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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
A quite pleasant and easy-reading fable of a young, rudderless outsider navigating his place in small-town-panhandle Texas.
If the appeal of a dryly hilarious, morally rigorous, and beauty-drunk picaresque by the author of "The Half-Skinned Steer" isn't obvious to you then, well buddy, I don't know what you're doing reading my reviews.
The book is paced in a style that seems true to its setting: slow and steady. It takes its time to describe the scene and helps you feel the character of the town. I really liked that about the book, even though I thought I wouldn't when I began reading.
Bob Dollar is trying to buy land for hog farms for a big corporation (which is itself a character in the novel) in a small town where folks ('folks' is more appropriate than 'people') are nostalgic about the old ways and the simple ways. He's a good character: has depth and compassion and struggles with the direction of his life. Very likable.
It's been a while since I read [book:The Shipping News], but I see a similarity in it to this book, similar in a way that if you liked the one you'll probably like the other without thinking you're reading the same thing again.
Both books are set in small very rural places in which a 'newcomer' is the protagonist and gets to know (and love) the community and all its eccentric ways. Weather has a place in each book, too.
Bob Dollar is trying to buy land for hog farms for a big corporation (which is itself a character in the novel) in a small town where folks ('folks' is more appropriate than 'people') are nostalgic about the old ways and the simple ways. He's a good character: has depth and compassion and struggles with the direction of his life. Very likable.
It's been a while since I read [book:The Shipping News], but I see a similarity in it to this book, similar in a way that if you liked the one you'll probably like the other without thinking you're reading the same thing again.
Both books are set in small very rural places in which a 'newcomer' is the protagonist and gets to know (and love) the community and all its eccentric ways. Weather has a place in each book, too.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
I enjoyed the voices and the stories in this one. The main character and his story and indeed the overall plot weren't nearly as interesting to me as the folksy narratives and memorable people Proulx exposes that character and thus us to. I'm ambivalent about her zany names for nearly every person in the book -- I'm a sucker for zany names but it became absurd almost beyond the fun of it. It's not the deepest or most nuanced book I've ever read, but I really enjoyed it
Even when I don't love the story she is telling, Proulx's writing is so familiar and true that I love to read it. It nver fails that I will read a phrase, pause, read it over and over and be amazed that she has stumbled on a such a simply worded truth.
Proulx is a writer I will always read. No matter what the story, her words are compelling.
Proulx is a writer I will always read. No matter what the story, her words are compelling.
Bob Dollar is sent into the small towns of the Texas Panhandle to scout sites for industrial hog farms. Who might be willing to sell the family ranch? Since hog farms are generally despised, he has to work undercover. He moves into the tiny town of Woolybucket, lives in a bunkhouse, and starts to get to know all the peculiar residents of the place and a bit of the history of the panhandle.
The book is delightfully meandering, as we learn the history and background of lots of the citizens of Woolybucket. The stories slowly begin to intertwine with each other and the plot of the book, as Bob Dollar becomes more a part of the town and begins to think about the job he has undertaken.
This book reminded me very much of The Dog of the south by Charles Portis, with its wandering, character-driven adventure.
The book is delightfully meandering, as we learn the history and background of lots of the citizens of Woolybucket. The stories slowly begin to intertwine with each other and the plot of the book, as Bob Dollar becomes more a part of the town and begins to think about the job he has undertaken.
This book reminded me very much of The Dog of the south by Charles Portis, with its wandering, character-driven adventure.
I marked this in my Read shelf, but I couldn't get past page 70.
Proulx love of her own imagination is stultifying. She throws out corkscrew names of characters and places to impress, and all I get is confused.
I'm sure there's some hidden gems in the ore to be mined, but there's too many books and too little time for me to waste on this dreck.
Proulx love of her own imagination is stultifying. She throws out corkscrew names of characters and places to impress, and all I get is confused.
I'm sure there's some hidden gems in the ore to be mined, but there's too many books and too little time for me to waste on this dreck.
I wanted to read this book out loud to someone. It is the opposite of plot driven, but so rich and wonderfully written. All the names of people and places are gems.
Wonderful descriptions of small town life in Texas, the price of progress, and the personal struggle of making a living without selling your soul.
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes