Nathaniel Rich

Shockingly strong debut from gifted writer

There is little beyond exuberance to betray The Mayor’s Tongue as a debut novel, likely the consequence of Nathaniel Rich’s formidable apprenticeship as a critic, essayist and senior editor of the Paris Review. Rich demonstrates an almost impish delight in confounding rather than elucidating, systematically disfiguring the barrier between fiction and reality.

Both Eugene Brentani and Mr. Schmitz are on quests to the enchanted hinterlands of Italy’s mountainous North—one for his disappeared lady love, the other for his inexplicably deteriorating best friend. Their journeys are distinct but complementary, not overlapping so much as being similarly mired in a fantastical domain ruled by the words and rumored presence of Constance Eakins, a celebrated lothario, philosopher king and profligate poet.

The novel’s foremost delight is its measured, nearly imperceptible descent into the realm of fairy-tale. There is no rabbit hole to fall through—reality and fairy-tale co-exist, sharing the same borders, the same characters, and the same heartbreak for jilted lovers.