Steve Earle's "I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive"
In the new fiction section of our local library, amid the multiple copies of Nora Roberts, Janet Evanovich, James Patterson, Clive Cussler, and other books of best seller luminaries(there are now five different books from the James Patterson factory in the new fiction section each with more than one copy), it is a quest for books with some literary merit, regardless of genre, that is always on.
Several days ago I snatched a lone and probably lonesome copy of "I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive" off of the shelves. What to expect was not known, but certainly Steve Earle is well known in the music world and the NYT Book Review Section has some coverage of this book last year.
After a stunning first few pages, the progress was tentative and I wondered if this was more of a music celebrity's incantation of personal hipness than something of real interest. Should I keep reading. Plowing ahead was the right choice. This is really a terrific book that anyone with some experience with New Orleans, Texas, hard core country music, and making mistakes could not help but adore. Other folks could like it as well, but this was just zeroing in on a target market which I'm sure was the last thing on Steve Earle's mind.
The characters charm or repulse, Hank Williams haunts, the setting is palpable, and the tale itself evolves in a way that has an edge of your seat quality. There is humor, some subtle, some in your face, throughout. There is the chapter on November 1963 and the opening part on Yah-kee coming to San Antonio is a beautiful smile before the trauma of Dallas later.
One could wonder whether Steve Earle should write another book. This one would be hard to top, and music is the domain where he reigns as a Dylanesque star in his uniquely carved out area. Then again, maybe he should. I would scoop it up immediately off of Amazon and not wait to dig it out at the local library after five copies of Nelson DeMille books.
Several days ago I snatched a lone and probably lonesome copy of "I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive" off of the shelves. What to expect was not known, but certainly Steve Earle is well known in the music world and the NYT Book Review Section has some coverage of this book last year.
After a stunning first few pages, the progress was tentative and I wondered if this was more of a music celebrity's incantation of personal hipness than something of real interest. Should I keep reading. Plowing ahead was the right choice. This is really a terrific book that anyone with some experience with New Orleans, Texas, hard core country music, and making mistakes could not help but adore. Other folks could like it as well, but this was just zeroing in on a target market which I'm sure was the last thing on Steve Earle's mind.
The characters charm or repulse, Hank Williams haunts, the setting is palpable, and the tale itself evolves in a way that has an edge of your seat quality. There is humor, some subtle, some in your face, throughout. There is the chapter on November 1963 and the opening part on Yah-kee coming to San Antonio is a beautiful smile before the trauma of Dallas later.
One could wonder whether Steve Earle should write another book. This one would be hard to top, and music is the domain where he reigns as a Dylanesque star in his uniquely carved out area. Then again, maybe he should. I would scoop it up immediately off of Amazon and not wait to dig it out at the local library after five copies of Nelson DeMille books.
posted by John Borden at 4:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home