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thebobsphere 's review for:
Don't Skip Out on Me
by Willy Vlautin
Willy is slowly becoming one of my fave authors. I love the way he describes North America, be it a trailer park or a Mexican village or a ranch. There’s something authentic about the landscapes and characters which populate his books. In addition to this, his unpretentious writing style helps bring out his themes.
Horace is a ranch hand who has a personal connection with his owner Mr. Reese. He also wants to be a professional boxer so he changes his name to a Mexican one and leaves the ranch to start his career. In the meantime Mr. Reese is getting old and is not really capable of running his sheep farm. Both main characters are going on different life paths – the question is whether they will cope?
Don’t Skip is about illusion and reality. Horace does not want to be half white half Native American but rather a Mexican, yet he hates the food and cannot speak Spanish. Mr. Reese thinks he can handle the ranch but his back pains stop him. he also has to accept his fate.
Besides that there’s Vlautin’s descriptions ranging from the expansive Nevada ranch to the illicit hedonism of Tijuana. It’s all hyper realistic. Also for someone who dislikes descriptions of sports, I enjoyed reading about the boxing matches, and there are quite a few. Again Vlautin knows how not to make something dull and repetitive.
Although I have only read two of his novels, I consider Willy Vlautin to be a chronicler of contemporary North America. At the same time his books are quietly anarchic. One can never guess how his characters behave or what type of fate will await them and I like unpredictable plots. Vlautin, without any doubt is a master at his craft.
Horace is a ranch hand who has a personal connection with his owner Mr. Reese. He also wants to be a professional boxer so he changes his name to a Mexican one and leaves the ranch to start his career. In the meantime Mr. Reese is getting old and is not really capable of running his sheep farm. Both main characters are going on different life paths – the question is whether they will cope?
Don’t Skip is about illusion and reality. Horace does not want to be half white half Native American but rather a Mexican, yet he hates the food and cannot speak Spanish. Mr. Reese thinks he can handle the ranch but his back pains stop him. he also has to accept his fate.
Besides that there’s Vlautin’s descriptions ranging from the expansive Nevada ranch to the illicit hedonism of Tijuana. It’s all hyper realistic. Also for someone who dislikes descriptions of sports, I enjoyed reading about the boxing matches, and there are quite a few. Again Vlautin knows how not to make something dull and repetitive.
Although I have only read two of his novels, I consider Willy Vlautin to be a chronicler of contemporary North America. At the same time his books are quietly anarchic. One can never guess how his characters behave or what type of fate will await them and I like unpredictable plots. Vlautin, without any doubt is a master at his craft.