Absolute Rage

Rating:
Summary: Good read, but you don't know West Virginia, Mr. T!
Review: While a great fan of Butch and Marlene Karp and a dedicated reader of the entire series, I had to smile in amusement at Robert K. Tanenbaum's efforts to portray a West-Virginia mountain locale. Everything is stereotypical, from the dialect, to the reference to hillbillies having one leg longer than the other from walking on the hills, to the effort to capture "local color" by mentioning car tires painted white and used as planters. It is obvious that while Tanenbaum may have made a weekend trip to this area of the country in research for the book that he never set foot into an actual home or spent much time talking to the "yokels." He may like the catfish specials at the local café, but on the whole, he'd be better served by keeping his focus on the Big Apple. The Catholic Church is six blocks away? In a mountain town I doubt that they could count six blocks. They think more in terms of a quarter mile or half mile. Also, when did Bi-Lo start selling combat boots? It's a grocery store. A cardinal rule of writing is to write about what you know -- keep it at home, Mr. Tanenbaum. Don't try to write about the South.