Wilkinson88

An intimate look at a Shaquille O Neal sized human who spends his days working at a pants factory, selling hot dogs and communicating with Myrna, a New York beatnik friend? Not as funny as I was expecting; a sense of comedic repetition can drag the story down, but Toole does have things to say about capitalism, consumerism and race that ultimately make it more than just a laugh-out-loud type book.

I would have loved to have seen the Chaplin version of Waiting for Godot.

I really enjoyed the first part, with a good range of characters, atmosphere and setting adeptly established. Even a three-page story of creating a sign on the grounds outside the Hat Creek Cattle Company was entertaining. It's just a shame that the second part foregoes any continuation of character development and opts to introduce yet more characters, whose purpose - it turns out - is to simply run into the characters from the first part.

It works as a counterpoint to the over-romanticization of the wild wild West in examing the brutality and unforgiveness of the landscape that Gus, Call and many others encounter. Underneath it all, there isn't much of a plot, though. Much of the book seemed to consist of an expositional backstory where McMurty elected to describe a character's origins and thoughts in great detail at the expense of the story.

Also, that dern ending. I expected a much stronger conclusion than whatever that was!

It reminded me of a Coen brothers film in how it explores the absurd reality we often find ourselves in, but it's also tinged with a sprinkle of sadness. The Logan brothers constantly reminded me of criminals from a Coen brothers film like Burn after reading. I don't completely love the conclusion to this, but I did appreciate how Brautigan successfully blended the varying tones and created something compelling. Looking forward to reading more of his stuff.

I'm looking forward to eventually reading this myself, but I'm also impressed that a few people here have managed to get an early copy of the book.