Book description
The brilliant novel from Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx, author of
THE SHIPPING NEWS. A richly textured story of one man's struggle to make
good in the inhospitable ranch country of the Texas panhandle, told with
razor wit and a masterly sense of place.
'An absolute corker of a novel which manages the dual feat of being a
serious satire on the evils of global capitalism, and a personal comedy
of Dickensian dimensions.' A N Wilson, Daily Telegraph
Some folks in the Texas panhandle do not like hog farms. But Bob
Dollar, the newly-hired hog site scout for Global Pork Rind, intends to
do his job. Bob must contend with tough men and women like ancient Freda
Beautyrooms who controls a ranch he covets, and Ace Crouch, the
windmiller who defies the hog farms. As Bob settles in at La Von Fronk's
bunkhouse and lends a hand at Cy Frease's Old Dog Café, he is forced to
question everything.
'Proulx's own ace in the hole is her brilliance at evoking place and
landscape. She sets about drawing the vast distances and parched
flatlands of Texas with almost immeasurable skill.' Alex Clark, Guardian
'Amusing, intriguing and disturbing.' Mark Sanderson, Independent on Sunday
'A kind-hearted and intelligent novel.' Daily Telegraph
'Proulx has a first class eye and ear.' Adam Mars-Jones, Observer
'Brilliantly written.' Peter Kemp, Sunday Times
'Funny and heartfelt.' Scotsman 'Sometimes the laughs are prompted by
joyously well-jointed plot devices, or by Proulx's small, absurd
observations. As often as not, the humour comes from the unmistakable
edginess and quirkiness of Proulx's prose. It is hard to think of any
living writer who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as
Dickens, with the exception of Proulx.' A N Wilson, New Statesman
'The travels and travails of Bob Dollar, and his habit of asking
garrlous locals to tell stories about the old days, allow her to build
up a rich and many-layered portrait of the region. The reader gets to
pluck the fruits of all that research and through the magic of her prose
become engrossed in subjects like windmill repairs and the history of
barbed wire.' Richard Grant, Telegraph Magazine Annie Proulx published
her first novel Postcards in 1991 at the age of 56. She is the Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of The Shipping News, the acclaimed novel,
Accordion Crimes, and the bestselling short story collection, Close
Range
