“Mouth to Mouth” revisits a revered plotline of a stranger (or near stranger in this case) relating a twisted tale to our narrator hero in the bar (actually an airport), with slow reveals and a juicy ending twist. Set in the arcane world of high-end art galleries, it recaps a young man saving an art dealer’s life and then insinuating himself into the other man’s life. It’s not easy to maintain control of a narrative told to another in a short time, avoiding the shaggy dog aspect of the setup, but the author carries it off with aplomb, eking out the tension. A patina of unreliability clouds the entire tale, to good effect. Mouth to Mouth is concise at under 200 pages and I read it in a single satisfied sitting, although after the climax, even with the nifty surprise, I was left with an impression of a modest achievement. Nonetheless, Mouth to Mouth will grace many a book club’s considerations, I am certain.
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