'Dr. No' is a delightfully escapist romp and an incisive sendup of espionage fiction

No' is a delightfully escapist romp and an incisive sendup of espionage fiction Enlarge this image Graywolf Press Graywolf Press Pulitzer and Booker Prize finalist Percival Everett won another prestigious award this month, the PEN/Jean Stein Award, for his newest book, Dr. No. Taking a sharp turn with his first novel since the triumphant success of The Trees, Everett's Dr. No is a delightfully escapist romp as well as an incisive sendup of espionage fiction. The hero of the story, Wala Kitu, is a brown-skinned, Brown University mathematics professor specializing in the study of "nothing," who gets swept up in a strangely high stakes yet pointless government heist spearheaded by an egomaniac with millions of dollars to burn. Details are ripped from classic 1970s television shows like "Good Times" and even whole lines from The Jeffersons' theme song If you listen closely to the rhythms of the dialog and you're of a certain age, they may also remind you of classic comedy duo Abbott and Costello's Who's on First, a routine that similarly hinges on stylized and circular wordplay and miscommunication.