Having an academic male feminist review a novel about Casanova (Books, April 14) is like presenting a cat with a bird. Happily (for the bird), professor Brian Bouldrey, the reviewer of my “Casanova in Bohemia,” is a pretty lame cat.
After declaring the historical Casanova a villain, and my fictional Casanova a villainous attempt to salvage the villain, he can’t contain himself until he has branded Casanova a “rapist.” He cites an incident from Casanova’s own memoirs, about a young woman who rejected him. The dejected Casanova is told by an acquaintance about a horrendous mechanical device to trap the woman. Does Casanova follow this advice? Not at all. He mentions the conversation as an example of the kind of aberrant “solace” dimwits are always ready to offer.
Professor Bouldrey might have given the bird a fright if he’d stuck to his specialized prejudices. In going after everything, he ended up with a mouthful of bird doo-doo.
— Andrei Codrescu
