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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
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.
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.
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.
This is sweet. A quaintly uplifting read for the eighth month of a global pandemic.
Interesting. Very little plot, but really wonderful characters. The main character is a fairly useless guy who takes a job as a "scout" for a hog farm group. He's supposed to get to go to the Texas panhandle and find people who will sell their land for use as a hog farm. Since everyone is hostile to hog farming (pollution and horrible smells), he pretends to be a real estate developer and gets to know the people in Woolybucket, TX. The people in the town are great with funny backstories. It's pretty slow, but I liked it. Not sure it would be as enjoyable if you don't have at least a passing familiarity with the panhandle.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
First time reading one of Prolux’s long form works. This book really is about the journey, not the destination, and I loved her descriptions of the panhandle and the people in it. She is a master at weaving fascinating stories in places where most others would overlook.
This is an excellent book to read slowly and enjoy.
This is an excellent book to read slowly and enjoy.
For me, Annie Proulx doesn't disappoint, she is one of my favorite authors and I finished this book feeling no different. I even love the over the top hokey character names, they just fit with what I love about her. The character development, small consistent details and immersion into the landscape and history are things I truly enjoy in her books.
Just gave this book to my step-mother-in-law. She grew up on rural Oklahoma. I think my love for the book would be enhanced with some experiences in the panhandle region. Funny, funny story. Bob Dollar needed a bit more meat on his character, but in many ways this book reminded me of a regional geographical study more than a novel.
Loved it! Loads of wacky characters, great storytelling, excellent writing.
This was a slow read, but a good one. Not nearly as good as The Shipping News, but it had some very funny parts and I liked the small town-ness of it.