Spring Break
Arkansas Book Review
Issue date: 3/27/08
John Brandon
Arkansas
McSweeney's
Feb. 28, 2008
224 pages
There is a certain kind of trust that I have come to have in McSweeney's. Their quarterly literary journal, aptly titled McSweeney's Quarterly, is popular among artsy types who appreciate the avant-garde stylings of the publishers. The consistent quality of the quarterly - and the publisher's trumpeting - led me to try one of their "rectangulars." This past month, McSweeney's published their new flagship novel, Arkansas, by John Brandon.
McSweeney's gears its products toward bibliophiles, and the result is always impressive. Arkansas is solidly and artistically bound. The embossed title and sunken car image on the front cover is real gold. The paper is pure white, opaque and acid-free, and the text is neatly set off from the page. There is not a dust jacket, and instead one feels the heft and texture of the book as it is held. The book is almost worth the price simply as a piece of publishing mastery.
Yet, of course, the content of the novel is the real prize here. Brandon's debut novel follows the drama surrounding a Southern drug-distribution outfit. Kyle and Swin are two oddball thieves who end up working for "Frog," the mysterious head of the organization. They hold cover day jobs in a state park during the day, and run drugs when called upon by Frog's messengers. Swin gets himself a nurse girlfriend, and they interact with various others in the chain of command, most notably a woman known only as "Her."
It is difficult to say exactly what kind of novel Arkansas is. One could throw it under the "contemporary fiction" header, but that seems a cop-out. It certainly has more of an artistic feel to it but not enough to be called experimental. It's a drama about criminals, so "crime drama" comes to mind, but much of the novel takes place in the minds and homes of Kyle and Swin, raking leaves in the park during the day, picking up girls, checking up on their families. Arkansas is dark, exciting and fun - and about drug runners.
Arkansas
McSweeney's
Feb. 28, 2008
224 pages
There is a certain kind of trust that I have come to have in McSweeney's. Their quarterly literary journal, aptly titled McSweeney's Quarterly, is popular among artsy types who appreciate the avant-garde stylings of the publishers. The consistent quality of the quarterly - and the publisher's trumpeting - led me to try one of their "rectangulars." This past month, McSweeney's published their new flagship novel, Arkansas, by John Brandon.
McSweeney's gears its products toward bibliophiles, and the result is always impressive. Arkansas is solidly and artistically bound. The embossed title and sunken car image on the front cover is real gold. The paper is pure white, opaque and acid-free, and the text is neatly set off from the page. There is not a dust jacket, and instead one feels the heft and texture of the book as it is held. The book is almost worth the price simply as a piece of publishing mastery.
Yet, of course, the content of the novel is the real prize here. Brandon's debut novel follows the drama surrounding a Southern drug-distribution outfit. Kyle and Swin are two oddball thieves who end up working for "Frog," the mysterious head of the organization. They hold cover day jobs in a state park during the day, and run drugs when called upon by Frog's messengers. Swin gets himself a nurse girlfriend, and they interact with various others in the chain of command, most notably a woman known only as "Her."
It is difficult to say exactly what kind of novel Arkansas is. One could throw it under the "contemporary fiction" header, but that seems a cop-out. It certainly has more of an artistic feel to it but not enough to be called experimental. It's a drama about criminals, so "crime drama" comes to mind, but much of the novel takes place in the minds and homes of Kyle and Swin, raking leaves in the park during the day, picking up girls, checking up on their families. Arkansas is dark, exciting and fun - and about drug runners.
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