Vidal,Gore. Kalki: A Novel.

This is the first book I read that I can remember not being able to put down. On Thanksgiving break from college, I sat up in my bed until the wee hours of the morning, unable to stop reading until I had finished the last page. What was it about the novel I found so compelling, and would I still be as intrigued reading it a second time, a much older and world-weary traveler?

The narrator of the novel is Teddy Ottinger. Teddy is the world's foremost aviator and the author of a feminist novel. She is sent to India to interview a Vietnam Veteran who claims to be Kalki, the last incarnation of of the god Vishnu. Jim Kelly is more than a veteran, he is also an expert on biochemical warfare. As the story progresses, Kelly sets out on a campaign to convince the world that he is who he says he is. Financed by drug money, the campaign informs the world that the date of the apocalypse will be revealed on television live from Madison Square Garden. Though Teddy remains skeptical, she finds herself among the only three human beings to survive the end of days.

I think in my college days it was the mystery and the religious connotations that had such a pull for me (I was a philosophy major). The second time around, I may be a little less of an idealist, a little more tainted by the world, but I still find the novel riveting. I'm still drawn in by a strong female character and the question of mortality. I'm still someone who finds Kalki an enthralling read.

Nanci Milone Hill, October 17, 2002.