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Ain't That America
It was supposed to be so simple. Gordon Mitchell had the good life all planned out – a million and a half in embezzled cash, a plane waiting in Mexico to take him far away, and a sexy little thing named Janey to call his own. All he had to do was stop off on the way and kill his wife, Wanda. Simple. At least it was – before an Ivy Leaguer-turned-highway robber named Spike Jones held him up, fell in love with Wanda, and shanghaied his RV. Now it's not so simple. But the way Gordon sees it, the good life is still within his reach. And a little more blood on his hands sure isn't going to stop him from getting it.
424 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2017
Terrific freshman effort. Like many women my response was "Why do you hate women?" - the female characters are pretty horrible... Entertaining read, well thought out, good sense of place, interesting premise.
September 5, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It's fast paced and lots of fun.
One of my favorite aspects, unexpectedly, is that it's told from multiple viewpoints and jumps often from character to character. I usually prefer no more than two POVs and want to stick with one character for several pages, otherwise the story can seem a bit muddled and without focus. But I quickly realized what the author was giving us in terms of characterization by moving so often from one POV to another. All of the characters we follow in this story are woefully self-deluded. The best example of this is the main character, Gordon "Ron" Mitchell. We see that he believes that he is super slick and super smart, and can talk his way around, and out of, anything. If his POV is all we had to go on, we would have no choice but to believe him, since nobody comes out and directly tells him they know he's full of shit. But by getting a view into the minds of the wife, Wanda, the wife's uncle, Dick, and the police detective, Gann, we quickly realize that Gordon has fooled no one. We get similar insight into the self-delusions of Detective Gann, Wanda, and the "gentleman bandit" Spike, along the way, and I found all of these characterizations deliciously hilarious.
I was a little bit disappointed in the eventual outcome of the story. I was happy enough with what happened as far as Gordon and Wanda were concerned, but for Gann and Spike I would have preferred a different ending. I also felt that some character motivations, especially the female characters of Wanda and the girlfriend Janey, were not satisfactorily fleshed out.
My only other complaint about the book is that I feel the blurb on the back of the book should not mention Spike Jones. He doesn't come into the story until near the end of Part I and is the big kicker of the plot. I found myself wishing his part in the story could have been a surprise. It would be more effective if the blurb talked instead about Detective Gann, and left Spike's part of the story to be discovered by the reader when it happens.
Overall, this is a fun and enjoyable romp of a book. I can see it as a really funny movie in the style of the Coen brothers. I kept picturing Misha Collins in the role of Detective Gann (although Gann is supposed to be younger).
One of my favorite aspects, unexpectedly, is that it's told from multiple viewpoints and jumps often from character to character. I usually prefer no more than two POVs and want to stick with one character for several pages, otherwise the story can seem a bit muddled and without focus. But I quickly realized what the author was giving us in terms of characterization by moving so often from one POV to another. All of the characters we follow in this story are woefully self-deluded. The best example of this is the main character, Gordon "Ron" Mitchell. We see that he believes that he is super slick and super smart, and can talk his way around, and out of, anything. If his POV is all we had to go on, we would have no choice but to believe him, since nobody comes out and directly tells him they know he's full of shit. But by getting a view into the minds of the wife, Wanda, the wife's uncle, Dick, and the police detective, Gann, we quickly realize that Gordon has fooled no one. We get similar insight into the self-delusions of Detective Gann, Wanda, and the "gentleman bandit" Spike, along the way, and I found all of these characterizations deliciously hilarious.
I was a little bit disappointed in the eventual outcome of the story. I was happy enough with what happened as far as Gordon and Wanda were concerned, but for Gann and Spike I would have preferred a different ending. I also felt that some character motivations, especially the female characters of Wanda and the girlfriend Janey, were not satisfactorily fleshed out.
My only other complaint about the book is that I feel the blurb on the back of the book should not mention Spike Jones. He doesn't come into the story until near the end of Part I and is the big kicker of the plot. I found myself wishing his part in the story could have been a surprise. It would be more effective if the blurb talked instead about Detective Gann, and left Spike's part of the story to be discovered by the reader when it happens.
Overall, this is a fun and enjoyable romp of a book. I can see it as a really funny movie in the style of the Coen brothers. I kept picturing Misha Collins in the role of Detective Gann (although Gann is supposed to be younger).
July 29, 2016
A fluid, fast-paced, good old-fashioned caper. Great fun.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews