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Purple America: A Novel Paperback – May 4, 1998
Paperback
About the author
Rick Moody
168 books352 followersHiram Frederick Moody III is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel The Ice Storm, a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, which brought him widespread acclaim, became a bestseller, and was made into the film The Ice Storm. Many of his works have been praised by fellow writers and critics alike.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 29, 2023
This is a difficult book to like. Though it is relatively short, at just under 300 pages, it took me a long time to read. Moody himself admits that many readers disliked it at its time of publication, in 1997. Purple America has been out of print for years, and there's a good reason for it. I tried reading it at the time of its initial publication and can understand now why I was never able to finish it.
Set in Connecticut, presumably in the present day, which with the passage of time since its publication is the late 1990's. Moody ambitiously seeks to stitch together the stories of three separate family members. We observe Hex, a compulsive, stuttering alcoholic misfit, his mother, Billie, who is dying of an unexplained neurological condition, and Billie's second husband, Lou, who works at a local nuclear power plant.
The style of the book is very experimental, and that is to its detriment. Moody appears to be showing off more than telling a coherent story. Those who enjoyed The Ice Storm or Garden State will be disappointed. This novel shows the point at which Moody began to coast, rather than break new ground. Having sold the rights of his second novel to Hollywood, which began the production of a major motion picture, Moody's subsequent writing became lazy and undisciplined.
Set in Connecticut, presumably in the present day, which with the passage of time since its publication is the late 1990's. Moody ambitiously seeks to stitch together the stories of three separate family members. We observe Hex, a compulsive, stuttering alcoholic misfit, his mother, Billie, who is dying of an unexplained neurological condition, and Billie's second husband, Lou, who works at a local nuclear power plant.
The style of the book is very experimental, and that is to its detriment. Moody appears to be showing off more than telling a coherent story. Those who enjoyed The Ice Storm or Garden State will be disappointed. This novel shows the point at which Moody began to coast, rather than break new ground. Having sold the rights of his second novel to Hollywood, which began the production of a major motion picture, Moody's subsequent writing became lazy and undisciplined.
Displaying 1 of 1 review