Centuries of June [Hardcover]

Keith Donohue's third book follows his highly praised novels THE STOLEN CHILD and ANGELS OF DESTRUCTION. Like its predecessors, CENTURIES OF JUNE is nearly impossible to categorize. It reads like the finest literary fiction, but at the center is a mix of fantasy, mythology and dream-like sequences that always keep the reader guessing and intrigued.

CENTURIES OF JUNE takes place almost exclusively in the bathroom of a man named Jack, who is not having a good day. He wakes up from the floor of his bathroom to find his upper half covered in blood. Upon further inspection, he discovers a nice-sized hole in the back of his head --- most likely the result of tripping over his often underfoot cat, Harpo, and striking his head on the sink or bathtub.

Jack immediately experiences a few odd occurrences. First off, Harpo can talk (quite ironic since he was named after the "mute" Marx Brother star). There is also an appearance by an older gentleman who looks like Jack's late father. Later on, this same man begins to resemble the author Samuel Beckett --- or maybe it's actually Jack's older brother? These are just a few of the mind games that Donohue has in store for his readers.

Soon after awakening, Jack reflects, "Today was an ordinary day in June, the kind that seems to exist permanently, coming each year for centuries." He also recognizes that when he arrived at his home earlier that day, he found seven bicycles strewn about his front lawn and glowing in the sunshine like mirrors to the sky. Jack's father points out that he noticed there were eight sets of feet in Jack's bed. Before Jack can investigate this statement further, one of the strange women enters the bathroom.

The first is named Dolly, and she appears to be a Native American. She regales Jack, his father and Harpo with a story set many centuries earlier about a Native American woman named Yeikoo.shk who goes on to marry a man who can transform into a bear. Like all of the tales that will succeed it, this one is set in and around the month of June. They also are grounded in American folklore, mythology, history and the fantastic. None are simple, and all seem to have a central message at their core that runs through them.

One by one, the strange female occupants of Jack's bed enter the bathroom, and each has a unique tale to tell. There are stories dealing with the Salem Witch Trails, Southern Gothic and ancient mysticism. As Jack listens, he is changed in some way by the words he hears. He begins to insert his own persona into each story, and all of the female storytellers are somewhat familiar to him --- even though their tales span several centuries. Befuddled and confused by what he's experiencing, Jack's father tries to explain what he's going through by stating: "Imagination is the fuel of hope. Better you should leave such fires be and see what is truly in front of you."

The best and most imaginative part of CENTURIES OF JUNE is saved for the end, when Jack not only realizes his own mortality but also walks in on the eighth and final occupant of his bed --- someone he knows very well. Keith Donohue has put together a real Russian Doll of a novel, where each layer that is peeled away reveals another truth and is constantly unpredictable and magical.

--- Reviewed by Ray Palen

After reading so many positive reviews, I found this book disappointing. Yes, Donohue writes vivid prose. Yes, it's a very unique and unusual plot. My praise stops there. The bulk of the novel consists of separate, unrelated stories that are forced into a larger frame that doesn't really fit. The stories are disjointed and the supposed thematic connection is weak. We're told they're about love and betrayal, but despite a parade of characters I can't think of an example of meaningful love. There's a good smattering of sex, beautiful women, nudity, and violence. Perhaps that's the connecting theme? It's laughable that Donohue considers himself a feminist writer. The women are first objectified in their stories and then objectified again in this alternate world as they retell the tales. I kept thinking all these tedious stories must be working towards some greater meaning, but the moment of revelation is anticlimactic. Both the author and the narrator purposefully withhold logical information to create a strange kind of suspense. The narrator of the story is in a haze and comes in and out of consciousness, dimensions, realities. Admittedly, this is not my genre of choice. The element of fantasy creates some humor and whimsy, but the lack of coherence seems lazy. It's not hard to create mystery when the narrator has a selective memory and readers are deliberately confused. Things make more sense in the end, but even then there are plenty of loose ends. I think most readers will assume the relationship between the narrator and the women, so when the narrator magically remembers it himself, it's not exactly a breakthrough. The premise is interesting, but ultimately feels like a gimmick to throw eight stories together and call it a novel. I would be more forgiving if there was a satisfying message to it all, but this ended up being a waste of time.

Having been thoroughly captivated by his first two books, which take us deeply into the realm of childhood, I could tell from one look at the cover that this one was going to be different. It is different indeed, and for me it is his even more impressive than his other efforts.

Those with no tolerance for the strange and fanciful will want to avoid this book, though they will be missing out on a marvelous experience. Centuries of June contains stories told by eight women, from pre-Columbian times to the present, who suffered because of men, all but the last of whom bear a mysterious relation to the narrator, who awakens to some highly unusual goings on after sustaining a blow to the head in his bathroom. The sometimes wild action that surrounds the telling of engaging historical yarns all takes place in the bathroom and other rooms of an ordinary suburban house.

There are moments when the fast unfolding events of this novel may seem wild, inexplicable, and strange. But just hang on for the ride and you will be rewarded in the end. In fact, you will be rewarded all along the way, and after the wonderfully moving ending in which the loose ends come together, you will be ready to reread and admire the novel's remarkable structure.