Patchwork

Comitta continues the collage method of The Nature Book with this playful narrative formed from passages of classic literature that are loosely linked by the search for a missing snuff box. Action sequences and descriptions of the snuff box come from such novels as The Cardinal’s Snuff Box by Henry Harland and The Ivory Snuff Box by Arnold Fredericks, but the mystery proves to be a MacGuffin as Comitta pulls freely from other sources, such as a brief chapter containing nothing more than monster sounds from old comic books (“arreeyaaah! eeeeek! grrowr!”), and another that constructs the story of a duel out of snippets by Chekhov, Conrad, and others. There’s also a chapter comprised entirely of illustrations, including the map from Alain Robbe-Grillet’s novel Jealousy, and other visual elements such as a comic strip–style narrative titled “A Visual Rendering of My Walk Home,” which is composed of a series of drawings from Charles Dickens novels. The walk chapter is followed by an “olfactory rendering” of said walk, complete with anachronisms such as a mall food court’s “spare ribs and Cinnabons,” as described by Richard Price. The attempt at fashioning a plot feels unnecessary, as it never quite comes off, but Comitta’s metatextual method offers enough pleasures and surprises. It’s an appealing literary experiment. Agent: Mariah Stovall, Trellis Literary Agency. (Aug.)