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A review by veronicafrance
That Old Ace In The Hole by Annie Proulx
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.