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andyc_elsby232's review against another edition
5.0
Deeply moving. Hilarious, sprawling, personal... It's a total dream book, and I couldn't be happier that I gave it a chance. I found it sitting on my to-read list and for the life of me couldn't remember when the fuck I'd added it. It's in absolute love with the writing of Cormac McCarthy, particularly with the book 'Suttree', as most of William Gay's storytelling quirks here are derived from the episodic nature of that novel.
What keeps it from being a mere chase at McCarthy is that the prose is as good as those early novels like 'Child of God' and 'Suttree', the latter being one of my five favorite books. And like that, the characters are either deeply lovable or so deeply flawed they stain themselves onto the reader's memory.
I listened to this as an audiobook, read by Dick Hill, and his voice combined with this largely underappreciated man's words made for an experience that, to me, was basically magic. Looking at the details of the book on here, I was startled to see how short of a work it actually was. By the end I felt like I'd experienced a lifetime away from my own.
What keeps it from being a mere chase at McCarthy is that the prose is as good as those early novels like 'Child of God' and 'Suttree', the latter being one of my five favorite books. And like that, the characters are either deeply lovable or so deeply flawed they stain themselves onto the reader's memory.
I listened to this as an audiobook, read by Dick Hill, and his voice combined with this largely underappreciated man's words made for an experience that, to me, was basically magic. Looking at the details of the book on here, I was startled to see how short of a work it actually was. By the end I felt like I'd experienced a lifetime away from my own.
terrypaulpearce's review against another edition
5.0
The prose... my eyes, the prose... too beautiful. It burns.
There are books where you think, if I just had myself together, I could've written something like this. And then there are books that seem to have been written by a higher-dimensional being with direct access to your emotions and sense of awe. This is one of the latter. Black humour runs through it too, like a coal seam -- I laughed out loud more than a couple of times. And the characters, and the evocation of time (the 1950s) and place (Tennessee), and the turns of phrase, and the bleak gothic atmosphere painted like in oils, and the finely-judged balance where it clearly says so many true things, important things, but without being too obvious or preachy or self-important. Man, I wish I could write half like this.
There are books where you think, if I just had myself together, I could've written something like this. And then there are books that seem to have been written by a higher-dimensional being with direct access to your emotions and sense of awe. This is one of the latter. Black humour runs through it too, like a coal seam -- I laughed out loud more than a couple of times. And the characters, and the evocation of time (the 1950s) and place (Tennessee), and the turns of phrase, and the bleak gothic atmosphere painted like in oils, and the finely-judged balance where it clearly says so many true things, important things, but without being too obvious or preachy or self-important. Man, I wish I could write half like this.
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
It’s hard not to make the Cormac McCarthy comparison when you title the book from a Child of God quote. Influence on sleeve aside, in Provinces of Night, Gay manages to balance his florid prose with simple southern banter, enough to move the reader steadily through the book, but slowly enough to relish in the writing. I found myself highlighting and saving whole paragraphs regularly, even reading some aloud to friends and family. There are moments of brilliance here that should etch William Gay’s name in the pantheon of great southern writers. Take this sentence for example:
“Life blindsides you so hard you can taste the bright copper blood in your mouth then it beguiles you with a gift of profound and appalling beauty.”
While most of this book is at least close to this breathtaking, the story and character development do occasionally suffer from the jumpy vignette structure and the plot meanders at the hands of an overwrought simile here and there. Particularly the middle of the book seems to sag under its own weight a bit.
These minor flaws for me were remedied by a solid and unforeseen ending, and I would still highly recommend this to anyone, but particularly fans of verbose southern prose artists like Faulkner, McCarthy, or even Pat Conroy.
“Life blindsides you so hard you can taste the bright copper blood in your mouth then it beguiles you with a gift of profound and appalling beauty.”
While most of this book is at least close to this breathtaking, the story and character development do occasionally suffer from the jumpy vignette structure and the plot meanders at the hands of an overwrought simile here and there. Particularly the middle of the book seems to sag under its own weight a bit.
These minor flaws for me were remedied by a solid and unforeseen ending, and I would still highly recommend this to anyone, but particularly fans of verbose southern prose artists like Faulkner, McCarthy, or even Pat Conroy.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
A more gothic, slower moving southern noir novel that isn't afraid to honor it's influences (title itself is from a Cormac McCarthy novel). Despite being a slower pace I found myself often unable to put it down, and well satisfied with the ending.
moonpiegeorge's review
3.0
You afoot, the old man said. I knowed your walk the minute I seen you. You always walked like you had the world in your hip pocket. You ain't though, have you? Last time I seen you you was in a fine car. You had big plans.
Times is hard, Boyd said.
Times is always hard for some, the old man observed.
(Provinces of Night by William Gay)
I think that I am going to like this book.
Times is hard, Boyd said.
Times is always hard for some, the old man observed.
(Provinces of Night by William Gay)
I think that I am going to like this book.
dave37's review against another edition
5.0
Simply staggeringly good. This is an absolute powerhouse of vivid storytelling that runs the reader through an ever-changing wringer of emotions. Distinctly Southern in tone, yet universal in substance.
redroofcolleen's review against another edition
2.0
Completely surprised by my disappointment. William Gay's "The Long Home" is one of my favorite books, and thusly I was expecting this one to be, too. His writing is just as musical here, beautifully so, with me scribbling phrases for posterity, but the story wandered a bit too aimlessly for my taste.
talreadsbooks's review
1.5
I really didn't enjoy this book and for two reasons. The first is that the author used 100 words when 10 would do. He tried too hard to make it sound poetic and in the end used a lot of words to say nothing. Oh, and Seriously, are you too good for quotation marks? It was difficult to distinguish which character was speaking, or if it was in fact someone speaking because of this stylistic decision. It made the book painful to read.
The second is that in all of this saying nothing there wasn't even a story. I didn't care about the characters, and nothing happened for the first 200 or so pages of the book. Then, just when you think something is about to happen, nope, sorry, we tricked you. It simply felt like I was listening to an older relative tell me the story of their rather boring youth with a lot of side stories that never connect. Rambling, the word for this book is rambling.The entire book attempted to be wrapped up in the last chapter or so and one of the climactic parts of the ending had to do with a character that had barely been in the book at all.
The second is that in all of this saying nothing there wasn't even a story. I didn't care about the characters, and nothing happened for the first 200 or so pages of the book. Then, just when you think something is about to happen, nope, sorry, we tricked you. It simply felt like I was listening to an older relative tell me the story of their rather boring youth with a lot of side stories that never connect. Rambling, the word for this book is rambling.