Like almost everyone else in the novel he is doing this because he can, because, what is so interesting about the truth anyway. There is Ronnie Fontaine, a man who’s imagination seems to know no bounds, at one point he enthralls the guests at a dinner party with the impossible story of running away on a boat (named the Reno) during which he has an inappropriate relationship with an older couple. How could they be with names like John Dogg and Helen Hellenberger. They are all parodies and contradictions of themselves. The secondary characters provide infinite fascination with their tall tales and idiosyncrasies. Sometimes one turns on a radio and they listen to music, or to the news, but they don’t care about the actual news, just that the radio is issuing a steadyish sound whose particulars they do not have to follow to understand what the radio is actually telling them”. We stepped over puddles of lamb’s blood as we crossed the street to the other side, where there were more bagels.” and “Sometimes they just sit. “There were bagels scattered all over the sidewalk, a heavy and rancid animal smell in the air. It is ridiculously delightful throughout and helps maintain the momentum of the novel in times when the plot is lacking. The biggest strength of the novel lies in Kushner’s prose. Kushner deals with every character and situation in the same way making no outright judgements about them on the page and letting them speak for themselves. From the hilarious passages about different kinds of work stoppages and the aloofness of those society consider to be important (Didi Bombonero) to the haughty and out of touch nature of the Italian aristocracy. The constantly changing locations allow Kushner to poke and prod at all sorts of highly regarded institutions. She sees this whole ordeal as some sort of performance art which is amusing since she criticizes her friend Giddle so much for living in a false reality. Reno originally dreams of speed, having gone from young skiing prodigy appearing in McDonald’s commercials to wanting to race in the Bonneville salt flats. The main plot (if there is one) is about her coming of age. Kushner manages to move from theme to theme with a gracefulness that should not be so easy.Īt the heart of all this, we find Reno, a young naive girl, from, you guessed it, Nevada. The second novel by American author Rachel Kushner thrusts you into the worlds of the 1970’s New York art scene, motorcycle racing, WW2, and a workers revolution in Italy.

What is the truth? More importantly, does it exist, and does it matter? These questions stay with you long after you finish “The Flame Throwers”.

The flamethrowers book review