Middle C

Once again, Gass proves too erudite for me. I did find this book more palatable than either of the other of his novels I've read (Omsetter's Luck and The Tunnel). He is a master of the rant. I liked a lot of the prose and found much of the story worth following. On the whole, I just don't know quite what to make of it, though, or what, besides being carried along on the trip and enjoying a lot of the humor and some of the humanity of it, I ought to take from the book. I suspect the defect lies in me more than in the book. I'm glad I read it, in any case, but I wish I knew enough more about the sort of world Gass knows about to make more of the book.