That Old Ace in the Hole

That Old Ace in the Hole by E. Annie Proulx
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading Proulx's books is like watching a Cohen brothers movie, which is to say utterly unique. As another Goodreads reviewer commented, the setting of the story is as important and vivid as the characters. The characters themselves are strange yet familiar, larger than life yet homey. As in "The Shipping News", we are treated to numerous vignettes from the past which gradually intertwine with present events in a disarming way. It's fine writing. The Cohen-esque quirkiness may be offputting at first, but give it some time. I listened to the audio version read by Tom Stechschulte, and his rough-hewn and nimble timbre perfectly complements the text.

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