On Monday, April 14, UMass Boston Professor Askold Melnyczuk read from his forthcoming work, The Great Hospital, at the Blacksmith House in Cambridge. Despite a weather forecast that predicted exaggerated accumulations of snow, a high-spirited crowd turned out for the reading.

Professor Melnyczuk opted to read two very different selections from his novel, both of which were imaginative, contextually realistic, and entertaining. Though brief, each of the selections demonstrated the writer’s fine-tuned sense of character, setting and plot, and clearly hinted to the artistic magnitude of his upcoming novel. In all fairness, the following highlights seem to fall short of capturing the essence of the complex narrative, but I offer them in an attempt to demonstrate the scope of the work.

The first selection was read following the author’s brief introduction to the character Cassandra, who has just been abandoned by her lover. This event triggers a flooding of vivid memories that reveal sensual and humorous details from three previous relationships, as well as more sober details from her less-than-perfect youth. One memory describes Cassandra’s best and only friend, who is crushed under a falling tombstone while praying; another, her odd relationship with an older, enigmatic Russian poet; and yet another develops a scenario in which her motorcycle-riding/bartending lover leaves her waiting while he slips out with a blonde woman. One interesting twist in the plot involves Cassandra’s “writing” of “Blind Angel,” which Professor Melnyczuk has published as a separately as a chapbook.

The second selection was a work of creative acuteness, filled with hauntingly unique imagery. This part of the narrative takes the form of a journal entry written by a British Colonizer in South Africa, whose surreal experiences result in the author’s most powerful descriptions. As the company of local royalty, the colonizer is invited to partake in two incredible events. One has him waiting to watch the opening of a rare night blooming cereus, noted for its short-lived perfume. The second event corresponds to the cereus, and involves a prophesizing hermaphrodite. Elaborate details about the spirit-like creature include the history of its existence, and the duplicitous nature of its prophecies.

Despite the differences in subject matter, these two pieces shared a common thread of superior craftsmanship. Every word read that night seemed carefully placed in sentences that were meticulously crafted, and the richness of the language and original imagery produced a narrative that was fluid and engaging. Even though the selections were a mere glimpse of the novel, the author demonstrated a truly original voice that is sure to bring The Great Hospital as much acclaim as his previously published Ambassador of the Dead. The worst part of the night’s event was that it eventually ended. Fortunately, Professor Melnyczuk’s reading teased the audience just enough to ensure that when the novel finally does reach the shelves, those in attendance will likely be first in line.