The Day the Televisions Stopped

On June 21, 2002, all the televisions in the world suddenly, inexplicably went blank. Now, many years later, people get their entertainment from storytellers, old men and women who remember the days of TV. This ingenious, diverting debut novel presents a series of humorous, eccentric and romantic tales relating (among other things) the effort to discover what went wrong. The first story begins in Amazonas, Brazil, where on June 21 a group of laborers has gathered to watch a World Cup soccer match. Among them is Paco, a poor road worker, who suddenly ``knows'' he must find Greg Fisher, a world-class genius, ex-space traveler and atmospheric physicist. Subsequent stories--told by a doctor, a newspaper reporter, an astronaut, an ancient Chinese woman, a talent agent and a retired professor--chronicle Paco's hazardous journey to North America and Fisher's attempt to find out why the televisions went off. The requisite moral lesson at the end goes down easily thanks to the author's dazzling narrative technique, which makes this modern fable very good fun. ( Sept. )