The Second Half of the Double Feature

Rating:
Summary: Can you say "Egomaniac"----?????
Review: As a huge Charles Willeford fan, I try to read everything by the master I can get my hands on. Taken as a whole, this collection of 25 short works does not come up to his usual high standards. Six or 7 of the included works do qualify as compelling reading. An unfinished novel entitled "The First Five in Line..." is vintage Willeford. It has wonderful character sketches and insightfully predicts the current phenomenon of reality TV. Too bad it was never completed. Also among my favorites is "The Man who Loved Ann Landers", a short story consisting of a series of letters by a delusional lumberyard owner to the well known syndicated columnist. It is hilarious and very well crafted. Unfortunately, too many of the other stories miss the mark by lacking sufficient substance to make for a satisfying reading experience. The Kafka inspired "Everybody's Metamorphosis", which is apparently intended to be a satire of literary criticism, comes off as just plain tedious. Exactly the opposite of what one expects from Charles Willeford. The paperback edition contains several typographical errors that are a minor distraction.

Rating:
Summary: An uneven collection.
Review: As a huge Charles Willeford fan, I try to read everything by the master I can get my hands on. Taken as a whole, this collection of 25 short works does not come up to his usual high standards. Six or 7 of the included works do qualify as compelling reading. An unfinished novel entitled "The First Five in Line..." is vintage Willeford. It has wonderful character sketches and insightfully predicts the current phenomenon of reality TV. Too bad it was never completed. Also among my favorites is "The Man who Loved Ann Landers", a short story consisting of a series of letters by a delusional lumberyard owner to the well known syndicated columnist. It is hilarious and very well crafted. Unfortunately, too many of the other stories miss the mark by lacking sufficient substance to make for a satisfying reading experience. The Kafka inspired "Everybody's Metamorphosis", which is apparently intended to be a satire of literary criticism, comes off as just plain tedious. Exactly the opposite of what one expects from Charles Willeford. The paperback edition contains several typographical errors that are a minor distraction.

Rating:
Summary: Can you say "Egomaniac"----?????
Review: I bought this book because I read a glowing review of it in our weekly rag. This same weekly often extols the virtues of local bands that I've never heard of and usually never hear of again. It would seem that the reviewer of this book had as much on-track knowledge of good literature as the music reviewers in his shared rag have of what makes a good band. This book is a painful example of an author who apparently was a monument unto himself. The stories in it are boring and, in many cases, written with a pompous air. The ones that aren't, are mostly depressing. I doubt that I will give this author a second chance.

Rating:
Summary: Best Willeford collection
Review: I got an advance copy of this and it is absolutely brilliant. I've read most of his novels and yet this manages to catch me off guard. It's not strictly a crime collection, even though it is very recognizably the work of this offbeat master. What's most surprising about it is some of the unpublished stuff: it's just as good as the stories that have been printed before (and none of this is easily available). If you like Willeford, this is essential reading. If you're scratching your head wondering who this guy is... Elmore Leonard and Quentin Tarantino seem to love his stuff, and this is a great introduction to his body of work. It's funny, raunchy, eccentric, but it's above all insightful into the motivations and actions of the characters, and his dialogue is brilliant. Definitely worth checking out.