Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Francis Spufford Is The One Author Who Can Get Away With Being......Dystopian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                         If there is one word I hate, it is "dystopian," and as soon as I hear a novel being described as such, I turn away from it.  But not if the author is Francis Spufford.



                                          Spufford goes dystopian, but never lets up on character or narrative.  What he gives the reader here is a sort of Cormac McCarthy noir.   Set in a Mississippi town that resembles Harlem in the 20's, the world he creates is as believable as one can expect of plopping a section of Manhattan down into the heart of Mississippi.  Both a social critique and a murder mystery that had me stumped, "Cahokia Jazz" adds another notch to the author's gallery of quality fiction.



                                              And yet...it did not blow me away.  I kept going, but always wanted something more.  Maybe Spufford was reaching too high, for bars set by McCarthy and Colson Whitehead.



                                                 I want to see what he does next.  As good as his current novel was, it could have been better.



                                                  Tea at four, darlings???????????????

1 comment:

  1. Victor,
    The murderer turns out to be the partner he the hero has been working with all along. I did not see that coming. They get into a fight, the baddie is killed, and he moves on. Very Cormac McCarthy.

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