ADVERTISER BOOK CLUB
Connect the dots to get 'Devil' author's message
Glen David Gold's "Carter Beats the Devil," the current Advertiser Book Club selection, is full of mysteries, among them one we brought to your attention earlier this week: the braille motto imprinted on the cover of the paperback edition.
Wondering what it means? Here's the answer: "She Never Died."
We e-mailed Gold to ask him to say a few words about the braille secret, which he had refused point-blank to explain in our earlier interview, challenging us to find the meaning for ourselves. We did so with the help of a braille alphabet you can consult at www.nbp.org/alph.html, the Web site of the National Braille Press.
He answered: "I'm glad I'm in the hands of someone so resourceful. Very few people have figured it out. I figured this: If people noticed the braille under my name, they would assume it was just my name, and when they met Phoebe (a blind character in the book), they'd perhaps feel that that was just making a nod toward her. However, I like how braille can be used for secret messages, and this seemed like a good place to indicate just how much that particular character means to the plot. I think I said in conversation that the book lives and dies (to my mind) with Phoebe Kyle. Explaining exactly what it says to an extent gives something away about her, but the format — the braille — is really a salute to her, generally speaking. Oh, and there are so many layers of meaning to the phrase in Carter's life, really, given that at least one woman close to him did die."
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Just drop by the book club
Here's how to get involved in the Honolulu Advertiser Book Club:
Membership: There is no formal membership. Just read the book and participate in the virtual discussion by sending in your comments and questions.
Book club visits: Books editor Wanda Adams is seeking groups that are reading along with the Advertiser Book Club, or are willing to do so for a future selection, so she can drop in on a discussion meeting. Call her at 525-8036.
Our book: "Carter Beats the Devil" by Glen David Gold. Hyperion, paper, $14.95 (but widely discounted online).
Reading period: Until May 9.
Next "discussion": May 18.
To participate in the discussion: Read the book, send comments and questions to Wanda Adams, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. Or write bookclub@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Listen: To the "Sandwich Islands Literary Circle" at 9:30 tonight, KHPR 88.1 FM, KKUA 90.7 FM Maui, KANO 91.1 FM Hilo; or hear the program online, starting tomorrow, at: the.honoluluadvertiser.com/current/il/bookclub.
