Not Waiting For Raban
About an hour ago, after learning of the existence of a new Jonathan Raban novel, we went straight to Elliott Bay Books to pick it up. The Guardian review is not unreservedly positive, but it doesn't really matter.
As its title suggests, spying, and being spied upon, is the one of the novel's main themes. Tad puts it squarely: "We're all spooks now. Look at the way people Google their prospective dates. Everybody does it. Everybody's trying to spy on everybody else." A CCTV camera, though, will only show you what someone is doing. It takes a novel to take you inside their head and show you why they're doing it. Surveillance is as good a way of any of spying on your fellow Americans - and we're all Americans, now.
Seattlest would have gone straight to Elliott Bay Books even if the Guardian had said something like, "it's the worst piece of crap you haven't read yet since Albom's new Starbucks book," such is our regard for Raban's novels and our disregard for other people's dissenting opinions. Anyway, Elliott Bay was a bust. They don't have it and they won't have it until January. January! Amazon has it available for pre-order. This is getting depressing. No review copies, no luck at brick-and-mortar retail, and nothing to be had at Amazon.com. Last try: Amazon.co.uk. We're in luck, Surveillance is available for only £10.19 and a week's salary for shipping and handling.
