Summer Reading: Solomon vs. Lord by Paul Levine

Few months back, I'd read Gerald So's post about this romantic comdey-ish novel, put it on my amazon wish list, and let it sit there for while. Finally got around to throwing it in the shopping cart so I could get the free shipping.

Boy, am I ever glad I did that! Paul Levine has got himself a new fan. This was a fun read, very likeable characters, clever writing, and a satisfactory mystery.

Okay, so here's the setup (very minor spoiler): You've got your easy-going, maverick, street smart, fun-loving guy with the unorthodox methods, Steve Solomon (read: David Addison, Sam Malone, Dharma Finklestein); and you've got your uptight, gorgeous, book smart, cultured, plays-by-the-rules gal, Victoria Lord (read: Maddie Hays, Diane Chambers, Greg Montgomery). He's a defense lawyer, she's a prosecutor (at least until she gets fired due to his antics). His name's monosyllabic, hers isn't. Hilarity and attraction ensues. Sure, have seen and read this more times than I can count. And it either works or it doesn't. There is no middle ground. And it does. Wonderfully.

Their chemistry, the back-and-forth, the will-they-or-won't-they fit nicely into the case that they try together. Actually, it's not really a will-they-or-won't-they, it's a when-will-they. Levine tells (occasionally retells) the story by flipping back and forth between either perspective. Again, that's something that works or it doesn't. It worked.

The supporting cast of characters is great as well--Steve's father, the gang of retirees who hang out at the courthouse, Victoria's friend, her fiancé, the models who own the building Steve's office is in, their client...they all fall into the category of "have seen this before," but Levine uses them well--and they don't normally feel like the clichés they could so easily be.

There's one member of the supporting cast who doesn't feel like he came from a paint-by-number mystery: Steve's nephew, Bobby. Don't want to give too much away, but he's a sweet 10-year old boy, with a memory that won't quit, autistic tendencies, the ability to make any name into a dirty anagram, and a loving uncle. Victoria will come to locate the decency of Steve in Bobby--and I have come to center the humanity of the series in Bobby.

The book can feel like a pilot episode for a TV series--and Gerald says there's maybe one in the works. I hope not. I just can't imagine them getting Bobby right--he'll either be cast off, or turned into a Wesley Crusher-esque wunderkind. If they do push ahead--the success or failure of the show will be dependent upon one thing: casting. They get the right Steve and the right Victoria and the show will work. If not, fuhgeddaboutit.

Highly recommended--I'm pretty sure I had a smile on my face most of the time I was reading it--and for a book that clocks in just under 600 pages, that's saying something.