Reading Review: Equilateral Ken Kalfus

Due to my class and training schedule I had to be slightly creative in finding time to attend and review a reading. One good thing that came out of that is I had the opportunity to attend a book reading at 192 books, New York. I was immediately drawn to a listed reading from the book “Equilateral” written by Ken Kalfus. Ken Kalfus is a Russian born American author who grew up in long Island. The reading was from a newly published book, and while it might not be my kind of fiction, I respected his use of history and one of the most praised aspects of this work is his use of historical accuracy. While I do not have the vastest knowledge of history, it is nice to see an author really take the time and consideration to assure his references are accurate. The book focused on the Egyptian empire and colonization, as well as exploring the theme of what is means to be an “other”. I found myself not laughing at parts that were meant to be funny, however that could have been a result of not having read the book previous to the reading. Unlike other readings I have attended I was not the first person to get up and buy the book, however I respected many aspects of the writers work and it made me think about historical accuracy in fiction. I perhaps would have enjoyed a poetry reading more, due to the face that a poem can be taken as a part of a whole and can be understood standing alone. Not my new favorite book, however something I learned a great deal from.