THE ASTRAL

This remarkable novel takes its name from a Brooklyn institution that sounds something like Manhattan’s famous Chelsea Hotel, seedy home to a variety of colorful characters. These include Harry Quirk, a respected but basically failed poet, and his enraged and estranged wife, Luz, who is convinced, wrongly, that Harry is having an affair. Giving us a psychologically acute study of the death of love after a long-term marriage, Christensen succeeds impressively in inhabiting Harry’s point of view. Donald Corren brings Christensen’s large cast of characters, of which Brooklyn itself is one, to vivid, eccentric life. His version of Harry’s freegan lesbian daughter, Karina, is effective; his messianic son, Hector, is a splendid creation; and his angry duet between Harry and his wife’s therapist is hilarious. B.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2011]