Word: specimen
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...book is any indication, Cunningham, 52, is still willing to fail, and in the best possible way. Specimen Days (Farrar, Straus & Giroux; 308 pages) is divided into three parts, all set in New York City but each in a different era: the Industrial Revolution, the present day and-stay with me here-the far future. The three parts are written in three different literary genres and feature the same three characters. Walt Whitman also makes a cameo. Oh, and there's a 5-ft.-tall, talking alien lizard woman. Recklessness: check...
...contemporary mystery story about urban terrorism. And then, in another sharp turn, the third part takes us to a future Manhattan populated by lifelike androids and lizard-like aliens, refugees from another planet. (That section also features Cunningham's first-ever car chase.) What holds the disparate components of Specimen Days together is Cunningham's intense focus on New York City as a crucible in which we're forced to confront the radically foreign-even alien-realities of death, technology, urban life and each other. Whitman could embrace those realities-this is the guy who wrote, "I am large...
What makes the interior of Valrhona’s headquarters so alluring? Consuming one of the vaunted company’s carefully-crafted chocolates is a transcendent experience for Rosenblum and fellow connoisseurs. When Rosenblum samples a Valrhona specimen in a Paris shop, he writes: “A subtle but unmistakable parfum of fresh mint flooded my mouth, and a peppery undertone sent happy pinprick signals to corporeal outposts...
...There was some comment when you only spent five minutes with the doctors when they told you that the specimen was cancerous. A. Yes, they were most reassuring...
...like budding branches to set your heart aflutter. But if the spring planting season finds you shopping for a new tree for the yard, beware: it's going to cost you. The housing boom, recent rough weather, insect infestations and new demand for native trees make finding that perfect specimen harder--and more expensive-- than ever. Today a typical residential tree has a diameter of 5 in. to 6 in. and costs anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500. That's a whole lot more than the $300 to $600 homeowners paid for the 2-in. to 3-in. varieties...