CONFESSIONS OF A KNIGHT ERRANT

by

Gretchen McCullough

Humorous Fiction

Publisher: Cune Press

Page Count: 240 pages

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

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Confessions of a Knight Errant is a comedic, picaresque novel in the tradition of Don Quixote with a flamboyant cast of characters.

Dr. Gary Watson is the picaro, a radical environmentalist and wannabe novelist who has been accused of masterminding a computer hack that wiped out the files of a major publishing company. His Sancho Panza is Kharalombos, a fat, gluttonous Greek dancing teacher, who is wanted by the secret police for cavorting with the daughter of the Big Man of Egypt.

Self-preservation necessitates a hurried journey to the refuge of a girls’ camp in rural Texas. Then a body turns up nearby that is connected to Middle East antiquities, and they are on the run once more.

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Eccentric characters, varied locations, and humor throughout made this a fun book to read.

I have never been to Egypt or Cairo, but I enjoyed the perspective provided of the people and political climate. Gary is there to recover the last remaining copy of his novel. I chuckled when the people that took over his apartment said they didn’t know where it was, and then it was discovered they used it as scratch paper. While there, they meet up with more intriguing characters, including Gudrun, a German woman that moved to Texas and now operates a camp for girls. This is what brings the gang to Texas.

I enjoyed all of the drama and humor. It kept the story moving at a steady, and at times frenetic, pace. Many times I had to just shake my head at their antics. I think Gudrun was my favorite character with her outlandish dress, words, and actions. However, Mary Alice runs a close second.

While filled with crazy scenarios, there are also some educational parts regarding Native Americans and Egyptians. We also have flashbacks to Gary’s childhood that helps explain why he is the way he is.

This was a fun book to read and we give it 4 paws up.

Gretchen McCullough was raised in Harlingen Texas. After graduating from Brown University in 1984, she taught in Egypt, Turkey, and Japan. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and was awarded a teaching Fulbright to Syria from 1997-1999. Her stories, essays and reviews have appeared in The Barcelona Review, Archipelago, National Public Radio, Story South, Guernica, The Common, The Millions, and the LA Review of Books. Translations in English and Arabic have been published in: Nizwa, Banipal, Brooklyn Rail in Translation, World Literature Today and Washington Square Review with Mohamed Metwalli. Her bi-lingual book of short stories in English and Arabic, Three Stories From Cairo, translated with Mohamed Metwalli, was published in July 2011 by AFAQ Publishing House, Cairo. A collection of short stories about expatriate life in Cairo, Shahrazad’s Tooth, was also published by AFAQ in 2013. Currently, she is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Rhetoric and Composition at the American University in Cairo.

  American University Faculty Webpage

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ONE WINNER!

In Confessions of a Knight Errant, readers get a taste of the Hill Country.

One winner will, too, with a one-pound

bag of pecans from Berdoll Pecan Candy & Gift Company!

(US only; ends midnight, CST 4/28/23)

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