The Last Days of Lacuna Cabal – Sean Dixon

Amazon Synopsis

An original, mischevious rites of passage novel which will delight fans of off-beat fiction such as ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’and ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’. The Lacuna Cabal Montreal Young Women’s Book Club is THE foremost book club in Canada, no, in the world. Priding themselves on their good taste, intelligent discussions and impeccable opinions, they are a group of misfits and oddballs, living on the edge of normality. There are only two rules: what Missy says goes (ok, there is a nod to democracy but let’s be honest here) and NO BOYS. EVER. Of course, the premier book club in the world must read the first book ever written: ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’. But this monumental book leads them to break all their rules, shed members who end up missing out on EVERYTHING, and travel across the open seas to Bahrain in search of a wise man who’ll hopefully have all the answers. Original, funny, quixotic and ultimately very moving,The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is set in a time of upheaval: the Iraq war is exploding and people across the world are marching in protest.It’s the story of a group of friends who find a family of sorts within their book group, who learn to cope with love, and the lack of it, loss, and the lack of that, and with growing up in a world that is falling apart.

My Thoughts

 Quirky doesn’t go anywhere near describing this amazing novel. I found it surreal, utterly unique, bizarre and at times perplexing but always absolutely enthralling, it kept me intrigued and entertained throughout. Having said that it did take 75 pages before I was well and truly hooked. I persevered with it because it seemed so promising from its blurb and I was pleased to discover I was right to hang on in there with it. I do feel this is destined to become a ‘Marmite’ book though. Another plus is that it’s also inspired me to read The Epic of Gilgamesh, although it by no means necessary to do so to enjoy this book.