This is an incredible novel. I don't read much fiction these days, but I ran with a current member of Richmond Fontaine years ago, and my boss recommended and lent this book to me.
I read it on the bus, and particularly in the evenings, when fatigued, worried what would happen if I burst into tears after laughing out loud in some passages. Would fellow passengers think I was crazy?
The critical reviews are right - this is an honest book, a hard and yet compassionate book, and truly American in its style.
One particular stylistic reference (that goes against the Americana comment I've already made, I guess): Willy pulls some very cool story-within-a-story stuff in this book, not unlike some of Celine's narrative distractions, that allow the author the freedom to briefly explore even looser, less edited territory than the already unfiltered narrative of the main thread. Very few authors that I have experienced pull this off as well as it appears in this book.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(16 of 25 readers found this comment helpful)
bryandonwhite has commented on (1) product.
The Motel Life: A Novel (P.S.) by Willy Vlautin
bryandonwhite, August 1, 2007
This is an incredible novel. I don't read much fiction these days, but I ran with a current member of Richmond Fontaine years ago, and my boss recommended and lent this book to me.I read it on the bus, and particularly in the evenings, when fatigued, worried what would happen if I burst into tears after laughing out loud in some passages. Would fellow passengers think I was crazy?
The critical reviews are right - this is an honest book, a hard and yet compassionate book, and truly American in its style.
One particular stylistic reference (that goes against the Americana comment I've already made, I guess): Willy pulls some very cool story-within-a-story stuff in this book, not unlike some of Celine's narrative distractions, that allow the author the freedom to briefly explore even looser, less edited territory than the already unfiltered narrative of the main thread. Very few authors that I have experienced pull this off as well as it appears in this book.
(16 of 25 readers found this comment helpful)