Customer Reviews

Something to Be Desired

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

 

 

I've read this great book in the past (twice) and stopped at this listing to buy some copies as Christmas gifts for friends. I can't believe the low "star" rating among Amazon's customers -- this is one of Thomas McGuane's best works. All of his novels are slim on plot but saturated with character(s) and atmosphere. He doesn't create who-done-it page-turners, but rather outstanding writing about slices of American life, usually a very thin slice that is fast disappearing. Something To Be Desired ranges from hilarious to sad to bizarre to realistic. Read this book.

If there's ever been a better picture painted of life in Livingston, Montana, I haven't read it. The town is the real life Deadrock of course, and what makes it unique is the memorable characters who inhabit the place. The hilariously flawed Lucien doesn't let bad fortune, family estrangement, or loss of love get him down. That's a mighty handy quality to have in a place like Deadrock. McGuane's novels are unique regardless of the decade he wrote them. The 1980's in this case. Who wouldn't like to inherit a ranch up the Shields Valley by default? And then turn it into another roadside attraction? Locals are doing that right now only with oil and gas wells. At least Lucien didn't inherit the land. He won it fair and square by opportunism and endurance. Sometimes you have to outlast 'em and then make hay. Important aspects of the human condition are crystal clear and humorously drawn.

This slim volume tells the story of Lucien Taylor, a man who walked away from his family and then tried to work his way back. It is sporadically effective in its representation of a self-destructive man and has an honest resolution, but its minimalist style distanced me from the characters. At times, I also felt the Heavy Hand of Symbolism, as in the character of Emily, who is apparently meant to represent the lure of the dangerous unknown.

Something to Be Desired is unreadable. The characters are pathetic, the language is too simple, etc.

This book leaves you feeling just as the title says. Or maybe the title should've been, Something Left Out, or better yet it should have been titled, Boring.

i want to know what other people think, not write a review...i thouhgt it was suppose be about a father and his journey in life, but i need more than that, thank you, please help