Bushman Lives!
Let’s face it: Pinkwater is sui generis—there isn’t anyone else quite like him. And if you doubt that, you haven’t read his latest, a book that is almost impossible to synopsize. Suffice it to say, it is a story set in 1950s Chicago of teenager Harold Knishke, who—inspired or perhaps enchanted by a de Kooning painting—decides to ditch his flute lessons and become an artist instead. The result is a bildungsroman as surrealistic romp, involving Harold’s best friend, Geets, whose talent is climbing tall buildings; the famous gorilla Bushman, who may or may not be dead; strange mentors; a spooky, white house; an apocryphal island; and enough coincidences to make Dickens green with envy. The wacky, sometimes bewildering story is told in 79 brief chapters, some no longer than a single page. The prevailing tone is Pinkwateresquely insouciant, and the abrupt ending may leave some readers scratching their heads and others chortling. Clearly not for every reader, but Pinkwater’s many fans will rejoice. Grades 6-9. --Michael Cart