RARA-AVIS: A Feast of Snakes

From: Doug Hoffman, MD ( hoffmand@cc.northcoast.com)
Date: 23 Apr 2002


 I just finished Crews' _A Feast of Snakes_, which was discussed not too long ago on this list. Whoof! And I thought _The Killer Inside Me_ was intense!

On at least one point, _Killer_ has it over _Snakes_... _Killer_ is a first person narrative, so the protagonist's psychological speculations work very well as the rationalizations of a sociopath. You don't have to buy these rationalizations as being valid. On the other hand,
_Snakes_, being third person, demands that the reader accept Crews' explanations for his characters' motivations. For me, this worked for Joe Lon, but not so well for some of the supporting characters, such as the Joe Lon's sister Beeder, or the raped girl Lottie Mae.

_Snakes_ also made me think of West's _Day of the Locust_. Not just the mob scenes, but also the 'male bonding around chics' scenes. And, of course, Homer and Joe Lon share similar fates.

So... how's the rest of Crews' work? Any recommendations?

Doug Hoffman

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