Reading the disclaimer boilerplate on the copyright page after
finishing this novel, one smiles to consider the possibility of
“resemblance to actual events.” Certainly the Library
of Congress’s catalog entries on the same page --- ex-drug
addicts, parapsychologists, belief and doubt, psychological fiction
--- give the reader an idea of the scope of THE BIG MACHINE’s
366 pages. A recent interview on NPR was the first I’d heard
of Victor LaValle, and it caused me to both seek out the book and
expect the unexpected. I’m glad I did.
Ricky Rice is the ex-drug addict and the nar