As I said in my previous book review, I very seldom write a book review, and even more seldom that I have good things to say about the book. But, David Klein’s The History of now deserves praise. The author himself has been a ghostwriter for a number of years, perhaps I feel partial towards him as I am also a ghostwriter. I know the frustrations, as well as the joys of that line of work. His previous published works were written in collaboration with other people and are essentially compilations of material from various sources. There is also a series of Elvis Presley mysteries—not the sort of material to open one’s eyes to how scholarly and insightful Dan Klein’s writing is. His History of Now is the first book that has been published strictly under his name, and this is a book that sings.
From the writer/editor’s point of view, every word in this book is perfect. This is something we deeply appreciate, as we spend from seven to ten hours a day, every day, busily writing and correcting prose, either on our work or someone else’s. Here is at last a book that even the most fastidious writer can relax with.
His characters are delightful and warm. Their activities fit their thoughts and their thoughts fit their words, and you know that you are in the hands of a master story teller.
When describing the ancestor of one of the main characters in this book, his scholarship as a historian shines through—something this writer appreciates as she has done some historical research for other books. “... Although the word inhibited did not exist in Middle Dutch, it perfectly describes how Marta felt about enjoying sexual congress with her husband in a heavily populated room...”
We know several things from this one line alone. First that he took the time to learn something of the language that was spoken in the Netherlands during the 1600s, second, that he understands many of the day-to-day details of life in a well of Dutch home in that era, when the concept of privacy was almost unheard of. And, he brings his description of that woman down to the particular. He makes her a woman that most of us would be able to relate to. This is the way someone who knows how to use the language writes. It is the way someone who has observed human behavior ov er a period of many years writes. Whoever had David Klein as their ghostwriter is very lucky indeed.
His book was published by The Permanent Press— www.thepermanentpress.com. They are an independent publishing company who believe in keeping the quality of their product high. The owners of this company are not so much concerned with what the story is about as they are with the quality of the writing. This writer had been wondering whether high standards even existed in this country any more, and it is truly heartening to see a small press go against the mainstream in this fashion.