Miker wrote:
"I thought it was Willeford month, too, but it wouldn't make
me unhappy to wait for the next month. That would give me
time to read some more of WRITING AND OTHER BLOOD SPORTS and
maybe even SIDESWIPE, NEW HOPE FOR THE DEAD, or
SHARK-INFESTED CUSTARD. Oh! WOMAN CHASER, too. Yeah! Good
feeling to have all those on the shelf waiting for me.
Although I wish I had COCKFIGHTER, too. Can't have
everything, I guess. "
I don't understand this Cockfighter reverence (I'm not saying
you're revering Cockfighter, Miker, just that I detect that
this novel tends to be lauded a bit). For me it's one of his
weakest. That's probably a bit unfair. It's well written and
paced and pretty interesting, but it's just a different sort
of novel to the ones I like. My vote for best Willeford goes
to Pick Up. It's often the last sentence which people talk
about with this novel, which is unfortunate because the rest
of it is such a great piece of noir. <SPOILER> It seems
if an issue such a racism crops up it overshadows whatever
else a novel might have to offer.</SPOILER>
Maybe I didn't get Cockfighter, but I didn't feel I got into
the protagonist's head enough. I couldn't identify with him
at all. OTOH I can identify with Hoke Moseley. But Hoke is
fallible, as is Harry in Pick Up. The Cockfighter guy is a
strong solid type. I think I'll always go for fallible and
fucked-up above strong and heroic. In fact Cockfighter
reminds me in some ways of those old Westerns where you have
a man going to great and seemingly absurd lengths to achieve
something that no one else can see the point of, until the
end. Of course, it could be the Homer thing that taints it
for me - in Cockfighter Willeford is constrainted by his
efforts to re-tell the Oddessy myth, whereas in others he
just writes what he writes.
Blimey, I do go on.
Charlie Williams.
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