cover image Robert, Last Name Unknown

Robert, Last Name Unknown

Robert Corrales. Vantage (www.vantagepress.com), $16.95 paper (379p) ISBN 978-0-533-16516-2

Corrales's novel%E2%80%94based on "a lifetime of memories"%E2%80%94reads like an optimistic and less profane cousin to the slightly fictionalized autobiography of Charles Bukowski. Impressionistic vignettes of early childhood in a German orphanage lead to an overly detailed blow-by-blow account of how the protagonist, Robert, bootstrapped himself from runaway orphan to aeronautics tycoon, all on his powerful knack for business and invention. There is an interesting story here, but it is hampered by anachronism (as his son contemplates fighting in the Vietnam War, Robert orders the confiscation of laptops), grammatical errors (the text switches person, narrator, and tense without warning and with disruptive frequency), and repetition of events. Additionally, Robert's constant business success is hard to believe.