Customer Reviews

Gold Fools (Sun & Moon Classics, 196)

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Damn, this is a funny book! Sorrentino subverts the Western novel with a ludicrous tale of hunting for gold narrated entirely in interrogative sentences. Reminiscent in some ways of the boys' novel parody in "Misterioso," Sorrentino has a field day with the traditions and lingo of the Western, as well as going off on riffs concerning contemporary culture. Throughout, Sorrentino interrogates our use of language, especially our reliance on cliches; a linguistic hygienist, Sorrentino questions any sloppy misuse of language, knowing that sloppy language can lead to sloppy thinking. The Western genre has attracted many innovative writers--Coover, Brautigan, Kesey, even William Gaddis wrote a Western screenplay, unfortunately never produced--but Sorrentino's inquisitorial contribution is the funniest.

In many of his novels, Gilbert Sorrentino has left linear storytelling in the dust to give equal voice to the alternative points of view of his characters. In his most successful novels - such as Aberration of Starlight and Odd Number - Sorrentino's method raised serious questions about "reality" and whether "facts" can ever be relied upon within the context of fiction. "Gold Fools" also ventures into an exploration of the "real," although its results are decidedly mixed. Sorrentino's penchant for riffing in all directions is present throughout. And he remains one of the few novelists who relish their political incorrectness in ways that can be uproariously funny. But there's a luridness in this book that seemed more than a little inappropriate, given its foundation as a parody of boys adventure books. And the interrogative structure of the novel - while a considerable technical feat - ultimately seemed more like a stunt than anything that contributed to a deeper understanding of what the author is trying to accomplish. Perhaps this is burdening this obviously lighthearted novel with too much baggage, but some of the writing seemed (uncharacteristically) forced and was a chore to read. In his 1976 review of "A Month of Sundays.," Sorrentino criticized that book's author, John Updike, for his "vivid" writing where, Sorrentino said, "anything goes as long as the surface dances." In many respects, the same accusation can be leveled at "Gold Fools," whose surface pleasures can't mask the emptiness of the vessal containing them.