Customer Reviews

Last Go Round

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you are looking for a complete and perfect, factual, historical and deathly boring scholarly tome on the first big Pendleton rodeo, this isn't it. What this is, is a great little book that tells a great yarn about some people who may or may not have any resemblance to people that may or may not have been in Pendleton, OR around the time that this book is set.
The characters are vivid and the relationship between them is both ribald & enlightening. The young Spain comes up against the elder Jackson & Fletcher. They show him around their world, a world that they have made a niche in for themselves in, and Spain comes out the other side older & wiser. Kesey points out many of the injustices that faced the Indians and Afro Americans in the new west. Spain learns about strength, weakness and right and wrong is an age where they are still working out what these things mean.
Kesey shows some of the great mastery of language that made him a hero to many readers with Sometimes a Great Notion. There are sections of this book that are as good as any he ever wrote. (As Spain is nodding off to sleep in Jackson's teepee he watches the smoke curl toward the roof, turn into snakes and then into tiny delicate horses he doesn't want to scare away.)
This is a great read. Apparently there are people who have an issue with Kesey for taking people out of history and creating a story from their legends, and having a different interpretation form the accepted legend. Kesey was a storyteller, not a historian. There are great pictures of the real people whose story Kesey has attempted to fictionalize. If you want a fun and light book from a master storyteller, this is a good choice. Don't get hung up with facts, enjoy yourself and buy this book.

During an interview on Bravo TV's excellent series INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO, Dennis Hopper (an artistic, historical and spiritual brother of Ken Kesey) shared a brilliant anecdote illustrating the nature of art. While teaching a lesson on painting, Thomas Hart Benton told Dennis Hopper to "Think loose and paint tight".

The late Ken Kesey's unique literary gifts and contributions lay in his incredible ability to "think loose and write tightly."

In both of his great works, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST and SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION, as well as some of his journalistic writing, Kesey brilliantly channeled magnificent, electric, free-floating, randomly abstract and stream of conscious ideas into tight, elegant sentences. Kesey forged the missing link between the spontaneous prose of Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs and the Beats with the laser-like precision of Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

While LAST GO ROUND certainly makes for a fast and fun read, it does not represent his finest work. Attempting to write a combination camp fire story/dime store novel Kesey allows himself to invert his precious balance.

Thinking tightly in the surprisingly demanding genre bounds of oral history and pulp, Kesey simply tries too hard. LAST GO ROUND lacks the spontaneous element of creation that courses throughout all his greatest work. Creatively he appears to be straining and reaching for ideas that should come easily.

While the creativity seems pushed, the writing itself appears unpolished and unfocused, relatively devoid of the razor sharp perceptions that one expects from a great author.

Ultimately though, this is really a small matter. Based on a historical event- The first Pendleton Round-Up (based in my hometown), Kesey does infuse his narrative with rich local color and texture. Having met the real George Fletcher when he was aged and in a nursing home, the story also has strong personal connections for me. That, and my personally autographed copy of the book from the late Kesey makes LAST GO ROUND a valued sentimental possession.

Not a classic by any stretch, but certainly worth reading. Especially for fans of Kesey.

I must take issue with Pati Reitenour's complaint that the book was not historically accurate. I'm sure that's true, but that is why it is a "dime western." It is in the tradition of western adventure books published in the 19th century which would take real characters and weave a tall tale from a thread of truth. The point is entertainment, which this book delivers.

This book tells the story of the first Pendleton Round-Up. The Round-Up was organized to settle once and for all who was the greatest cowboy in the world. Contestants arrived from across the continent to vie for the prize, a magnificent saddle. Three of the men who came to try their luck were Jackson Sundown, a Nez Perce Indian, George Fletcher, an African American from Pendleton, and Jonathan E. Lee Spain, a youngster from Tennessee. When the final scores were tallied, these three came out in a draw, so special events had to be added to the contest to determine the winner.

The book tells the story from Spain's point-of-view. As one of the youngest contestants, his experience with rodeo competitions was limited. The authors take us behind the scenes to see how the rodeo favorites took him under their wing, teaching him more than just how to compete in the ring. The story is quite entertaining, with a full cast of characters, from Buffalo Bill to a young girl named Meyerhoff, who could ride like the wind. The only odd part of the story is the beginning, which is set in modern times, with Spain as an old man- -it's a bit hard to understand where the plot is going at first, but once it finally gets going, there's no stopping it.

I agree that this isn't Kesey's best work, but I have a personal reason for loving this book -- my great-Grandfather Parsons Motanic is a character (and he was a character) in this novel. Kesey never claimed that this was a true and factual account of the Pendleton round up, and he apologized to the people of Pendleton for taking liberties with the story. He got most of the details regarding my great-Grandfather wrong but I still enjoy the book and absolutely love that Kesey and Babbs included a picture of Parsons Motanic in the book. The narrative is jerky (much like motion pictures of the time) but some of the language is lyrical and almost lives up to Kesey's early works.

If you are a fan of Ken Kesey this western-flavored tale that Kesey wrote with the help of another former Merry Prankster Ken Babbs will not disappoint you.

For me this was a nostalgic trip back to the days when I sat next to my dad in the "sun bleachers" at Pendleton Round-Up. Mention of framiliar names like, Crabby's, and Hamley's enhanced the authenticity of this book. I didn't think it was near the best ever done by Kesey. I thought it could maybe have been more descriptive and a bit more knowledgable on Rodeo itself. (Maybe talk to some modern day Rodeoers?)

Although first seen as an assignment, I throughly enjoyed LAST GO ROUND, my first western. Shorter and more consice than Kesey's SAILOR SONG, LAST GO ROUND foucusses on a true tale wih a tall tale twist. Definately Kesey's best since SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION (and shorter with chapters too!)

This short novel takes the reader to old west and shows them why it became known as the "wild west." Kesey and Babbs drop any symbolism or social commentary and spin a fast moving, fun tale of three true cowboys battling it our for the World Rodeo Championship.
There is no time wasted with long character introductions nor any dragged out descriptions of the scenery-- just lots of action.

this novel recycles fact into fiction to create a tale about the original Pendleton Roundup. There's a heap of synthesis here, from oral and written histories, old photographs, interviews, newspaper articles and conversations. Kesey connects them and supplies imaginary material to create a farce with a gonzo tilt, as if he were on acid and explaining to Hunter Thompson. Kesey uses local color well and has an ear for period phrases, even when slapping them on with a palate knife, but that's the fun of it--watching Kesey stretch his brain around facts. The book is really about the author and how he chooses to indulge himself, not about what happened in Pendleton or what the reader should think about what went on there. In fact, the way Kesey jumps from one time frame to another shows how little he's concerned with keeping things straight for the reader. This book is bent. You can enjoy its distortions or look away, but you can't deny the brilliance or uniqueness of its colors. One burr under my saddle is that his cowboys aren't as "strong, silent and truthful" as I'd expect. Pendleton must have been far more polite and stuffy than Kesey lets on. But bizarre distortion reflects his intention of zonking out on history until it assumes a form more pleasing to him. In taking this trail, he proves that the humblest writer scribblng a dime novel from dubious fact is more of an author than all the librarians at the Library of Congress. The point, after all, is the mind in the act of making the mind. If connections seem bizarre, well, that's just Kesey taking on reality, whether the time is now or a century ago.