Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon, chapters 20 to the end

[George]

Please comment here on chapters 20 to the end for Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon.

[Irene]

Finished last night. I ended up giving this 4 stars because I loved the use of language. When we are focused on Medicine Ed, the narration, even though it is 3rd person, wonders and circles back just as one might think. The rhythm of each characters speech is perfect and the sections focused on that character mimicks their speech.

That said, I am not sure I could honestly say I enjoyed this book. The gritty, violent setting, the questionable morals of every character, the abuse of the weak, made this a very unpleasant space to spend any time.

[George]

Yes, it is the writing style rather than the story and the unpleasant characters that make the book worth reading. Medicine Ed is an interesting, okay character.

[Carol]

I think Tommy is addicted to sex, money, & winning. While with the frizzly haired girl, he can't get enough & hopes she doesn't leave him, then finds a "sugar mommy" on the road & uses her money to get The Mahdi back (I think?). Irene, totally agree about language. As far as "a very unpleasant space to spend any time," I was left with this very impression of the 'seedy' world described. I did enjoy Maggie's sincere love of the horses, & her careful treatment of them.

[George]

Thanks for your comments Carol. I agree Tommy is all about sex, money and winning. Probably a realistic portrait of quite a few young men in their 20s! Yes, it's a good point about Maggie. There were definitely horse lovers amongst the characters, which again, you would expect at a race course. The novel does seem to be fairly realistic, apart from the ending. That stated, I didn't mind how the story finished.

[Carol]

Yes, the plot was rather "fantastic," almost accidental? ...

[Irene]

I agree about the ending. Wonder why Gordon took that route with an otherwise very realistic novel.

I think Maggie was just as addicted to sex and winning as Tommy. She is just a bit more sympathetic because we see a tender side of her with the horses which we do not see with Tommy.