Part of the joy of reading is coming across a marvelous book by a terrific new talent. In my particular case, my personal joy has no boundaries as the result of a close encounter of a literary kind with a debut novel titled THE INFINITE by Nicholas Mainieri. It is sure to be hailed an instant classic.

THE INFINITE concerns two young, star-crossed lovers named Luz Hidalgo and Jonah McBee, high school students who sense a mutual need and desire in each other that is fulfilled and ultimately blossoms into love. Jonah is essentially an orphan, living in New Orleans’ Central City area with his distant older brother, a swamp recluse residing on the outskirts of the city, being his only living relative. Luz, a native of Mexico, lives in The Treme in New Orleans with her father, with whom she has been in the United States since her mother passed away. Jonah is an eternal optimist, while Luz is a bit more grounded in reality, a situation that does not change when Luz tells Jonah that she is pregnant.

"Part of the joy of reading is coming across a marvelous book by a terrific new talent. In my particular case, my personal joy has no boundaries as the result of a close encounter of a literary kind with a debut novel titled THE INFINITE by Nicholas Mainieri. It is sure to be hailed an instant classic."

Jonah begins making plans to care for what is now his family, but Luz’s father has other ideas and sends her back to Mexico to live with her grandmother until the baby is born. Jonah will not be denied, however, and embarks on a somewhat naive and uninformed but still steadfast journey to Mexico to retrieve Luz. The narrative alternates between Luz and Jonah for most of the book, and is never more stark than when Luz finds her trip dangerously interrupted. Jonah’s journey from New Orleans through swamp country and ultimately to Laredo is safe and leisurely by comparison as he is accompanied by a friend whose understated loyalty to him is a beautiful and subtle touch.

Once Jonah crosses the bridge into Mexico, he finds himself in a world for which he is ill-prepared, though he manages to navigate it with persistence, savvy and a bit of luck. Luz is anything but lucky, though. The two young lovers find each other, and the result, depending on your point of view and life experience, is both expected and unexpected. Just when you think that the story has reached its end, you see that you’re only two-thirds of the way through the book, with much more to be told.

Mainieri reminds me by turns of Cormac McCarthy, John Steinbeck and (the late, sorely missed and nearly irreplaceable) Larry Brown. Its subject matter is tough --- there were times when I was afraid to turn the page, concerned about what would come next --- but it’s all the more real for it. Reading THE INFINITE will cause you to search out Mainieri’s shorter work while you wait for his next book-length offering. Whatever it is, it will be worth the wait, based on what he presents here.