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innatejames's review
3.0
It's like reading old newspapers from your hometown...in a good way. Not earth-shattering fiction, but pleasant. Good for the trip home to your roots.
samhouston23's review against another edition
5.0
Frankly, because of my experience with both the other Annie Proulx novels I've read, I was a little reluctant to even begin reading her 2002 novel "That Old Ace in the Hole." I found both "The Shipping News" and "Accordion Crimes" (well written as they are) to be a little too somber, almost depressing, to suit my tastes, but this one was a very pleasant surprise.
"That Old Ace in the Hole" is the story of one Bob Dollar, a young man from Denver so desperately in need of work that he takes a job as a scout for the Global Pork Rind company. Bad as that company name is, the job is even worse. As scout, it is up to Bob to find Texas Panhandle ranchers and formers willing to sell their acreage to him regardless of what his company plans to do on the purchased property. Because the massive hog farms run by Global Pork Rind are so ruinous to the environment and so unpleasant for the neighboring farms, Bob is encouraged to lie and cheat in any way necessary to get these aging ranchers to sign their names on the dotted line.
Bob Dollar, though, finds himself enjoying life in little Woolybucket, Texas, so much that he just can't quite bring himself to disclose his real purpose in the town. This premise allows Proulx to tell the history of the region through the wonderful characters she creates for the novel (men and women Bob Dollar is trying to deceive into selling their property), all of them descendants of those who settled that part of the state when Indians were still a constant danger.
Proulx's writing (and certainly her plot) reminds me a bit of the kind of comic novel that Larry McMurtry writes. I think that McMurtry fans will easily take to this novel and that they might even be surprised that someone out there can even top Mr. McMurtry on occasion in this type of story. I come away from "That Old Ace in the Hole" thinking that I have been underestimating Ms. Proulx's work. I look forward to reading more from her.
"That Old Ace in the Hole" is the story of one Bob Dollar, a young man from Denver so desperately in need of work that he takes a job as a scout for the Global Pork Rind company. Bad as that company name is, the job is even worse. As scout, it is up to Bob to find Texas Panhandle ranchers and formers willing to sell their acreage to him regardless of what his company plans to do on the purchased property. Because the massive hog farms run by Global Pork Rind are so ruinous to the environment and so unpleasant for the neighboring farms, Bob is encouraged to lie and cheat in any way necessary to get these aging ranchers to sign their names on the dotted line.
Bob Dollar, though, finds himself enjoying life in little Woolybucket, Texas, so much that he just can't quite bring himself to disclose his real purpose in the town. This premise allows Proulx to tell the history of the region through the wonderful characters she creates for the novel (men and women Bob Dollar is trying to deceive into selling their property), all of them descendants of those who settled that part of the state when Indians were still a constant danger.
Proulx's writing (and certainly her plot) reminds me a bit of the kind of comic novel that Larry McMurtry writes. I think that McMurtry fans will easily take to this novel and that they might even be surprised that someone out there can even top Mr. McMurtry on occasion in this type of story. I come away from "That Old Ace in the Hole" thinking that I have been underestimating Ms. Proulx's work. I look forward to reading more from her.
sarahe's review against another edition
2.0
I am a fan of many of her other books, but this one seems shamefully rushed and in dire need of a good editor.
rebeccagee123's review against another edition
5.0
God I love the way she writes okies! Excellent stories of individuals in a unique place and time.
eve_p73's review against another edition
4.0
Slow and spare, the prose imitates the landscape. It made me want to see panhandle Texas just once. The characters and the interweaving stories are good enough that you have to forgive the somewhat deus ex machina ending.
carmyn's review
3.0
When I started this book I thought I would hate it. I started reading Shipping News a few years ago and couldn't get into that one either. It seems that Annie Proulx likes bleak landscapes and while I live on the ND prairie, I am not sure I enjoy them as much. The Texas Panhandle is about as depressing as it gets. I didn't care for the main character, Bob Dollar, but I started to come around toward the end. I never knew how terrible corporate hog farms are until I read this book, rich with terrible description. What won me over was the stories of the past. At times, Proulx's style reads a bit like Erdrich and I love her. The backstories and interweaving of families and characters in the fictional town of Woolybucket were wonderful.
jennyyates's review against another edition
3.0
There’s not much plot, but I mostly enjoyed this novel. It follows Bob Dollar, a young man who’s employed by a big company to find sites for new hog farms in the Texas panhandle. He has to disguise his purpose, since hog farms are smelly, disgusting and unhealthy. He’s told to go to a likely area and get to know everybody, and find out who might be willing to sell.
Bob isn’t good at selling, but he is very good at getting to know everybody. He’s a history buff, so he learns all he can about Woolybucket, Texas – its past and its present. The novel just moseys along, detailing the lives and histories of these ranchers and townspeople. We learn a lot about windmills.
It’s often charming and funny, without ever being sentimental. Annie Proulx outdoes herself choosing names for her characters - Tater Crouch, Sidney Harshberger, Freda Beautyrooms, Ribye Cluke, Wally Ooly, Hugh Dough, Ad Slauter, Jim Skin, etc. Although Bob gets into a few scrapes, nothing much happens until the end, when the plot thickens enough to be satisfying.
Bob isn’t good at selling, but he is very good at getting to know everybody. He’s a history buff, so he learns all he can about Woolybucket, Texas – its past and its present. The novel just moseys along, detailing the lives and histories of these ranchers and townspeople. We learn a lot about windmills.
It’s often charming and funny, without ever being sentimental. Annie Proulx outdoes herself choosing names for her characters - Tater Crouch, Sidney Harshberger, Freda Beautyrooms, Ribye Cluke, Wally Ooly, Hugh Dough, Ad Slauter, Jim Skin, etc. Although Bob gets into a few scrapes, nothing much happens until the end, when the plot thickens enough to be satisfying.
veronicafrance's review against another edition
4.0
A reread ... I first read this book in 2004. This is what I wrote then:
***
This is a strange sort of book (but what else would you expect from the author of The Shipping News?). It's billed as a novel, but it doesn't have a plot to speak of, and its "hero" really just serves as an observer of other people's actions.
It's set in the Texas panhandle, where young innocent Bob Dollar has been sent to scout out land for hog farms for Global Pork Rind Inc. Since hog farms are not popular he has to keep his real intentions a secret and invent a cover story while he tries to get friendly with the locals and outwit competing hog farm scouts. Living in an old bunkouse on a ranch and helping out in the Old Dog Café, befriending a steer-roping priest, drinking tea with the ladies' quilting circle, Bob soon starts to go native and forget his mission, much to the annoyance of his bosses.
It reminded me most of Jonathan Raban's travelogues with its lyrical description of landscape, sharp but sympathetic observation of character, and Bob's own musings on the meaning of his life. The long list of acknowledgements to people Proulx talked to on her travels to research the novel only reinforce this impression -- Bob is standing in for Proulx herself.
It's not as extravagant as The Shipping News, but it is irresistibly charming and beautifully written. Incidentally, I was surprised to discover that Proulx wrote her first novel at the age of 56 (and won the Pulitzer with her second) -- hence she was in her mid-60s when she wrote this. Her originality and inventiveness make her seem much younger.
***
My thoughts haven't really changed. I'd add my admiration of Proulx's skill in disguising a well-researched travelogue/social history as a novel and retaining the reader's interest throughout. And we enjoyed her vivid, witty descriptions of people and places. Plus the best cowboy joke ever; it had stuck in my mind from the first time I read it, but I'd forgotten the punchline.
***
This is a strange sort of book (but what else would you expect from the author of The Shipping News?). It's billed as a novel, but it doesn't have a plot to speak of, and its "hero" really just serves as an observer of other people's actions.
It's set in the Texas panhandle, where young innocent Bob Dollar has been sent to scout out land for hog farms for Global Pork Rind Inc. Since hog farms are not popular he has to keep his real intentions a secret and invent a cover story while he tries to get friendly with the locals and outwit competing hog farm scouts. Living in an old bunkouse on a ranch and helping out in the Old Dog Café, befriending a steer-roping priest, drinking tea with the ladies' quilting circle, Bob soon starts to go native and forget his mission, much to the annoyance of his bosses.
It reminded me most of Jonathan Raban's travelogues with its lyrical description of landscape, sharp but sympathetic observation of character, and Bob's own musings on the meaning of his life. The long list of acknowledgements to people Proulx talked to on her travels to research the novel only reinforce this impression -- Bob is standing in for Proulx herself.
It's not as extravagant as The Shipping News, but it is irresistibly charming and beautifully written. Incidentally, I was surprised to discover that Proulx wrote her first novel at the age of 56 (and won the Pulitzer with her second) -- hence she was in her mid-60s when she wrote this. Her originality and inventiveness make her seem much younger.
***
My thoughts haven't really changed. I'd add my admiration of Proulx's skill in disguising a well-researched travelogue/social history as a novel and retaining the reader's interest throughout. And we enjoyed her vivid, witty descriptions of people and places. Plus the best cowboy joke ever; it had stuck in my mind from the first time I read it, but I'd forgotten the punchline.
cemistry101's review
4.0
This is sweet. A quaintly uplifting read for the eighth month of a global pandemic.