Essentially this is a mystery: who
shot Lizard’s parents and why? It is
also a complex story about family, fame and love (or something like it). Two of the major characters are larger than
life. One is David Hochmeyer a.k.a.
Lizard – when we meet him he is seventeen and almost seven feet tall. The other is Sylphide, a tiny, world-reknown
ballerina who lives in the mansion across the pond from Lizard’s house.
The structure will not appeal to
those who prefer their stories completely linear. The novel starts with the murders and then
shoots into the future, then way into the past and then to the present. These chunks each reveal more about what was
going on between these two families, interwoven in unexpected ways. It is well-crafted, but I found myself
wanting more mystery, less relationships.
