featured-image

Not to brag, but when I was a tween, I scored a personalized signed photograph of Keanu Reeves in “The Matrix Reloaded.” Although I’ve long outgrown my enthusiasm for celebrity autographs, I’m hardly alone in still being a fan — of the actor’s films, yes, but also of his dating an age-appropriate artist (the bar really is that low for men in Hollywood), founding a small press with her specializing in artists’ books and being a generally nice guy . So when I heard a few months ago that Reeves had paired up with China Miéville on a novel, “The Book of Elsewhere,” I was delighted.

The idea of them working together was pleasing: Like Reeves, the acclaimed author of “Perdido Street Station,” “Embassytown,” “The City & The City” and many others has a sort of could-beat-you-up mien that is belied by his soft-spoken demeanor. And as a longtime fan of Miéville’s books, I couldn’t see him working on a project that merely stroked celebrity vanity, and so was genuinely looking forward to his first novel in more than a decade, regardless of its co-author. While I had reservations when I first started the book — its prologue is written in a jerky, staccato style that reads rather like scene descriptions in screenplays — I was soon won over by Miéville’s otherwise lush prose and his and Reeves’ melancholy romp of a narrative.



“ The Book of Elsewhere” follows Unute, a man who cannot die. Born from lightning and his mother’s prayers, Unute.

Back to Beauty Page