Book Review - The Big Bamboo by Tim Dorsey
Category Book Reviews
Somehow I let a couple Tim Dorsey novels slip by. To catch up, I grabbed the library's copy of The Big Bamboo and hung on for the ride... Great fun!
It's nearly impossible to do justice to a plot summary of a Dorsey novel. Think of it as the literary equivalent of "physical comedy." Serge and Coleman are off on another adventure, complete with more twists and turns than you can imagine. Serge wants to visit all the locations where films have been shot in Florida, and he's got an encyclopedic knowledge of every scene. He's also trying to write a screenplay, which is being acted out as the story unfolds. You're never quite sure what's the real story and what's in the script. While trying to do all this at his normal manic pace, his grandfather dies and leaves him a letter that opens up a whole new path that Serge just has to investigate. Turns out that path happens to be in another film mecca, Los Angeles. All the various crazy plotlines and subthreads converge at the end to a twist that wasn't what I was expecting, but strangely enough works quite well as an ending to a Dorsey novel.
Don't go into this expecting a subtle plot and normal story pacing. It's a non-stop ride, complete with Hollywood parties, a few killings, Japanese and Alabama hit squads paired off against each other (yes, Alabama...), and some of the most tongue-in-cheek dialogue and writing I've had the pleasure of reading in a long while. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I sure liked it...
Somehow I let a couple Tim Dorsey novels slip by. To catch up, I grabbed the library's copy of The Big Bamboo and hung on for the ride... Great fun!
It's nearly impossible to do justice to a plot summary of a Dorsey novel. Think of it as the literary equivalent of "physical comedy." Serge and Coleman are off on another adventure, complete with more twists and turns than you can imagine. Serge wants to visit all the locations where films have been shot in Florida, and he's got an encyclopedic knowledge of every scene. He's also trying to write a screenplay, which is being acted out as the story unfolds. You're never quite sure what's the real story and what's in the script. While trying to do all this at his normal manic pace, his grandfather dies and leaves him a letter that opens up a whole new path that Serge just has to investigate. Turns out that path happens to be in another film mecca, Los Angeles. All the various crazy plotlines and subthreads converge at the end to a twist that wasn't what I was expecting, but strangely enough works quite well as an ending to a Dorsey novel.
Don't go into this expecting a subtle plot and normal story pacing. It's a non-stop ride, complete with Hollywood parties, a few killings, Japanese and Alabama hit squads paired off against each other (yes, Alabama...), and some of the most tongue-in-cheek dialogue and writing I've had the pleasure of reading in a long while. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I sure liked it...
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Posted by Jerry Glover At 19:43:12 On 22/03/2007 | - Website - |
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