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Jan 27, 2012

Gavin rated it:

I very seldom go into a book blindly. What that means is I try to do my homework before reading anything. I like to know who the author is; check to see if there is anything else in their oeuvre that has made any buzz, things like that. For the most part, I think I’ve been able to find some truly great gems this way, not to mention the good fortune of staying away from stinkers. (TWILIGHT I am still miffed at how you duped me.)

Anyway, I was in my favorite used bookstore the other More...

8 comments like (21 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2009

karen rated it:

im not quite sure how to review this. on the one hand, it is a very slight book that occasionally has slices of terse profundity: "gun's only good when it's the only gun." on the other hand, the whole "greek chorus" conceit comes across more like what i imagine those sex in the city broads sound like when they get together and talk about shoes and boys or whatever that show is about. its very gossipy and nearly estrogen-y for a bunch of backwoods boys. but i enjoyed the book More...

6 comments like (20 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2008

Margaret rated it:

So at first I wasn't so sure about this book. I felt like the language used by the characters didn't quite match what I thought was the tone of the book, and that the plot of the book was too interrupted by chatter.

Then, about 40 or so pages in to this very short book, I read the back cover, which explained to me that this was actually a sort of greek drama set in the Vermont back woods, complete with chorus. Aha! The chatter makes much more sense.

Thinking about it in terms More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2008

Bob rated it:

Amazing, as in terrific, perfect, sly, funny, scary, spot on with voices, location, soul of Vermont/NE,prose style not this good since "A River Runs Through It." Probably even magnificent.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2009

Annet rated it:

Great Read. Great dialogue, humor, witty, compact beautiful writing, to the point, easy read. Enjoyed this one! It made me think of Cormac McCarthy, that's why I picked this one up in London. But it doesn't have the gloomy views of McCarthy, however beautiful, this one makes you smile at every page, although some scenes are gloomy, the humor and wit wins all through the book. It's hopeful, it's the wild and small town space of Vermont, I really liked the character of the book. Great how the titl More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 21, 2008

Tori rated it:

As a theater major in college, I spent plenty of time reading scripts and dialog, much of it not very good. That being said, Castle Freeman does an amazing job of building a novel around almost nothing but conversation as succinct as any David Mammet play. Strange, opaque and rich, this back-woods story of bro-mance (and I use that term with respect)and chivalry does it's job of glimpsing truth through sips of cheap American beer. An east coast Twin Peaks, less from the soap opera and more fr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2011

Trish rated it:

This slim volume is a timeless classic. It is almost entirely conversation, though occasionally the author slips in a descriptive phrase to focus our eye. We listen while a bunch of old men sit around a ruined chair factory in rural Vermont with a case of beer. A couple of other people search for, and find, the town's local bad boy, providing the novel's only action scenes. Nothing quite like this around, and if there were, this would still be one of the very best. Good any time of the year, thi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2009

Pris rated it:

Moving The Knights Errant Of Medieval Europe to Vermont, July 6, 2008
"Chivalry isn't dead; it has just retreated to the backwoods of Vermont. Far beyond the range of leaf-peepers, quaint B&Bs and wealthy liberals lie millions of acres of dark forest, the kind of rich soil that chivalric romance has grown in for centuries. James Fenimore Cooper first saw the possibilities of moving the knights errant of medieval Europe to New England's woods, and now Castle Freeman Jr. performs an equ More...

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Oct 22, 2011

Xan rated it:

This book should be mandatory reading for any wannabe writer. Don't get depressed. Perk up. Ignore those rejection letters. There is hope. If this bundle of twaddle can be published, everything stands a chance of being published, even something you've written. No matter how bad it may be, no matter how scathing the editor's criticisms, save it -- you never know. It may be your ticket to literary stardom.

There are these guys who hang out day-in and day-out in a broken down lumber mill More...

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Sep 15, 2011

Christie rated it:

Lillian is a young woman who has recently moved to a small Vermont town. Early one morning, the town sheriff finds Lillian asleep in her car in the police station parking lot. She’s come for help. The town thug, Blackway, has been harassing her; has, in fact, driven her boyfriend out of town and killed her cat. The sheriff’s advice is simple: go home.

Blackway is an enigmatic, altogether menacing, figure. The sheriff himself is afraid of him.

“You’re telling me you can’t do any More...

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Jul 20, 2010

ICPL added it

Go With Me is a short novel (160 pages) by Castle Freeman, Jr., a regular essayist for the Old Farmer’s Almanac. The setting is rural Vermont (think logging, lumber mills, and remote areas beyond the reach of the law), and the heroine is Lillian. She has been threatened by local villian Blackway who has smashed her car window and killed her cat. Blackway also threatened her boyfriend who has left town. Lillian is not willing to run and she seeks help from the sheriff who says he can’t arrest More...

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Jun 30, 2009

Lynda rated it:

This book takes me back to my original roots in rural Vermont, some 30+ years ago. Freeman's writing is rich and hits on a visceral level; the first page has the reader simultaneously repulsed and fearful. One can only KNOW his writing, and cast of characters, if they have LIVED this in this secret, rube society. Backwoods Vermont is NOT the bucolic Vermont one sees on the cover of such magazines as Vermont Life. It's a gritty existence filled with all travails of a culture struggling to survive More...

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Dec 15, 2010

Waterbird rated it:

I honestly don't know why I enjoyed it so much. The structure is interesting, the archetypes [old wise man (wizard), brawny youth (knight), sassy young woman (maiden with a strong spirit) and a greek choir (council)] were cool to me. My only beef is with the villain; his physical debut is lackluster, but I suppose a re-reading is in order to set my opinion in stone. I guess there is that idea that the devil you don't know is scarier than the devil you do, considering that the fear he gives is th More...

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Dec 29, 2008

James rated it:

A slim text that I fell in joy with. It took some time to warm to the style and language of the locals but once you are in their world you can almost taste them. Excellent dialogue and a story that seemed inevitable from the beginning.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 21, 2009

Casandria rated it:

This book takes you on a journey through the backwoods of Vermont (literally). A group of 3 people, a young woman, a young, almost silent man, and an old "trickster". They are looking for the town bully, a man named Blackway, who has been threatening the woman. The chapters alternate between their journay and a conversation going on that describes the back story. The older men who are discussing the history start out rather indistinguishable, but they eventually emerge as individua More...

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Jun 21, 2009

Julie rated it:

After I finished this book, I read the Amazon reviews and found some extremely strong opinions on both sides. I haven't looked at the goodreads reviews yet and am interested in seeing whether that's also the case here. I gave this book 5 stars because it was, I think, perfect for what it set out to be. One of the 1-star Amazon reviewers described the writing as sophomoric, and several commented on the tedium of the dialogue. I responded entirely differently. Short punchy sentences told this stor More...

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Dec 01, 2011

Jody rated it:

Go With Me is an interesting novel. It's set up in mostly alternating chapters, between Lillian, Lester, and Nate on the hunt for the modern-day villain Blackway, and a Greek chorus of sorts among the layabouts at the local (mostly shut-down) mill. The dialogue and pacing for the Greek chorus chapters is masterful--quick, funny, and entirely real. It had me wanting to cast and stage the thing immediately. The Blackway chapters are just as well-plotted and have the same Greek drama vibe.

More...

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Apr 09, 2009

Theron marked it as to-read

I haven't read this yet, but heard the tail end of a review on NPR. The reviewer said two things that grabbed me. First, Freeman was compared to Cormac McCarthy whose book, The Road, I loved. I have also read bits of No Country For Old Men and loved the film adaptation of the book. The reviewer also ended his review with the words "You must read this book." So I guess I must. More...

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Jul 19, 2009

Micky rated it:

This short novel was a very good story. Set in the primitive backwoods of rural Vermont, it tells the tale of a frightened woman who finds help ending the advances of a brutal criminal by enlisting two unlikely Good Samaritans, a muscled young man and a sly old logger. The story plays out against the backdrop of the extremely humorous conversations between a group of "good 'ol boys" gathered at a local bar. Each character's personality was reflected in the rhythms and vocabulary of t More...

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Mar 31, 2009

K rated it:

A slow start to this short read but it has a great ending with this oddball assortment of Vermonters. Sheriff Wingate can't/won't help a woman in distress -- she is being stalked by a town bully who has already killed her cat. Instead Sheriff Wingate sends her to find a member of a group of old gentlemen who regularly meet at a dying mill. Instead of finding her helper she ends up with an old tough man and a young bull of a guy who develop their own plan to save her from the bully. Everyone More...

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Oct 22, 2010

Renee rated it:

I thought that this was a great book. Very different than what I have been reading recently. It’s based on a very simple plot, and the entire story takes place in a 24-hour period. I loved the glimpse into the Vermont logging community. I loved their dialogue. The guys sitting around the old mill spending the entire day drinking beer and chatting away about nothing. We all know people like this. Lester’s “whirligigs” in his front yard is so different than the "hard guy" that he t More...

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Sep 19, 2010

Skeptical rated it:

This book should be mandatory reading for everyone who wants to be a writer. Don't get depressed. Perk up. There is hope. If this bundle of twaddle can be published, everything stands a chance of being published, even something you've written. No matter how bad it is, save it. You never know. It may be your ticket to literary stardom.

I think this was meant to be a Muppets movie. When you look at it that way, this isn't a bad read. Bert and Ernie track down the Cookie Monster to defe More...

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Apr 06, 2008

Scott rated it:

This was a fun read and for the most part I enjoyed it very much. It's a small book and goes by quickly. Freeman does a great job with the story of Lester, Nate, and Lillian. I enjoyed their relationship and dynamic even if it was a bit implausible that two strangers would go to the lengths they did to help a woman they didn't know. But after accepting that, their relationship works. The other parallel story, however, of Whizzer and his local-yokel buddies, was a bit of a misstep. The More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Nan rated it:

I loved this short novel about a young woman seeking help from guys at the defunct mill to deal with a stalker. That description doesn't sound as interesting as the book really is. I loved the old guys sitting around in some sort of contemporary chorus talking about the girl and the stalker and the two sent off to help. I found them funny and interesting (a lovely combo). The story moved - both with short chapters and with the hunt for the bad guy moving from location to location.

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Jun 20, 2009

Tinytextiles rated it:

I have read over half of this book and could not stop laughing. The story line holds many memories for me of my childhood when I would visit a small southern town with a central square where the county court house was located. Around this court house on a summer day old men would be sitting , jawing and chewing tobacco. Now I can guess at what they were talking about and the manner of their speech. Here is a short novel with a lot of good characterization and very funny rapport.

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Jul 27, 2010

Brian rated it:

A pretty decent book. There wasn't much there as far as location, but the plotting, dialogue and characters drew you spiraling into a great story. I loved the action going back and forth from Lillian, Les and Nate the Great to the old guys sitting around, drinking beer and filling in areas of the story with their own stories. It reminded me a little of the Colorado Kid by Stephen King with the two old journalists. We worth a few hours to read this short book.

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Oct 14, 2009

Amy rated it:

I had high hopes for suspense, but I didn't really get a whole lot of it. I really disliked that a cat was killed (would have been better if it was a dog instead!) I did get a little spook from the description of the Lost Towns - I would definitely not have gone with perfect strangers to that place. Which brings up a good point: why did Lillian willingly go with these strangers, especially after she witnessed their violent streaks? Why didn't she just leave town? She wasn't from there, and her b More...

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Nov 29, 2009

Adam rated it:

This novel is sort of a “backwoods manhunt” American take on Heart of Darkness that reads a little like Kent Haruf or a toned-down Cormac McCarthy. Some things took a while to get used to--in particular, the somewhat choppy mix of pointed exposition with long sections of minimalist but folksy dialogue. Still, the pages slipped by so quickly that it was impossible to stop. There’s nothing terribly significant here, but it’s good entertainment.

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Aug 10, 2011

Sasha rated it:

At a quick 160 pages, this book was one that whet my appetite and left me wishing for more. But part of its appeal is that it doesn't stuff the story with a lot of superfluous detail. It's straightforward and down to earth, but still layered and atmospheric. You're given just enough information about the characters, but not too much. It's wonderfully spare stories like this that don't spell everything out for the reader and leave you with your thoughts. An enjoyable and unique read.

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Apr 04, 2009

Djrmel rated it:

I've seen reviews that compare the writing of this novella to the style of Cormac McCarthy, and I'd say that reviews are correct, especially in how the setting of the story defines the feeling. The deep woods of New England have more shadows and dark spaces than the open plains of McCarthy's best works, and those dark spaces make this story quite creepy, despite all the very talkative characters. Like McCarthy, Freeman has a great economy of words, letting his characters say and see only what More...

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