Matt Dustin

Ethan Canin is my new favorite author. I’ve read The Palace Thief and For Kings and Planets one after the other in the past two weeks, and I must say, Canin’s literary style is one of deep, clear, moral prose. I’ve read six books so far this summer, and his are easily my favorites. The Palace Thief is a collection of four stories, each one addressing a unique and fresh perspective on ethical dilemas and the psychology behind the players in such life-forming (or life-revealing) yet ordinary situations. Canin is insightful, smooth, interestingly candid. The forth of these stories is now a major motion picture The Emperor’s Club.

I just finished For Kings and Planets last night. Honestly, I’m sad it’s over. I felt like I had so much in common with the main character Orno, a vested interest in his future as if it somehow was related to mine. I don’t have that much in common with him circumstantially, however, psychologically I am a similar creature. The clash of cultures, small town-big town, east-west, ordinary-unique; Canin threads the binding of the book with such a battle scene. Orno is from a small, ordinary, midwestern farm town. He experienced a good, moral upbringing where he learned respect and the value of work. Then Orno questions everything he knows, or in a way, has what he knows and who he is revealed to him, as he attends Columbia University in the totally foreign, progressive and exciting culture of New York City. The book follows his friendships, his love, his choices, and is interlaced with introspect and self discovery. I must say it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.