Book Review: Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman

Andromeda Klein is a strange girl with a strange life. She’s into magic and tarot and reads obsessively on the subject. Her best friend has recently died, her much older boyfriend has disappeared and her parents are as kooky as she is. But things get really complicated when she discovers the “friends of the library” plot to rid her local library of all the best books.

Ok…first what I liked about this novel: Andromeda is a well-drawn and fascinating specimen. Her interactions with people are often unintentionally hilarious or even borderline dangerous because her hearing problem (something to do with brittle bones) means she mishears about 68% of what is said. There are many scenes where you just have to shake your head in wonder at the twisted imagination necessary to think up such absurdities and such wacky characters (I particularly liked the paranoid dad and the hyper-texting mom).

And of course I loved the bits about coincidence, being that it is the subject of my imaginary thesis. Apparently, “the universe chooses to show itself in tiny flashes, revealing connections amongst its diverse elements at odd moments. Coincidence, say the unobservant or the spiritually obtuse, when they notice them at all. But educated people […] know them as synchs, since the common understanding of coincidence implies something accidental, and there are no accidents.” (p. 2 ARC version. May vary from the final printed version.)

As Andromeda tells her “disciple” (a guy who for some reason would prefer to be her boyfriend), “A synch would be like: [….] you know, the Universe is nudging you a little there. […] Maybe it’s telling you something that’s going to happen, or maybe it’s showing something about what is happening. Or maybe it just wants you to wake up a little.” (p. 328, ARC)

But….because there is so little actually going on (the “friends of the library” plot notwithstanding), the book feels overlong and the constant references to obscure occult literature become tiresome very quickly. I have to admit that my eyes glazed over at times, and I resorted to skimming through some sections.

This will be a tough sell for the pink and glitter crowd, but I am sure there are some which will think it’s utterly brilliant.

ANDROMEDA KLEIN is available in hardcover now. Find out more about it at the author's website.