He’s living what one would describe as ‘the good life,’ until one day, while crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on the way to his law firm, a strange toll booth collector tosses an even stranger package into his car. He has a good house in Marin County, north of San Francisco, a trophy wife, Sarah, and a shiny black 1958 Cadillac Sedan. Mitchell Sinclair is an up and coming young lawyer. Had City of Pillars been presented as a longer, more in depth examination of trauma-induced insanity, I might have been more impressed sadly, the City of Pillars I read was unimpressive.Review: “City of Pillars” by Dominic Peloso The final chapters of the novel especially push the credibility of the character and the premise completely. As the novel progresses, however, the outlandish and (frankly) unbelievable violence and perils that befall Sinclair leave the reader feeling bored. As the novel opens, the protagonist and his world are fascinating. Sinclair is a very loosely drawn character and the author never really engages with the reader, save for the first couple chapters.

I have never read Peloso’s other work however, an assessment based on City of Pillars would not be in his favour. This approach may have worked with a more adept novelist, but Dominic Peloso doesn’t appear up to the task. Presented as a confessional by Mitchell Sinclair, the entire story is told in the first-person. As one other blogger pointed out, the fundamental problem with the book is the writing.

As Mitchell Sinclair’s insatiable obsession drives him deeper into the convoluted world of the multi-lingual tome, his ethics, morals and sanity melt away.Īn interesting idea to be sure, but as it is now, City of Pillars doesn’t completely work. A series of credibility challenging events follow the character until he has no other choice but to invest his entire existence in the pursuit of deciphering the mystery and violence. I seem to be having a run of bad luck with my MiniBook Expo selections lately.Ĭity of Pillars by Dominic Peloso follows the spiralling decent into madness of it’s narrator, Mitchell Sinclair, after he is mistakingly (or so he thinks) saddled with an ancient manuscript while stopped at a commuter toll-booth in San Francisco. Shipping within Canada & US sponsored by Invisible College Press Publisher: Invisible College Press (December 1, 2000).

City of Pillars by Dominic Peloso