Inside Job was another novella I picked up from the Subterranean Press Humble Bundle (Like Amityville Horrible), and it deals with spiritualists and spiritualism, but that’s about it for what the two books have in common.
Which is a good thing, since this novella was one of the reasons I bought the Bundle in the first place. I’ve been a fan of Willis since I read To Say Nothing of the Dog, which was dense but worth it. Inside Job is less dense but still worth it for Willis fans and, I think, for those curious about her writing style.
The novella tells the story of Rob, a skeptic running a debunking journal, and Kildy, a too-good-to-be-true actress who has quit acting to come work for him. Her publicist puts them on the case of Ariaura, channeller of the great spirit ‘Isus’. Normally, Rob doesn’t bother with channellers because there’s no good way to solidly disprove their connection to the spirit world. But Kildy insists, and right from the get-go things don’t go quite the way Rob expects.
Willis’ deft touch with words is in play here, as well as her attention to the nuances of speech and how it varies both from person to person and from era to era. Each chapter begins with an appropriate quotation from either H.L. Mencken or Inherit the Wind, and there is a question raised about “The Baby in the Icebox” — a short story I had not heard of and that I am now going to have to see if I can find a copy of because now that I know how the baby got there I still have a lot of questions.
The book is sort of a mystery and sort of urban fantasy and sort of romance (but not really). Rob is skeptical and occasionally blind to what’s right in front of him; Kildy is too good to be true, Ariaura is ridiculous, and the way Willis resolves the central question of the story — Is Ariaura actually channeling the spirit world? — is brilliant. Imperfect people fighting their own flaws in the imperfect fight for Truth, at least.
Though I think, in this case, Justice does follow.
(Also–this marks the quarter-cannonball I signed up for, but I think I’m now going to chase down the half, if I can. Reading books won’t be a problem — writing the reviews will!)
Can you explain the Humble Bundle to me? After your review yesterday I went over and checked it out…but I want to know more! (Thanks!)
Basically, the Humble Bundle people put together a collection of books, and then people can pay-what-they-want to get most of or all the books. There’s usually a set group of books (or, if you’re interested, games) that you get no matter what you spend, plus a few that you get if you pay over the average amount on the day you buy, plus sometimes some bonuses if you pay over a specific amount, plus some books that are usually part of the “over the average” but aren’t announced until later. And (for some bundles) some percentage of the money you pay goes to charity — and you get to decide what percentage that is (100% to the charity? 90% to charity, 5% to the authors, 5% to the tip jar?).
Oh, and once a bundle is gone, it’s gone.
I haven’t been adding a link because I want people to buy through Amazon to raise funds, though now I’m wondering how a Humble Bundle is set up and if we could get a Cannonball Bundle put together.
Congrats on your quarter Cannonball! I’ve just added this to my long list.
Thanks!
I hear you about the long list. And I don’t know about you, but mine just keeps growing…