Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All right, like, I loved his other two books, but this is just next level, like an ultra-graphic Charles Portis. He juggles a cast of like 50 and everyone has a detailed, horrifying backstory, they're all unique, and it all ties together so perfectly. Just thinking about how much plotting and rewriting went into this bothers me. Weirdly close to a hang out book for how disgusting much of it is. Maybe one of my top ~ten books ever, I'll have to digest.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Damn, this was good.
I've been holding off reading this one, because once I read it, I'll have read everything to date from Donald Ray Pollock. See, this guy worked over thirty years in a paper mill in Ohio before releasing his collection of short stories (Knockemstiff), and then his excellently depraved The Devil All the Time. He is now 65 years old, this marvelous writer with but two novels to his name. I am impatiently waiting for more.
I loved The Devil All the Time. It was exactly the type of story structure I enjoy, with converging storylines, but hooboy, the damaged characters. It was one of those books you had to be careful who you recommended it to. But so great to those of us who dig the low places vicariously.
The Heavenly Table is, gloriously, his best work yet.
This is set around 1917 Ohio, and mainly focuses on three brothers just, tryin' to git along...
As is Pollock's style, there are a few storylines and side characters in the mix and all will converge eventually.
Throughout reading this, tearing through this, I couldn't help thinking how the presentation of story was so much like the brilliant Fargo series, and movie for that matter. Hey, throw some Pulp Fiction similarities in there, too. I could totally see the Coen Brothers making this novel a smash hit.
I'm not going to divulge a word of plot, you all know me better than that.
But, do note that Pollock will make you squirm. He will also make you feel compassion for the most unlikely of characters. This is brilliance.
The only unfortunate thing about this novel is I now have a severe case of book hangover. Five easy stars and likely to be one of my top five of the year (no pressure there, to-read contestants, but the gauntlet's been dropped).
Stay healthy, Mr Pollock. Keep writing. I'll wait.
I've been holding off reading this one, because once I read it, I'll have read everything to date from Donald Ray Pollock. See, this guy worked over thirty years in a paper mill in Ohio before releasing his collection of short stories (Knockemstiff), and then his excellently depraved The Devil All the Time. He is now 65 years old, this marvelous writer with but two novels to his name. I am impatiently waiting for more.
I loved The Devil All the Time. It was exactly the type of story structure I enjoy, with converging storylines, but hooboy, the damaged characters. It was one of those books you had to be careful who you recommended it to. But so great to those of us who dig the low places vicariously.
The Heavenly Table is, gloriously, his best work yet.
This is set around 1917 Ohio, and mainly focuses on three brothers just, tryin' to git along...
As is Pollock's style, there are a few storylines and side characters in the mix and all will converge eventually.
Throughout reading this, tearing through this, I couldn't help thinking how the presentation of story was so much like the brilliant Fargo series, and movie for that matter. Hey, throw some Pulp Fiction similarities in there, too. I could totally see the Coen Brothers making this novel a smash hit.
I'm not going to divulge a word of plot, you all know me better than that.
But, do note that Pollock will make you squirm. He will also make you feel compassion for the most unlikely of characters. This is brilliance.
The only unfortunate thing about this novel is I now have a severe case of book hangover. Five easy stars and likely to be one of my top five of the year (no pressure there, to-read contestants, but the gauntlet's been dropped).
Stay healthy, Mr Pollock. Keep writing. I'll wait.
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book starts out great. There are some particularly memorable moments, but it starts to drag on towards the middle.
This was more like 3.5 stars, but I had to round up because this was so damn compulsively readable. I could not put this down and tore right through it every chance I got. The character development was fantastic, and almost every character could draw some time of sympathy. And if not, it was still interesting as hell to find out what was going to happen to them. The main detraction here was too many digressions into minor character backstories. Any random character mentioned had a two paragraph backstory that, while adding to the reader's fell for the character, was a bit overwhelming when taken as a whole. Definitely worth a read and I will be looking for the rest of Mr. Pollock's work after this.
Really dark and engrossing book. I enjoyed the flavor the story told and the stark and clever writing. I could easily get sucked in, read for an hour and then walk away, only to come back and be just as sucked in.
Quite possibly one of the most bawdy and raunchy novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I read most of this book with a pretty sour look upon my face; the depravity, sex, violence, and overall grit is more intense and malicious here than in most books I've encountered. Yet I don't feel that Pollock is being excessive or over-the-top in his writing; he's merely channeling a time and place where destitute poverty, whorehouses, and open violence were a more common fixture of everyday life. Many of the characters found in The Heavenly Table are spending their last dime on a whore or a bottle, and after they've spent it there's a good chance they'll get into a scrape or end up killing someone just to get another.
That being said, the sour face I made while reading was often countered with a bemused smile or downright laughter. Pollock writes so well and so colorfully that you can't help but get drawn into his world, no matter how repulsed you may be. Each of the novel's myriad of characters and places feels well-researched, as if they were pulled straight from history, and as Pollock slowly weaves them all together you become all the more drawn into the story.
Darkly funny, historically vivid, and a well-paced plot make this a great read.
That being said, the sour face I made while reading was often countered with a bemused smile or downright laughter. Pollock writes so well and so colorfully that you can't help but get drawn into his world, no matter how repulsed you may be. Each of the novel's myriad of characters and places feels well-researched, as if they were pulled straight from history, and as Pollock slowly weaves them all together you become all the more drawn into the story.
Darkly funny, historically vivid, and a well-paced plot make this a great read.