I love this book. Its a book about obsession and friendship and love and books. I had read it before (about 6 years ago I think) but I was compiling a list of "difficult books to read" [my version of a Bucket List] and it's title popped up as a book that contained that self-referential quality that makes you dizzy when you think about it. [See Mark Danielewski's "House of Leaves" or Durst & Abrams' "S" if you fancy literary vertigo]. This book delights me - Its not hard to read because it skips along with all the pace of a good hunt through a cluttered attic [but I did eventually find it] and it's narrative digressions and complexities make you want it never to end. It is in some ways a detective story where you suspect there might not be a logical ending or a moral fable where nobody is really damaged. I just wish it could become a series. Jesson & Short : Literary Investigators... but alas...

Yet another mystery book that took me about 5 weeks to read, I don't know what is wrong with me. By the end I enjoyed it so for the rating (I don't know why every book needs a personal rating) I'm really on the fence between a three and a four.
I picked a three because of the amount of time it took me to get into it. It about a librarian that gets commisioned by a rich individual to solve an artifact mystery. Because I'm a librarian some of the attempted dewey humor came off as lame or grating at first. I kind of wonder if people in the medical field like Robin Cook mysteries or forensic morticians like Patricia Cornwell. Some of it did interest me, and i think this was written in the late nineties, and is a testement on how different our profession is in such a short time. I also gave it a three because I'm not sure if I would have finished it if it was not suggested to me.
Here are the positives, and a cool coincidence. A tattoo plays an important role in this story, and with some of my male librarian friends, we have a running joke about getting library theme tattoos. I have no tattoos so far, but these are my dream tattoos. I want the dewey number 364.1523 tattooed on my neck, maybe right where a shirt collar would cover it but where it would be exposed wearing a t-shirt. My other one would be the library system I work for followed by the words 'for life' on my chest. 'So it would by ________ library for life' That is my dream. Other positives about this book is a lot of literary references and new york scenes, and some of the humor is funny.
So I recommend this to librarians who like mysteries.
-Matt

A literary thriller, this story is about a reference librarian who gets recruited by an eccentric old man to do research about a case he possesses. It's a fun little book that reads quickly. For me, the most interesting part was the research, particularly electronically. Since the book was published in 2001, it shows its age in this area especially, but serves as a good reminder how far things have come in a relatively short period of time.

If you are a librarian, you will probably really enjoy this book. If you're not, you probably won't. There is a lot of librarian humour that would be best appreciated by librarians. It's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun. It's over 20 yrs old now; I wish I'd read it sooner. That it was set to be 360p to represent the full loop of the story - genius.

If you don't know anything about the dewey decimal system or a card catalog in a library (the younger generation), you won't enjoy this book, simple as that. However, if you know what those terms refer to AND you love books about libraries, librarians AND mysteries - you will enjoy this book! Its got twists and turns; some chapters are but a few pages but hold much intrigue. I won't go into details, others have already done that. I admit, it took me a while to get "into" this book, the beginning was a bit complicated, but necessary once you got into the thick of it. I didn't know there was a book before this OR if that book has anything to do with this one, but I'll put that one on my list as well!

An OK mystery, an OK book overall, I feel like the end unraveled a bit, and I ended up enjoying the story mostly for the library/book puns and jokes.

A good read. Wasn't sure how exciting a book could be about a librarian and watchmaking..but it slowly worked it's magic - the magic of good storytelling.

Probably a 2.5. I wanted to know what happened, but I really disliked the narrator/protagonist.

I know many people in the literary world, but this book is the first novel I've read written by a friend. Allen's personality and idiosyncrasies ring throughout, e.g., la femme francaise. I loved how Allen portrays the culture of the library: Dewey decimal system smackdowns, pneumatic tubes transporting lost manuscripts, library trolls living in forgotten rooms, obsessive compulsive observations, uber rationalizations, etc. Every librarian and archivist needs to read this book!

The Grand Complication is the story of a search for a stolen Brueger watch alternately known as the Marie Antoinette. Yet it is more...it is the relationship between Nic and Alexander, between Alexander and Mr. Jesson, and the interweaving of it all. The book has 360 pages which seems to relate to 360 degrees of a clock face. It is an intricately molded story that grasps the reader by the lapels and insists that s/he come along.

intriguing characters plot and inventions but the ending is a bit abrupt and. didn't feel complete to me.

This mystery was great fun and I loved the chosen setting of the New York Library reference desk. Great writing, a good vocabulary builder too! Even for its title, the overall plot wasn't all that 'complicated' which is why I didn't give a full five star rating. If you like libraries and mysteries, its for you.