G's Reviews > The Ones You Do

Well, they get better...slightly.

Having finished this, the third of the Bayou Trilogy, I was disappointed. In terms of writing, this was certainly the strongest of the series. Woodrell started to really polish his style in this one, and it was compulsively readable. And in terms of character development, John X. Shade appears...who has a bit of depth, an interesting back story and is written with humor, regret, and pain. He becomes the stand-out character of the series and is far more interesting than Rene Shade, who here is relegated to a supporting part.

However, the good is ultimately undone by the bad. We face what I feel is yet another abrupt conclusion; in fact when I turned to the last page, I was startled and flipped back to make sure I hadn't skipped a page or two.

I'd have to chalk this book, and the whole series for that matter, as not worth the time. That pains me to say since I enjoy Woodrell's later books so much. For my money, readers should start with "Give Us A Kiss" and enjoy the writer he became, not the novels where he was cutting his teeth.