The Lost Civilization of Suolucidir

Synopsis

"With shades of Umberto Eco and Paul Auster, this brilliant, addictive adventure novel is about the search for a mythical lost city located somewhere in modern-day Iran. As a succession of explorers and shady characters dig deeper into the landscape, the ancient secret of Suolucidir is gradually revealed. This is brainy, escapist fiction at its best. "--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "It's always a delight to discover a voice as original as Susan Daitch's. "--Salman Rushdie "One of the most intelligent and attentive writers at work in the US today. "--David Foster Wallace Indiana Jones meets Italo Calvino in a masterful, absurdist blend of biting social satire, rollicking adventure, invented history and mythology. A series of archeological expeditions unfolds through time, each one looking for the ruins of a fabled underground city-state that once flourished in a remote province near the border of present-day Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Sealed off for centuries by seismic activity, Suolucidir beckons with the promise of plunder and the glory of discovery, fantasies as varied as the imaginations of her aspiring modern-day conquerors. As the tumult of the twentieth century's great wars, imperial land grabs and anti-colonial revolutions swirl across its barren, deserted landscape, the ancient city remains entombed below the surface of the earth. A succession of adventurers, speculators and unsavory characters arrive in search of their prize, be it archeological treasure, oil, or evidence of crimes and punishments. Intrigue, conspiracies, and counter-plots abound, and contemporary events interfere with each expedition, whether in the form of the Axis advance, British Petroleum, or the Revolutionary Guards. People disappear, relics are stolen, and the city closes in upon itself once more. A satiric, post-colonial adventure story of mythic proportions,The Lost Civilization of Suolucidirtakes place against a background of actual events, in a part of the world with a particular historical relationship to Russia and the West. But though we are treated to visual "evidence" of its actual existence, Suolucidir remains a mystery, perhaps an invention of those who seek it, a place where history and identity are subject to revision, and the boundaries between East and West are anything but solid, reliable, or predictable. Praise forThe Lost Civilization of Suolucidir: "Susan Daitch has written a literary barnburner of epic proportions. The question buried at the core ofThe Lost Civilization of Suolucidir is one of empirical--or is the imperial?--knowledge itself. Her labyrinthine tale of archeological derring-do calls to mind both 1984 and 2666, and does so by looking backward in time as well as forward. It is also utterly original, the work of a visionary writer with an artistic sensibility all her own. "--Andrew Ervin, author ofBurning Down George Orwell's House "This is a novel of archeology and history, of mythology and empire, powered by an undeniable call to adventure and a deep yearning for understanding, written by a novelist who manages to surprise on nearly every page. "--Matt Bell, author ofScrapper "Daitch's latest is a beguiling and virtuoso companion to our inevitable end: a novel that wrenches, sentence by fine sentence, some order from the chaos, while never shortchanging the chaos itself. "--Mark Doten, author ofThe Infernal "Daitch's novel isIndiana Jones for the introspective crowd--a continual, thrilling, and harrowing search for historical treasures. "--Michelle Anne Schingler,Foreword Reviews

Copyright:

2016

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780872867017

Publisher:

City Lights Books

Date of Addition:

07/15/16

Copyrighted By:

Susan Daitch

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Literature and Fiction, Humor

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.