I just got my copy of Doolittle's latest. If you haven't read
his stuff, I strongly recommend you do so. He's also the
author of DIRT and BURN
(haven't gotten a copy of DIRT yet, but BURN is a terrific
book). I've had the book less than a day, and I'm already
nearly 100 pages into it (and I don't read quickly, mind
you).
So far, so great. This latest one is set in western Nebraska
(where my mom's family hails from, so I had a pretty clear
image of the area going in to it), and it's got all the
makings of a classic. Seriously, Sean Doolittle can turn a
phrase like Fitzgerald, describe like Chandler, and use
dialogue like Hemingway to show, not tell, and move the plot
along at a nice little clip.
As if that wasn't enough, this guy works in the finest
American tradition to make the surrounding environment itself
more than a back-drop, but an additional character in his
books, just as Willa Cather (also using the Great Plains) and
William Faulkner (the fictional Yoknapataphaw County
Mississippi), Mark Twain (the Mississippi River among other
places), Flannery O'Connor (the South, et. al.), DosPassos
(the urban jungle of the early 20th century), and so many
others among the moderns have done.
Lastly, he's got a way with his characters, an authenticity
that I find largely missing from most fiction these days.
There's not much artifice in Doolittle's characters. He's
very good at putting aside literary convention and showing us
people who act like real people, rather than literary
constructs. It's refreshing.
Again, I'm only 100 pages into it, but so far, this new one's
a winner.
Anyone else here impressed by Sean Doolittle's work? Bill
Crider, haven't you read some of his stuff?
All the Best-
Brian Thornton
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