Constantly Moving the Bookmark

* I received this as an ARC in a Goodreads “First Reads” Giveaway *

In the Reina Sofia Museum in Germany twelve year-old Helen McTaggart viewed a painting (the name of which escapes her all these years later), which began her life long … hmmm, shall we say OBSESSION, with Salvador Dali and his wife/muse Gala. An obsession that had all kinds of consequences including vivid dreams about conversations Helen and Dali have where Dali is forever criticizing her while at the same time giving her life advice. When circumstances force her to move back home to small town New Mexico she decides to use her position as a teacher to introduce art, specifically Dali, to her students. Perhaps not realizing just how small minded this small town was, her lessons quickly lead to accusations of lewdness (some of the fine art included nudes) and eventually even lead to charges of being a sex offender. As far as Helen could see, the best thing to do was to get the hell out of Dodge.

What better place to escape than to Spain where she can stroll through the Dali Museum at Figueres where she runs into Andre, a very attractive and very seductive Frenchman. They have two central things in common – a love of all things art, specifically Dali and a really hot life in bed. Before she realizes it she is head over heals for Andre and, up to her ears deep in a life of running from the law, art theft, forgery and double crosses.

This book can only be described as a transatlantic romp. The word surreal not only applies to the art works in the book but the action as well. While turning the pages I was often left shaking my head and thinking to myself, “really?” If this had been intended as a serious book I would have had to give it a pretty low rating, but when a book describes itself as “a paranoid romantic caper” you know you are going to be in for some keystone cop fun. And, it was. Over the top characters you couldn’t help but like, situations you are forced to shake your head at and conversations that force you to either laugh out loud or groan in agony. When the author has award winning feature films to his credit, is a stand-up comic as well as an actor/singer I suspected I was going to be in for a good time. Kudos to Canadian Max Mitchell on his first novel.