Staff Pick: Callisto

Callisto by Torsten Krol

In this fun farce, Odell Deefus is on his way to Callisto, Kansas to enlist in the Army when his car breaks down on a country road. Deefus wanders into the nearest house and begins an odyssey of lies and misunderstanding that sinks him into deeper trouble at every turn. With his own slightly skewed brand of common sense, the hapless hero finds himself juggling a drug ring, dead bodies (literally), a televangelist, the FBI, and Homeland Security. Despite Odell's shortcomings and inability to get himself out of the ever-worsening situation, he is a sympathetic character, a sort of country Forrest Gump, but with a taste for liquor and a mad crush on Condoleeza Rice.

Author Torsten Krol, according to the book cover, "is a writer. Nothing further is known about him." He is reputedly Australian and speculatively a famous author writing under a pseudonym. Although he does occasionally allow a Britishism to slip into the text, for the most part the Kansas setting, dialogue and characters are well-written. A great read!

Maria - Community Relations

More about the book