news), he moves into a beautiful flat in the West Village and meets and falls in love with a beautiful, older woman who loves him back (and of course, they have insanely good sex!). He becomes obsessed with the idol and it becomes almost like crack or heroin - he’ll do anything to keep the real idol in his life (even though it’s illegal to be in possession of it and the means that he gets it is illegal) at the expense of his own life and the relationships that he has.
This was my first book by Peter Gadol and I loved it. The writing engages the reader immediately and it’s as if you can smell the whiffs of coffee and taste the foods offered by the cafe. The characters are astoundingly well-developed and they developed immensely throughout the book. The plot line moved along wonderfully. It was a book that I took my time reading because I wanted to savor every single word and every single plot device and moment. I didn’t want to miss anything by missing a single word, which, to me, means that Gadol thought out every single word. Every single word was selected with care and with a purpose. This is a book that I will definitely pick up again, just to make sure that I can peel back another level.
Book 27/100
