Customer Reviews

The Complete History of New Mexico: Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The stories in this book are truly wonderful. A mix, like New Mexico itself, of beautiful striking wisdom and subtle mystery. I received this book as a gift and I am grateful to the person that gave it to me as well as to the author, Kevin McIlvoy, for sharing his gift. As I read each story, the words came off the page like music, a gentle cadence in the words that synchronized with the landscape or characters. The stories, like refrains from a song, come back into my head. If you love beautiful, lyrical and solid prose with characters that are genuine with real heart and souls experiencing joy, sadness and the beauty of life and land, then you should read this book.

I have been haunted by "The Complete History of New Mexico" for over two decades. The story is not for cowards, not that it's lurid, but it is terrifyingly funny. Shakespeare is clever and amusing; Milton and Swift are indignant; Melville and Faulkner are provocative. But these stories marry viciousness and tenderness in ways I have not read before. No one who has heard of "Chum" can forget his story. Not "weird" or "wonderful," this collection is a "complete," concise, cohesive, horrifying, representation of North American experience.

This collection features the wildest, weirdest stories you'll find anywhere. They're not strange for the sake of being strange; they're genuinely original. Kevin McIlvoy is one of a kind, and this has to be one of the best books of the year.

I purchased this book for myself and 6 of our neighbors as a Christmas gift. I read the book after I gave the book to the 6 neighbors. Had I read the book before giving it as a gift, I would never have given the book as a gift. I was most disappointed in the contents, the style selected for writing the "fiction", and the difficulty in following the author's purpose. In short, I gave a gift that has now embarrassed me as a gift giver.