[An] extraordinary tale ... Terrifically comic ... Carusillo is a master of the vigorous and inclusive aside, employing a crackling blend of high and low diction ... Affirms that we can’t necessarily escape the conduct of our predecessors, while gleefully celebrating, one smashing sentence at a time, that there’s alchemy to be found in the hands of the right legatee.
Unruly and comic ... arusillo treats the Mounsey legend as a kind of vaudeville act itself, spectacular, improbable, and always slightly at odds with what actually happened.
