Ohio River Dialogues

by William Zink

A weekend of river fishing, the impending Iraqi war, global warming, scandal in the Catholic Church, the Israel-Palestinian problem, familial gossip, middle-age neuroses, the plight of single dads, cheap labor gone south, the origins of saviors, contempt for the 401K Generation. These topics and more are discussed in dialogue and presented in dramatic format in Ohio River Dialogues by William Zink. Set in the summer of 2002 after 9/11, as the U.S. government considers war with Iraq, an ex-hippie, two software dropouts, and a Steady Eddie convene for a weekend of fishing, drinking, and fraternal debate. Pandora's Box opens wide for the unadulterated, unedited sparring of ideas and fraternal dominance. Four men go at it, leaving no white elephant unidentified, permitting no unclothed emperor to pass without howls of laughter, and no bounds of propriety left uncrossed. There are no sacred cows in the freewheeling minds of dreamers, as there are none in the souls of these beaten-down warriors -- for they have seen love blossom in the historic flourish that was the 60's, watched as it was ground into meal for the disco dancing and empire coasting of the 70's, and pondered ever since what good has been taken and what lessons learned as we now enter an undetermined new phase of American culture and influence. The collective soul of a nation is mirrored in the bumbling, boasting, beautiful voices of four ordinary men. Ohio River Dialogues is Huck Finn with some ganja in his pocket, a Gibson over his shoulder, and world destruction in the back of his mind. . . times four.

271 pages, Paperback

First published October 16, 2007

About the author

"Zink is one hell of a writer." — Andrei Codrescu

William Zink is the author of numerous books, including The Hole, Ballad of the Confessor, Ohio River Dialogues, Pieta, and Wild Grapes. His books have been praised by Booklist, Andrei Codrescu, The Charleston City Paper, The Main Street Rag, Donald Ray Pollock, Dagoberto Gilb, and others. His novel, Ohio River Dialogues, was a finalist for the Ohioana Fiction Award.

Reviews

[Mirrani · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning, this book was somewhat difficult for me, an avid reader, to dive in to, but I stuck through the first 15 pages and reading became much easier once I worked out the flow of characters and locations.

As the title implies, this is a book of dialogue and reads somewhat like a stage play. Don't expect to find any deeply moving descriptions in here. Those are left to the imagination and, in fact, as I read along, I found myself easily visualizing what was happening, even though nothing was truly described. What becomes moving or touching is the dialogue itself, showing the development of the characters through conversation alone. They don't develop to each other, but the reader begins to see them as individuals, each with a past that has made them the person they are today.

There is some deep conversation in here, mostly political, but there is also some creative insight as well, so readers should be prepared for both. Ideas are always shown in balance, there are no one sided conversations in these pages and it is easy to see each person's point of view within the story.

Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.

[Kitty Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title: "Ohio River Dialogues”
Author: William Zink
Published By: Sugar Loaf Press
Age Recommended: 18+
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 4

Review: I enjoyed the book once I really got into it, but found it a little hard starting off. The dialogues can be a bit hard to follow but once you get the flow they are much easier. The majority of the story revolves around the lives and conversations of four men over the course of a weekend as they discuss the world and what it’s like living in the shadow of politics in 2002. Overall a really good read.

[Kristina Franken · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone

FTC: I received a free copy of this book and was not reimbursed in any other way.