GLASS MOUNTAIN
R. M. Koster, GLASS MOUNTAINR.M. KosterKoster's latest offering (after the Tinieblas Trilogy) attempts a high-wire act—the injection of a "serious" literary sensibility into a Clancy-style military thriller. The narrator is Carlos Fuertes, son of a deposed Latin American president. Fuertes went over the edge doing counterinsurgency in Vietnam, returning to America after three tours, although his family still thinks he is missing in action. In 1984, he is plagued by gruesome hallucinations and operating as a kidnapper, snatching kids for the disgruntled losers of custody battles. He breaks down after abducting the children of Ellen Gonders and delivering them to her ex-husband, Antonio Oliviera, a dangerous oligarch from Atacalpa, a Central American country with some resemblance to El Salvador. Down and out in Juarez, Carlos decides to expiate his guilt by joining a semilegal operation organized by one of his former commanders in Vietnam, "Ape" Thomas. The op's aim is to snatch a swindling millionaire, Edgar Haft, from Atacalpa, where the laws against extradition protect him from the U.S. The op is financed by another roaming millionaire, Jim Keegan, who's seeking a government pardon. After rigorous training, Carlos infiltrates Haft's household as a gardener, only to discover connections between Haft and Antonio Oliviera, as well as Ellen Gonders and Haft's wife, Diana. Then he makes it his mission to return Ellen's children to her. The narrative takes time to achieve momentum, hindered by distracting tangents and constant, pointless retractions: "I sat down... with my face in my hands. No, I opened the tap and spritzed my face. No again." Koster's grasp of Mission Impossible
detailing is impressive, but fans of the action genre may find it difficult to indulge his existential bent. (May)
closeDetailsReviewed on: 04/16/2001
Genre: Fiction
Paperback - 304 pages - 978-0-393-34158-4
Koster's latest offering (after the Tinieblas Trilogy) attempts a high-wire act—the injection of a "serious" literary sensibility into a Clancy-style military thriller. The narrator is Carlos Fuertes, son of a deposed Latin American president. Fuertes went over the edge doing counterinsurgency in Vietnam, returning to America after three tours, although his family still thinks he is missing in action. In 1984, he is plagued by gruesome hallucinations and operating as a kidnapper, snatching kids for the disgruntled losers of custody battles. He breaks down after abducting the children of Ellen Gonders and delivering them to her ex-husband, Antonio Oliviera, a dangerous oligarch from Atacalpa, a Central American country with some resemblance to El Salvador. Down and out in Juarez, Carlos decides to expiate his guilt by joining a semilegal operation organized by one of his former commanders in Vietnam, "Ape" Thomas. The op's aim is to snatch a swindling millionaire, Edgar Haft, from Atacalpa, where the laws against extradition protect him from the U.S. The op is financed by another roaming millionaire, Jim Keegan, who's seeking a government pardon. After rigorous training, Carlos infiltrates Haft's household as a gardener, only to discover connections between Haft and Antonio Oliviera, as well as Ellen Gonders and Haft's wife, Diana. Then he makes it his mission to return Ellen's children to her. The narrative takes time to achieve momentum, hindered by distracting tangents and constant, pointless retractions: "I sat down... with my face in my hands. No, I opened the tap and spritzed my face. No again." Koster's grasp of
Reviewed on: 04/16/2001
Genre: Fiction
Paperback - 304 pages - 978-0-393-34158-4
