8/8/2019 Review of Intoxicated

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Review of IntoxicatedNovember 14, 2005

IntoxicatedBy John BarlowWilliam Morrow, $24.95

Intoxicated’s odd and entrancing plot centers around a soft drink that takes the world by storm. No, we’re not

talking about Pepsi-Cola or Coca-Cola. We’re not even talking about contemporary times.The genesis of Rhubarilla springs from the chance meeting of Rodrigo Vermilion and Isaac Brookes on a trainin London in the summer of 1869. Rodrigo is a strange little man, a verbose midget with a humpback whoprofusely thanks Isaac from saving his life after nearly falling off the train.

Rodrigo may be small and rather disadvantaged by his hump, but he knows a grand opportunity when he seesit. He’s got a wild scheme dancing about in his brain and he pitches the idea of Rhubarilla, a fruity, fizzy softdrink to Isaac and his son, George.

Overwhelmed by Rodrigo’s presentation, Isaac agrees to invest in the idea, and the unlikely collaboration of the two men leads to a whirlwind of events that even a dreamer such as Rodrigo could not have envisioned.

Victorian England will never be the same again.Intoxication is a whimsical, farcical novel that weaves together the most unlikely people and situations, makingfor a madcap read.