Scan barcode
A review by wynne_ronareads
The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story by Matt Bondurant
4.0
There have been many reviews claiming that Matt Bondurants writing style in "the Wettest County in the World" is aiming to emulate Cormac McCarthy, or even Hemingway. I can see where those are coming from, since the novel uses no quotation marks, and often interrupts sentences (EX: I was just saying to you that Forrest says, pig there oughta be brought out to pasture.) Neither mentioned bring much of anything to the story.
But it isn't enough to take away from what this book really is: a blood soaked, whirl wind ride that I enjoyed every moment of. Bondurant's tireless research shows through, the story is chock full of historical details which makes every moment completely real. The brother's each suffer from their own demons. Howard is constantly trying not to relieve the horrors he witnessed in WWI, Forrest's silence he uses to a menacing advantage, struggling to get close to others, and Jack, the youngest, who wants so deeply to be respected and whose weakness is in the material. Despite the level of violence (which translated to gut wrenching scenes on screen), the novel was enjoyable. Contrary to other reviews, I enjoyed the flashbacks with Sherwood Anderson. His experience, that of an outsider, was necessary to gain the full picture of Franklin County's code of silence around their shiners. I will agree that the flipping around in time didn't always match up (mostly because you couldn't tell if something was in the past or the future, so only after the fact you'd realize a scene was supposed to have taken place years later.) But Anderson's role in the novel didn't slow it down or bore me at all. Anderson is, as Bondurant alludes to, a classic literary figure who is often overshadowed by his more famous peers. If I had to guess, I'd bet that Bondurant aimed to emulate HIS writing style over that of McCarthy or Hemingway.
Regardless, I enjoyed this novel. Renamed movie cover, quotation mark missing version and all. (After you're done reading, see the film "Lawless," based off of it. Both are great fun!)
But it isn't enough to take away from what this book really is: a blood soaked, whirl wind ride that I enjoyed every moment of. Bondurant's tireless research shows through, the story is chock full of historical details which makes every moment completely real. The brother's each suffer from their own demons. Howard is constantly trying not to relieve the horrors he witnessed in WWI, Forrest's silence he uses to a menacing advantage, struggling to get close to others, and Jack, the youngest, who wants so deeply to be respected and whose weakness is in the material. Despite the level of violence (which translated to gut wrenching scenes on screen), the novel was enjoyable. Contrary to other reviews, I enjoyed the flashbacks with Sherwood Anderson. His experience, that of an outsider, was necessary to gain the full picture of Franklin County's code of silence around their shiners. I will agree that the flipping around in time didn't always match up (mostly because you couldn't tell if something was in the past or the future, so only after the fact you'd realize a scene was supposed to have taken place years later.) But Anderson's role in the novel didn't slow it down or bore me at all. Anderson is, as Bondurant alludes to, a classic literary figure who is often overshadowed by his more famous peers. If I had to guess, I'd bet that Bondurant aimed to emulate HIS writing style over that of McCarthy or Hemingway.
Regardless, I enjoyed this novel. Renamed movie cover, quotation mark missing version and all. (After you're done reading, see the film "Lawless," based off of it. Both are great fun!)