Review: on Bad Meaning Good...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 30, 2013
I think the most common response to reading a Chris Well novel for the first time is: Has he written anything else? That or: Really? I can't believe I read the WHOLE thing. (No need for alka seltzer, though.) (That dated me.)The point is, Well writes with a casual, conversational tone that reminds readers that reading is fun. (And we really didn't need to do those dishes tonight, anyway.) It's easy to get caught up in the narrative and actually feel like one of the characters caught up in the action, trying to figure out what just happened and why.My first encounter with his writing was the Kansas City Blues books which actually served to remind me that fiction was worth reading again. (I had gotten into quite a pattern of reading non-fiction, business books to "better" myself - turns out, I'm better when I'm happy, and I'm happy when I'm reading good fiction.)All that to say that Well has done it again with the love-him-or-hate-him character, Harry Truman, a frustrated ex-journalist with bad habits, a trail of broken relationships, and aspirations of writing a novel. Of course, nothing goes as Harry plans - ever - and he get sidetracked by, of all things, writing a biography for a mob boss with mere months to live. And of course, naturally, when you hang out with mobsters, you often get mistaken for a contract killer, right?Oh what to do, what to do Mr. Truman, or Fillmore, or, well, over the course of the book we get a better idea of who Harry really is, based on his choices and actions while navigating circumstances only he could find himself in. You see how easy it is to act like he's a real person? Like a good friend that drives you crazy, but also reminds you that life would be boring without him? That's Harry. And at least once, you'll find yourself saying... "Oh, that Harry, he's so crazy."And you will read the book. And you will thank me for it later. Better yet, thank the author.By the way, I received a complimentary digital edition of this book from Story Cartel because I promised to write an honest review. I mean what I say, believe me... you should see what I wrote about those other books...