Book review: Firmin, Sam Savage

Mr Sam Savage sounds like someone out of a Jim Dodge story. His author bio informs us that he has bachelor's and doctoral degrees in Philosophy from Yale University, that he briefly taught at that same venerable institution, and that he has also been a bicycle mechanic, carpenter, commercial fisherman, and letterpress printer. I've just seen his photo now too, and he even looks like someone out of a Jim Dodge story:

But whereas you might expect such a man to write a rather straightforward, masculine, Hemingwayan novel about wilderness, dusty plains, squinting into the sun, bare dry branches, callused hands, rocks, carts, mongrels, etc, instead Mr Savage has written - very, very ably - a tender, witty, thoughtful, surprising, delightful book about books, writing and life. And rodents.

I can't imagine how any book lover's life could fail to be enriched by the addition of Firmin to one of its knotholes.

Favourite quote:

"Infested is an interesting word. Regular people don't infest, couldn't infest if they tried. Nobody infests except fleas, rats, and Jews. When you infest, you are just asking for it."