Books like Sparrow Nights

I think that "interesting" is perhaps the best adjective to describe this novel. I have read one other book by Gilmour, and I enjoyed it. I will likely read more of his works, but not immediately. His characters take some time to digest, and I feel like I also need some time to distance myself from Professor Halloway, his womanizing, alcoholic, borderline insane protagonist. The most intriguing aspect of the novel is the protagonist's (and narrator's) decent into self-absorbed madness. Fuelled by rejection at the hands of his live-in former-student girlfriend, he wanders about Toronto becoming more and more self-absorbed. The reader can get the sense that this could go on indefinitely until he gets himself into a situation (no spoilers) where he has to make the most important decision of his life. The outcome of this decision notwithstanding, it is his self-absorption, vanity, and arrogance that get him into the situation in the first place, so it's difficult to feel sorry for him. It is also difficult to dislike him entirely also, as Halloway is funny at times and projects himself as intelligent (perhaps too much so), and a bon-vivant of sorts (appropriate description as he uses French terms with regularity in his narration). Overall, if you are a fan of Gilmour, give this a read. It is relatively short, a bit strange, but worth a look.