Zany summer read

The inside flap of James Conrad's MAKING LOVE TO THE MINOR POETS OF CHICAGO says it's "a novel of love, ambition, poetry, and nuclear waste," and that pretty much sums it up. The government has hired an artist, a botanist, and an architect to design a warning for future generations of the nuclear waste to be stored deep in the Yucca mountains in Nevada, but an influential Chicago poet insists that the project include an epic poem. Of course, the poet envisions herself as the author of this epic poem. As she schemes to make this happen, a fairly large cast of minor poets are introduced, each with their own ambitions, attractions and plans. Watching just how far academics and literary types will go towards achieving their ambitions is what makes this novel fun. Some of the plot is unrealistic but the characters are genuinely interesting and the book moves quickly as the differing subplots come together. It's a fun crazy summer read and author Dale Peck calls it "the ultimate love story of the nuclear age."