Review: Challenging Read, but Plenty of Bright Spots
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 11, 2014
I was hoping to read something that really blew my socks off, and while there were plenty of moments in this book that made me laugh, smirk, or even make me think, there wasn't that feeling of greatness that a book of this size and potential had promised. I thought that a character-driven novel set in a Wyoming stumble-in bar would have an endless supply of stories and vignettes that could tie together into some sort of big picture message or theme. Sure, some of the anecdotes worked, particularly the ones that centered on women. I feel that Crawford loves women, although he doesn't quite understand them. The archetypes he creates aren't exactly unique, but neither are they generic. His ability to spin a character that we could find in any rundown bar and inject them with a spark of something profound or unusual kept me interested. I always enjoyed when a new face appeared and I could watch the author once again use some of his prose powers to paint a picture with his words.However, speaking of words - Get an Editor! The book isn't terrible, but having to stumble across mistakes all the time is annoying. That being said, I might tackle the extended version of the book, but I might just wait to see if Crawford comes out with something else soon. Give it a try - it is a human and engaging novel, if you can look past some of the superficial issues.