Monday, June 15, 2015

The Genius by Jesse Kellerman

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Genius by Jesse Kellerman and narrated by Kirby Heyborn.

This is the 1st novel by Jesse Kellerman that I've read or listened for that matter. I have, however, heard Kirby Heyborn narrate a novel before and he is a terrific narrator... I really like how Kirby Heyborn narrates The Genius as well.

As far as The Genius goes,  I like the way the story unfolds. For the most part, The Genius is told through the first person narration of Ethan Muller... But in various sections interspersed throughout The Genius, we learn the back story of Ethan Muller's family history through present day and these sections are not told to us by Ethan Muller's character. There are some pretty deep dark family secrets that we learn about regarding the Muller family. 

As far as the characters go, I actually liked the character of Ethan Muller. Also, the more I learned about Victor Cracke and his mother, the more I felt sad for their plight and mistreatment.... It's difficult to go into the specifics without giving away plot details for those that haven't read this novel.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending of The Genius. I wish it hadn't ended the way it did... I felt it ended rather abruptly. Again, I don't want to give away any spoilers about the ending of The Genius. I just a bit more had been flushed out.

The following is the publisher's summary from Audible:
The sinister and provocative thriller from crime writing's freshest new voice.
Ethan Muller is struggling to establish his reputation as a dealer in the cut-throat world of contemporary art, when he stumbles onto a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: in a decaying New York slum, an elderly tenant named Victor Cracke has disappeared, leaving behind a staggeringly large trove of original artwork. Nobody can say anything for certain about Cracke, except that he came and went in solitude for nearly forty years, his genius hidden and unacknowledged. All that is about to change.
So what if, strictly speaking, the art doesn't belong to Ethan? He can sell it - and he does just that, mounting a wildly successful show. Buyers clamor. Critics sing. Museums are interested, and Ethan's photo looks great in The New York Times. Then things go to hell....
I am giving The Genius a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

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