We hope you will find at least a book or two to read from these selections.
A Fan's Notes
. Frederick Exley. Vintage. 1988. Book review by Joel
There is a very good interview with Fred Exley at this site: http://www.americanlegends.com/Interviews/fred_exley.html I read the biography by Jonathan Yardley years ago and always forgot to look for A Fan's Notes
in bookstores until just this year. The biography is Misfit:
The Strange Life of Frederick Exley
and is very good. The biography is about the man who writes the great American
novel and then sinks into obscurity and what it does to him. That great
American novel is A Fan's Notes. A
Fan's Notes
is a fictional memoir, but from what I read in the biography, there is a
lot of his life in the book. His lived with his mother at her home, stayed
on the couch, watched football on Sundays and drank in the bars--staying
drunk most of time. He also incorporated many characters into the story
from Watertown, New York--his hometown. It is his story of depression and elation; a life lived outside the mainstream of 1950's America. He is a fan of the New York Giants football team and especially Frank Gifford, whom he cheers on every Sunday, carousing in bars until bouncers threw him out for rowdiness: A man after my own heart. This is all told in a highly literate way. Keep a dictionary handy.
Even though I was wincing at his tales of trouble he would get himself into, I was also laughing at the way he would describe them. He always takes the literate high road, and I would laugh at the way the whole book fit his character to a tee.
I would absolutely recommend this book. Things haven't changed.
Joel.
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©2004-2008 by Book Reader's Traverse. All rights reserved.
Do you like this book review? Joel has written for Book Reader's Traverse since its conception in 2004. He often finds his books in unusual places, including hometown shops where he visits, and even dumpsters at times. See his comical bio and picks--Joel's Picks.
Read Behind the Scenes at Book Reader's Traverse--blog