A former English teacher turned farmer, Cliff, recently divorced from his wife of over 40 years and now homeless due to a shrewd move his real-estate ex-wife made has decided to tour the country on a journey to rename all 50 states and state birds.
Armed with a childhood jigsaw puzzle of the states, he leaves Michigan and begins his quest. His first stop is to meet up with a former student of his where he begins an affair that threatens his sanity and the health of his body at the hands of sex-crazed and cell phone addicted Marybelle.
When Marybelle's manipulations become to much for him he drops her off with her husband in Montana and heads to California for a visit with his son Robert. Along the way he learns a little about himself as well as the scenery of the states in the process.
After a few of the emotionally disturbing books I had been reading lately I thought this book sounded like an easy summer road trip. While it was easy enough to read and the language (country bumpkin hick adages) was fun, I did not feel connected at all with the story. I grew bored with the ramblings of Cliff and his sexual exploits. I came to view the author as a "dirty old man" since everything that Cliff did reminded him of sex. Even stopping at a place called Notch Bottom was enough to stir him sexually.
I was hoping Cliff would come to a conclusion about his new lot in life and be transformed but that didn't seem to happen. I was disappointed in the storyline and the lack of a life altering event.
Are there any Jim Harrison fans out there who disagree with me on this one? Please let me know.
Posts
Ick...ick. I've had this on my tbr for some time and read other reviews and no one ever mentioned this. That really doesn't do a thing for me. And frankly I don't even care to read a book that wants to throw out country bumpkin hick adages; living in Nebraska, I get quite enough of those as it is!
ReplyDelete