Jonathan Evison: I’m midway through reading two novels at present, both of which came as recommendations from editors I greatly admire–one a commercial editor, and the other an indie editor–both of whom are excellent readers. These novels could hardly have less in common; one is a rollicking western adventure set in the 1860s, and the other is a tender-hearted coming-of-age set in New York City in the 1970s. One features a male protagonist, the other a female. One doles out its language in measured helpings, while the other speeds along under its own momentum. But they have this much in common: they’re both imminently charming and readable, and they both feel lived-in.
The first book is Chris Hannan’s Missy, which came as a recommendation from David Rogers at Picador. I’ve been obsessed with westerns in recent days. It fascinates me to see how contemporary writers deal with the well-worn tropes of the genre, how they will undermine our expectations of western mythology, from the subversive machinations of McCarthy, to the envelope-pushing of Proulx. “Missy” by the way is a frontier euphemism for laudanum, or liquid opium. While a Scottish playwright may sound like an unlikely candidate to pen a great American western, Hannan is so comfortable with the task that you forget he’s even there, taking risks with his language at every turn. Dol McQueen is an unforgettable protagonist. Think Mattie Ross, older, bawdier, and more penetrable. Hannan offers all the hard-scrabble adventure–all the opium, gunplay, and whorehouse splendor– you’d ever want in a western. And yet, what’s really driving this story so far, is the tenderness of Dol McQueen, which is lovely, if not misguided.
As of now, you could say I’m gonged on Missy. I’ll let you know how the rest of the novel pans out. For the record, Picador will be handling the trade paper release of Missy in July.
The second book I’m halfway through this week is Peter Selgin’s Life Goes to the Movies, which came as a recommendation from Dan Wicket at Dzanc, who has yet to let me down. Much like another recent Dzanc title I covered, Hesh Kestin’s The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, Life Goes to the Movies is a coming of age in which a bigger-than-life supporting character takes our young protagonist on a journey which changes his life. In this case, the protagonist is Nigel DePoli, a rural Italian immigrant’s son trying to find his way in the Big Apple in the mid-70s. Enrolled in art school, Nigel is soon waylaid by Dwaine Fitzgibbon, an addled Viet Nam Vet turned auteur. Like Kestin’s Shushan Cats, Dwaine is as elusive as he is charismatic, charming as he is contrary. Selgin makes it easy for this reader to share Nigel’s fascination. I’m impressed by Selgin’s range. His treatments, from the madcap to the vastly uncomfortable, are handled with equal skill, and Selgin writes with a tenderness that is, dare I say, refreshingly feminine?
JE
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