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Dildo Cay
329 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
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April 13, 2012Dido Cay has the reputation of being one of the worst books ever:
"Dildo Cay is bad in ways that surpass its title. The product less of an unsteady hand than of a resoundingly tin ear, the novel’s prose is so categorically graceless as to supersede camp and plunge straight into ontological confusion." -David B. Downing, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
He gives a sample of the text:
‘Father, I want to talk with you!’
Adrian had been watching his father walk the dike unsteadily, and suddenly he had seen himself at the age of sixty walking the dike unsteadily, and on top of his restlessness it was too much for him.
‘How strong do you think that pickle is?’ his father asked, ignoring the tone of Adrian’s voice
Obviously this is an important book and a must read. If I could just get my hands on a copy.
"Dildo Cay is bad in ways that surpass its title. The product less of an unsteady hand than of a resoundingly tin ear, the novel’s prose is so categorically graceless as to supersede camp and plunge straight into ontological confusion." -David B. Downing, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
He gives a sample of the text:
‘Father, I want to talk with you!’
Adrian had been watching his father walk the dike unsteadily, and suddenly he had seen himself at the age of sixty walking the dike unsteadily, and on top of his restlessness it was too much for him.
‘How strong do you think that pickle is?’ his father asked, ignoring the tone of Adrian’s voice
Obviously this is an important book and a must read. If I could just get my hands on a copy.
July 5, 2018
Dildo Cay is not as bad as it's reputation - but it's still pretty bad.
I can see why an English professor might consider it one of the worst books ever written. (At least, a professor who hadn't read any Amanda McKittrick Ros.) There are baffling changes in style and tone. Characters get lost for chapters or are abandoned entirely. It would be remarkable if the entire affair weren't so, well, dull.
Dildo Cay takes place in the 1930s on a salt farm in a small chain of Caribbean islands which gets their name from a peculiarly shaped cactus. It's a dreary, run-down and deeply uninteresting place which has been run for generations by the family of our main character. They've been eking out a living from the ever-shrinking salt trade, along with 150 or so black people originally brought there as slaves.
Speaking of our main character, Adrian, he is what today we'd call 'educationally delayed' and back then would have been called 'slow.' He is, not to put too fine a point on it, a dullard. Adrian doesn't do anything much but rather just lets thing happen to him. Carol, his love interest, is an accountant and not much else. Her father is an old colonial type character who gets into a tiff with a sort of 'magic negro' character named Martinez and it's this conflict that drives what plot there is.
On the up-side, author Nelson Hayes certainly seems to enjoy sailing and provides some mildly interesting descriptions of island flora and fauna. Plus, if you stick with it, you'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about Caribbean salt farming in the 1930's. So there's that. But if you're looking for a rollicking adventure or torrid romance set in the South Seas, you'd be well advised to look elsewhere.
I can see why an English professor might consider it one of the worst books ever written. (At least, a professor who hadn't read any Amanda McKittrick Ros.) There are baffling changes in style and tone. Characters get lost for chapters or are abandoned entirely. It would be remarkable if the entire affair weren't so, well, dull.
Dildo Cay takes place in the 1930s on a salt farm in a small chain of Caribbean islands which gets their name from a peculiarly shaped cactus. It's a dreary, run-down and deeply uninteresting place which has been run for generations by the family of our main character. They've been eking out a living from the ever-shrinking salt trade, along with 150 or so black people originally brought there as slaves.
Speaking of our main character, Adrian, he is what today we'd call 'educationally delayed' and back then would have been called 'slow.' He is, not to put too fine a point on it, a dullard. Adrian doesn't do anything much but rather just lets thing happen to him. Carol, his love interest, is an accountant and not much else. Her father is an old colonial type character who gets into a tiff with a sort of 'magic negro' character named Martinez and it's this conflict that drives what plot there is.
On the up-side, author Nelson Hayes certainly seems to enjoy sailing and provides some mildly interesting descriptions of island flora and fauna. Plus, if you stick with it, you'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about Caribbean salt farming in the 1930's. So there's that. But if you're looking for a rollicking adventure or torrid romance set in the South Seas, you'd be well advised to look elsewhere.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews