3.3 stars.

The strength of Mole Crickets is its humorous narrative voice: the story is told by an "editor" named Blinkin (pseudonym: Trigorin) who invents life stories/histories for his clients, including a man who grew up in an orphanage and doesn't want to settle for just a family history.

Though all the plot lines didn't fit together as neatly as they might, the mystical element fell totally flat for me, and Mole Crickets occasionally felt a bit too quirky, Galina's portrayal of a loner's life (and those who intrude) was lots of fun to read.

(There's more about Mole Crickets on my blog, here.) ( )