Acting the Giddy Goat

Book Review by Joel
This book is by one of the Canadian authors I picked up while in Sydney, British Columbia. That town really had some cool bookstores--used and themed as well. For the size of the town, it had as many bookstores as a Texas town has bars. The other Canadian author that I recommend is Steven Galloway--Finnie Walsh.

I did not like this book at first. I know I say that a lot. That is why I usually read them anyway, because it takes me a while to get on the same wavelength as the author. Sometimes that never happens. But sometimes, like this time, I am pleasantly surprised by the end.

The story follows several characters through about a month in their lives and just floats with them. It seems that the whole story could have been Brewmaster Bill’s novel he wanted to write while he scribbled in his notebook in the back of the brewery where he worked. Or it could have been the author setting up behind the players and taking down notes as he went. It was this style that threw me at first. It went back and forth.

Johnny Racoon was one of the main characters. He is a musician who is on the verge of being signed by a major indie (industry) label. He wants to succeed so he can stop playing the dive bars and busking in the stations. (Busking is playing for change or tips.)

Adam and Connie were married and starting out. Adam was strange. It seemed to me he had a brain tumor. But this was never fleshed out. Just the symptoms would come up. The other main characters were Martin and his wife Mina. He was working towards a professorship and she was teaching school. Martin is a self-absorbed man who does not know what he has with Mina, and Mina is a very patient woman. I never really knew why these two were together. Although the author explains it well, I just did not understand it.

There are a slew of minor characters, though the book does not bog down with the weight of so many. It rather breathes more life into the story. There is no plot for the most part. The story is just moving along with these characters and seeing what it is that they do. I ended up liking the book. I am glad I read it. So that is 2 for 2 for the Canadians. Here’s to you.

Joel.