"No, I'm just singing the song - my sister wouldn't send me some shit we could steal from Trader Joe's, this is the unpronounceable shit."From Slumberland by Paul Beatty, Bloomsbury, 2008.
Apparently Blaze's older sister, Mariela, a tank mechanic stationed in Germany, had sent him a case of that strong leathery beer we loved so much. Beer that, no matter how much we drank, never left us with a hangover, only an urge to obey orders.
I've just started reading this book. There are writers who should stop themselves from going on tangents. There are others, probably fewer, who can give into them and still remain readable. Beatty draws strength from them.
3 comments:
Going off on tangents is fairly typical in conversation - sometimes leading to even more interesting topics. In literature they do tend to be disappointing, largely because they can easily become habitual.
looked up 'slumberland', & whaddaya know? it was only days ago that one of my random 'whatever became of...?' searches unearthed this: bill barker
Some people can do tangents better than others. Beatty has a pretty good success rate, and while I'm a little fuzzy on what a "perfect beat" would entail the book wound up being interesting.
I'd seen Schwa posters and artwork, but had never really known who was behind it. (Men from... Beyond?) I like Barker's perspective, in both senses. His overhead picture of the beanheaded people in cubicles is a keeper.
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