10/5/2020 The Adventures of Mr Marigold – BookLovers Review

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The Adventures of Mr Marigold

By michaelpastor <
https://bookloversreview.com/blog/author/michaelpastor/>

September 9, 2020 < https://bookloversreview.com/blog/the-adventures-

of-mr-marigold/>

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10/5/2020 The Adventures of Mr Marigold – BookLovers Review

The Adventures of Mr Marigold

a novel by Michael Charles Tobias
Paperback and ebook editions
published by Zorba Press
828 pages, 2016

An Essay by Michael Giannelli, Ph.D.

Between Enlightenments: Odyssey of an Eccentric Sage

In a word, The Adventures of Mr Marigold is a masterpiece!  I’ve never read

anything like it, nor am I ever again likely to read something comparable!  It’s not
merely the best novel I’ve ever read, in a certain non-rational sense, I might say
that it’s the only novel I’ve ever read because – for me at least – it redefined what
a novel could be.  My only speculation as to why it did not receive more critical
acclaim is that, undoubtedly, its length, and its heavy pull of linguistic gravity, are
daunting obstacles for any would-be, time-deprived, reviewer.  Literary history
will, however, likely reclaim its rightful merit.
The similarities to the timeless novel, Don Quixote, are obvious and have been
well documented.  But I think Mr Marigold goes beyond the Miguel de
Cervantes classic.  It’s both a rip-roaring, almost Tolkien-like, fictional adventure
which fires the imagination on all cylinders, while simultaneously embedding a
“textbook” of sorts, a subtext reference manual covering a multitude of
disciplines – science, history, law, art, literature, etc. – all overflowing with factual
information to an impressive degree of detail.  This fiction/nonfiction synthesis is
done seamlessly and ingeniously.  Mr Marigold also challenges those who, like
myself, think (thought) we possess a “superior” vocabulary.
Tobias’s inspired prose is nothing less than an avalanche of eloquence!  Pick a
page, any page.  Pick a paragraph, any paragraph.  No matter where one’s finger
lands, there is no mistaking the hand of a true Master behind the printed words. 
To say the minimal, the author has an uncanny virtuosity with the English
language, crafting commonly found words into totally unique, soaring
combinations and memorable phrases.
While serious issues of animal rights, environmental stewardship, spiritual
potentiality, and human brutality (to name but a few) frame all the action,
throughout the book there runs an unmistakable and most mischievous mother
lode of humor and crackling wit!  Although played out upon an exalted literary
landscape, Mr Marigold nevertheless celebrates the absurdity and

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10/5/2020 The Adventures of Mr Marigold – BookLovers Review

unpredictability of life, much in the same frolicking manner as the rib-cracking

skits from Monty Python’s Flying Circus!  The author’s sophisticated sense of
humor, combined with his remarkable command of language, make for a roller
coaster ride of unprecedented merriment!
Mr Marigold, along with his faithful companions,  Sannazaro and Rajibai, led me
on adventures, and misadventures, of truly epic proportions.  As absorbed as I
always was, I rarely had any idea what new twist was awaiting me on the next
page.  Mr Marigold (“the Commander”) is a perfect vehicle for road testing our
deepest hopes, yearnings, fantasies, and fears.  Even when gifted with enormous
wealth, he finds that his quixotic and benevolent intentions for the world and all
its life are forever just out of reach, adrift at the always-receding-horizon of
dreams.  But this in no way detracts from the sacredness of his odyssey, nor
coarsens the hallowed ground under his feet.  Mr Marigold can never rightly be
seen as a “failure.”  His glory, such as it is, lies in his supreme aspirations and
uncompromising effort, not in an all-illusive “final victory” of a Utopian society
on Earth.  As with the equally pure of heart Don Quixote himself, in the end, we
come away recognizing that the wild and seemingly insane exploits of Mr
Marigold are, in fact, more sane and rational than what passes for normality in
the so-called “real” world.  His walkabout is surely not in vain, and he beckons us
to follow.  I cannot help but speculate about the degree to which Mr Marigold
is autobiographical.  The Dr. Michael Tobias I know bears more than a passing
resemblance to Mr Marigold.
We are dealing here with a historic novel of five major Parts, 201 Chapters, 828
pages, 625,000 words, and over a hundred principal characters!  But the issue is
not merely one of sheer size. The reading is enormously rich, at times complex,
and thus can only be consumed in relatively small portions at a time.  Having
completed the book, my long-term literary companion, Mr Marigold, is gone.  In
a beguiling way, I now feel something like a very personal loss.
My deepest thanks go to Dr. Michael Tobias for the honor of his invitation to
read this Magnum opus, his love letter to his cherished wife and inspirational
muse, Jane Gray Morrison. I thought there was no room left for expanding my
admiration of his work, but happily, I was wrong!  I guess that knowing a genius,
occasionally, does have its perks.

Dr. Michael A. Giannelli is a licensed CA psychologist (ret.), having received

his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has been active in
numerous animal advocacy organizations, including: Science Advisor, The Fund

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10/5/2020 The Adventures of Mr Marigold – BookLovers Review

for Animals; Founding Director, The National Coalition to Protect Our Pets;
Founding Exec. Director, The Ark Trust, Inc., (presenter of the prestigious
Genesis Awards; now hosted by The Humane Society of the United States); and
Founding Manager, U.S. Operations, Jain Spirit magazine.

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