21st Century Literature discussion

Welcome to the October Moderator Pick. Those of you playing along at home will remember that this book was nominated by a member for the horror selection.

When it came time to make a mod pick this time, we decided we wanted to make sure that we picked something that hit that perfect place where genre and literary fiction collide.

This book was chosen fairly blindly, and the discussion we had in deciding was not about the book itself, but more about how it was classified on GoodReads.

It was picked with a certain optimism and cross fingers. I think it's going to be interesting to see if you all think we got it right. (I'm going to hold back my assessment for a bit, because that'd be telling.)

Here are some reviews.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
http://hungrylikethewoolf.wordpress.c...

I'm sailing along on this choppy sea that Donald Ray Pollock has created (just finished chapter 14), encountering many not-so-likable characters and many disgusting and terrible actions. So far I'm more intrigued than horrified and wondering why.

Oh good! That's the right The Devil All The Time. Yep. I think there's a lot to sink our teeth into here.

Still waiting for my copy to turn up...

I was going to ask - did you like it, but I don't know how we nessary apply that term here. Did you think the nook was well done? Would you recommend it?

You are right Deborah, "like" or "enjoy" is not a term to use with this book! I do think it was well done. He did not pull any punches. This was a concentrated look at the dirty and gritty of the world - including psychopaths killing for fun, a preacher preying on the young of his congegation, a corrupt cop, a traumatized war veteran, and undiagnosed/untreated mental illness. But that said, there was, at least for me, a thread of hope in the presence of Emma, Earskell, and Arvin. And, yes, I would recommend it. I think Donald Ray Pollock writes about the rural poor in a manner similar to Ron Rash and Bonnie Jo Campbell, both of whom are favorites of mine.

I'm enjoying/liking it a great deal, so far (55 pages in). It's gritty, and raw and difficult. I can enjoy something like that.

There's some lyricism to the way it's told, and a sizable piece of darkness in the atmosphere it has built.

The way that the killers (so far) have become killers seems quite reflective of real life; eerily matter-of-fact, like they believe they're still operating on a perfectly rational level as they completely leave the tracks. When you read or see in the news about people who kill -- not the calculated for gain ones or the angry fits of rage, but those who seem disturbed, mentally ill on some level -- it leaves a similar impression, for me. And that makes this very real, and quite chilling.

I have only a few chapters remaining and the question of if i liked or not plaques me. I love the writing, the characters the atmosphere, the interwoven strands of the tale. However when i put the book down i feel like I have been watching a rather gruesome and sadistic film and I want to wash this tale of west Virginia off me and redress the balance with something much lighter. I sort of love and loathe the book for its ability to do that :)

Trudie,
I so believe you have hit it on the nose. I think this book is so good because it shows us and pulls us into a side of life that many of us are not familiar or comfortable with. The author knows that world and is able to draw us into it.

Yes, I think I wrote in another thread how I am so intrigued by the story of the author - maybe more so than his book. It seems to me rare to find such a literary author who worked in a paper mill until he was 50 and then started writing. Obviously while this is a work of fiction his experiences and worldview inform the work. I think it's that unique voice I like but the social setting is so foreign to me it's disturbing and uncomfortable to be in that world.