By Rick Moody
Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover

The Diviners opens with what may be the dullest prologue ever written. It spends twelve pages describing the way the sun’s light travels across the earth’s surface in the twenty-four hours prior to, “Morning, just after the election, year two thousand.”

Readers who surmount this mind-numbing pointlessness are rewarded with Rosa Meandro. Rosa, a recovering alcoholic, begins hearing cell phone conversations in her head but not just any conversations. They involve a television miniseries being developed by her daughter.

The Diviners Excerpt His mom! His mom! Coming into the room! His mom is beautiful! He forgets his mom is coming into the room and then she comes into the room, and it's a surprise and then here she is and he loves her. He forgets how beautiful she is, and then suddenly she is coming into the room to take him home, and he remembers that she is so beautiful, because she has hair this dark, and she has dark eyes, and she is beautiful and round. And she's his mom. And she has the spot right between her eyes which is a beautiful spot, and nobody else’s mom here has that spot, which means it is beautiful. And when his mom smiles, it's a beautiful smile, and when she doesn't smile, that means it's a time before smiling, and this is a beautiful time because a smile will come along soon. © Rick Moody Published with permission from Little, Brown and Company

The creation of the miniseries draws a large group of characters, many of whom are indistinguishable and forgettable. The point of view shifts at least once with each chapter as multiple plot elements are introduced. None of these threads come to a clear resolution.

One memorable character is Tyrone Duffy, former artist and current fugitive. Tyrone is accused of attempted murder largely because he is black, although there are other issues such as multiple personality disorder and a past affair with the victim.

Tyrone flees to his parents’ home where his younger brother attempts to help him hide in an eco-terrorist safe house. He clashes with the group’s leader who threatens to expose him.

The one bright moment in the novel is a chapter told from the point of view of a young autistic boy named Jaspreet. He brings the only bit of innocence and honesty to the book. His plight is related with imagination and wit. Jaspreet is not seen again after this chapter.

Finally, after 534 pages, the epilogue brings us back to the election in a weak attempt at tying up the novel. There is no clear ending and no resolution of any of the conflicts presented in the story.

Bookworm's Briefing
The Diviners is plotless and dull. The dialogue is wooden. The content is, at best, vulgar and offensive. At worst, its depictions of bigotry, pedophilia and lasciviousness are outright harmful.