The Grand Complication

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“Kurzweil delivers a remarkable novel, a flawless blend of adventure, intellect, suspense, humor and antiquity.”

—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“This is a delightfully intricate jewel box of a novel, and it works on multiple levels. Librarians will find the book a riotously funny in-joke…while connoisseurs of the most sophisticated literary-historical thrillers will lose themselves completely in Kurzweil‘s multifaceted world.”

—Booklist, starred review

“Formidably gifted. Kurzweil’s ineffably witty dialogue reads like the rich, strange fruit of an inspired collaboration between Henry James and Oscar Wilde. Every bit as entertaining as it is sophisticated and elusive.”

—Kirkus, starred review

“Engaging…Inventive. A satisfying, multilevel tale. Kurzweil has a gentle touch, and Alexander is a delightful observer. A mystery story — a hunt along the lines of ‘The Maltese Falcon’ for an ancient and desirable object — but also the story of another sort of complication, love.”

—D.T. Max, The New York Times Book Review

“Puckish and erudite. Kurzweil’s intricately constructed novel has no shortage of esoterica, and the author’s fondness for sexual comedy supplies a welcome counterweight.”

—The New Yorker

"A wonderfully inventive novel. A brainy mystery…a Hitchcock-like zigzag inspired by a real-life theft.”

—Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today

“Playful psychological intrigue…[that] unfolds in graceful, elevated prose. An engaging mystery, The Grand Complication is also a labyrinthine exploration of authorship and fictional identity.”

—Abe Loomis, The Wall Street Journal

“Kurzweil‘s focus is as narrow as an electron microscope‘s. Which is precisely what makes his second novel, The Grand Complication, such a delight. It takes us inside the mind of a librarian to see the world according to the Dewey Decimal System. Readers are treated to a hilarious view of what it is like to live with books full time.”

—Ron Grossman, The Chicago Tribune