WILD ANIMUS

Rich Shapero's first novel--about an acid-head in the sixties who believes he's a half-man/half-ram shaman--is missing the steady hand of an experienced editor. Exploring one's primitive side can make for great literature, but this book is a plodding polemic. The writing style is self-important, and the characters, like chess pieces, exist solely to advance metaphysical points of view. Perhaps an abridgment would have helped. Peter Coyote, no stranger to the sixties, somehow manages to squeeze life into lines like "I want our love to be my religion" and "where the molten heart is always flowing." But, overall, this book weighs too heavily even on his capable shoulders. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 05]