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Tar and Feathers
Dorothy Nelson's first book to be published in the United States focuses on a demented, dysfunctional Irish family. The Crawford family is dominated by Da (Joe), a manic-depressive thief and liar who has spent two years in prison for exposing himself in the woods to young children and couples. Ma is a weak and downtrodden victim of her husband's violent temper who occasionally flirts with her son Benjee, an overly sensitive boy with little hope for future happiness. As the narrative passes back and forth between the members of the family (in a style reminiscent of Ann Quin), a compelling portrait of abuse and its consequences is constructed, one that contains both horror and humor in the sexual and social sicknesses of the characters.
133 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 12, 2011
This is a bugger, really: there are so many technical problems with this novel it's almost an outright failure, but on a gut level Nelson punches and spars with the toughest Oirish miserabilists.
There's a massive issue with narrative POV, the story leaping from Ma to Da to Ben in very confusing shifts, sometimes Ben narrates for Da or Ma, causing huge logical rifts in the novel, and more directly, the high literary style doesn't seem to fit with the class of criminal scallies being portrayed.
On a prose level, it's all about the style: the kitchen-sink flashiness of classical Celtic despair. If you thought Angela's Ashes was for sissies, this is the book for you.
There's a massive issue with narrative POV, the story leaping from Ma to Da to Ben in very confusing shifts, sometimes Ben narrates for Da or Ma, causing huge logical rifts in the novel, and more directly, the high literary style doesn't seem to fit with the class of criminal scallies being portrayed.
On a prose level, it's all about the style: the kitchen-sink flashiness of classical Celtic despair. If you thought Angela's Ashes was for sissies, this is the book for you.
May 16, 2021
Da, Ma and Benjee are living in Ireland and are anything but the typical couple or family. Da has been in jail for exposing himself. Ma has a slightly incestuous relationship with her son and Benjee is a weak lad with no real hope or outlook. Nothing much happens to these people, but a lot is going on in their heads - and none of it is really pleasant or positive.
Each character narrates their own story, but you are never really clear on who is talking or what is going on. You never have a sense of movement to the plot and half the time you are left wondering whether something has happened or whether it was all in the mind of the character. The ending is the same as the start and you've just spent 133 pages going nowhere and learning nothing about yourself or the characters in this book!
Each character narrates their own story, but you are never really clear on who is talking or what is going on. You never have a sense of movement to the plot and half the time you are left wondering whether something has happened or whether it was all in the mind of the character. The ending is the same as the start and you've just spent 133 pages going nowhere and learning nothing about yourself or the characters in this book!
April 28, 2011
What the hell was it even about? I felt like I was reading a bunch of words jumbled together for 120 pages
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews