The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio
*Starred Review* Since his parents' death, Carlo has worked for his uncle, a merchant, but Uncle's patience with Carlo's daydreaming wears so thin that he finally gives the young man a purse of coins and ships him off to nearby Campania. Carlo, who has just discovered a treasure map in an old book, travels across the sea to the Middle Eastern port that marks the beginning of the Road of Golden Dreams. Planning to follow that perilous route to the treasure, Carlo hires two traveling companions: Baksheesh, a lazy, loquacious camel puller, and Shira, a young woman bent on revenge. Against all advice, Carlo follows his dream, only to find it changing as he comes to know himself through the crucible of the journey. A consummate storyteller, Alexander, who died in May, takes readers on a memorable journey as well. On one level, he offers them the vicarious experience of Carlo's adventures and the shame, relief, fear, anguish, hope, and joy he feels along the way. On another, he shares his fascination with human folly and courage and his appreciation for the mysterious powers of story and of art. One of Alexander's most appealing characters, Salamon, the humble, cheerful wise man, surely speaks for the author when he learns what Carlo is seeking and tells him, "What a shame if you should find it. Your quest would be over. And then what? As if a fortune could make up for the bother of gaining it. No, no, my lad: The journey is the treasure." Phelan, Carolyn