Looking For a Good Book

What happens when you put Gustav Klimt, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Frankenstein together in one book? In the hands of author Christopher Moore it becomes an absolutely beautiful, mesmerizing tale.

It is 1911 in Vienna. Gustav Klimt is perhaps the best known artist in all of Austria. Late one night he discovers the body of a nude woman in the Danube canal. While the ‘right’ thing to do would be to call for a policeman, Klimt, taken with the sight, must first make a sketch of the woman. But while doing so, the woman coughs. Stunned that she’s alive and not dead, Klimt gets her to his studio where his muse and model – a woman named Wally – tend to her.

The nearly-drowned girl doesn’t remember anything about who she is or how she came to be in the canal, and her personality is quite animalistic. Klimt chooses to call her Judith and seeks the help of Sigmund Freud (who seeks the help of Carl Jung) to find out who she is. The answer, however, is unexpected and unbelievable.

I see Christopher Moore’s books in the store all the time but I’ve only read one of his books, and I didn’t much care for it. So I come to this book not as a fan of Christopher Moore, but because of the description of the story. And I’m so glad I did.

This is such a well-crafted, tightly-designed story. Any tangents manage to circle back and tie nicely in with the arc of the book.

One of Moore’s trademarks is his humor (or so I gather) and the humor here is spot-on. It’s often subtle or integrated into the narrative such that you can only take the moment to smile rather than laugh because you want to keep on reading.

Almost as good as the book itself is Moore’s Afterword, detailing some the facts behind the figures and the work. Wally – the unsung hero in the story – was real?! How cool is this! (And damn the Nazis for burning the only painting of her!)

I just loved, loved, loved this book. My Kindle ARC includes some small B&W images of Klimt’s work.

Looking for a good book? Anima Rising by Christopher Moore is a perfect tale.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Anima Rising

author: Christopher Moore

publisher: William Morrow

ISBN: 9780062434159

hardcover, 400 pages