Doctor Criminale - by Malcolm Bradbury (Paperback)

About the Book

Urbane, polymathic, multilingual, Doctor Bazlo Criminale, man from nowhere, citizen of the world, is a mega-star in the cultural firmament - a critic, novelist, playwright, and philosopher published, quoted, and feted in every corner of the globe, around which he seems to be in endless transit. He is the embodiment of the modern European philosopher, the "Great Thinker of the Age of Glasnost." Naive, anonymous, provincial, Francis Jay has ambitions only to break into the modern media. When he's asked to research a TV documentary on Bazlo Criminale, he steps into a world as far outside his experience as it is beyond his comprehension.

Book Synopsis

A headstrong young journalist goes on the adventure of a lifetime, traveling through Europe to find the world's most enigmatic philosopher

Bazlo Criminale is one of Europe's most legendary living men. A mysterious novelist and thinker known for his extreme elusiveness, the beloved Criminale is a cultural icon of the highest order. Seeking to find the man behind the myth, a London television-news station hires Francis Jay, an enterprising young reporter, to find Criminale. From Vienna to Budapest to the picturesque lakeshores of Italy, Jay journeys across the continent--and even briefly to Brazil--interviewing the man's biographer, his publisher, and his former lover, all of whom have their own interests at stake. Through literary award dinners and other examples of "culture as spectacle," Jay must navigate the chaotic world of post-Cold War Europe as he chases the specter of a literary legend.

Review Quotes

"Doctor Criminale offers a nourishing feast. . . . Crème de la crème de la crème." --The New York Times Book Review

"Eminently readable . . . and perceptive and poignant." --Time Out

"Bradbury writes with splendid energy and a fertile mind." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

About the Author

Malcolm Bradbury (1932-2000) was a well-known novelist, critic, and academic, as well as founder of the creative writing department at the University of East Anglia. His seven novels include The History Man and Rates of Exchange, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Bradbury was knighted in 2000 for services to literature and died the same year.