One of our finest writers at the top of his form.

Considering that July 2005 marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass," it is only fitting that Michael Cunningham's impressive new novel "Specimen Days" celebrates the work of Whitman.

Set in New York City, "Specimen Days" is a marvel of construction and execution. The plots compliment each other with recurring character names and reference to places and objects, while utilizing Whitman's poetry as a unifying motif. With skill and insight Cunningham has captured three separate genres - a ghost story set in the 1880's, a modern day story of suspense, and an allegorical science fiction tale set 150 years in the future. Along the way there are passages of great beauty. Indeed, the scene where a disfigured boy encounters Whitman on a Manhattan street is one of the most rapturous in contemporary literature. This is truly bravura writing.

It is difficult for an artist to follow a work generally regarded as a masterpiece, and though this work does feature three connected stories in in different time periods, that is where all comparisons with "The Hours" should begin and end. "Specimen Days" may not prove to be a masterwork, but it is an inspired and rewarding piece of fiction, and deserves to be appreciated for its own virtues which are many.

Disappointing.

Three separate stories involving the same characters sets the stage for this new novel by the author of 'The Hours.'

"In the Machine" tells the tale of a young boy coming to terms with the death of his brother by taking a job working on the same machine that killed him, one that is haunted with the brother's spirit.

"The Children's Crusade" is a noirish thriller that has a group of terrorists setting off bombs at random, or so it seems.

"Like Beauty" is the last part of the novel and the hardest to describe as it's a futuristic tale of New York. Set 150 years in the future this story contains the characters from the previous two stories only this time they are not just humans...they are lizards.

'Specimen Days' is a very hard novel to categorize; while I didn't dislike it, I wasn't crazy about it either. The first two stories are the strongest with "In the Machine" being the best. Michael Cunningham is a great writer and he has proven this with 'Flesh and Blood' and 'The Hours', and even though his writing is still first rate, fans of his previous novels will disappointed with his choice of storytelling for this new novel.

Expect to see everyone reading this, but then quickly telling their friends to pass on it.

Nick Gonnella

Am I missing something?

I couldn't wait for this book to come out, I love all of his other books. I only got through half of it..I find it depressing, boring and just strange. I'm really disappointed!