So this was a pick from my wife’s book club and, at first, I wasn’t going to read it. The story sounded like an imitation of “classic” American literature full of Americana and “rah-rah” the good old days of the fifties (side-stepping the rampant racism, sexism, and homophobia). Even the back matter invokes “Of Mice and Men” and “The Grapes of Wrath“. In the sample, the guy doesn’t use quote marks. All dialogue is denoted by a new paragraph and an emdash. What’s the matter Towles? Too good for proper punctuation? It’s not even satire like Billy Flynn’s Long Halftime Walk. But despite all that, I kinda liked it. And I got the bug to keep reading.

It is full of Americana, but not the stuff you’d expect. Tangents account for things like radio commercials, riding the rails, cars, immigrant-owned Italian restaurants. Lots of asides through rose-colored glasses. And it is very male-oriented. There’s one female character and her chapters feel shoved in so that it doesn’t get dinged by critics for failing the Bechdel test. Well, guess what, I’m going to ding you anyway. *Ding*

But you know what? It is a gosh-darned good story. It’s not ground-breaking and the guy does sound like he was trying to combine Steinbeck with the Odyssey. But it’s also about confronting the elements of the past and the flaws in your personality. The two main characters are good at demonstrating that theme. And I think it’s okay to read a book like this if you keep in mind that you’re only seeing the good parts of this history. If you don’t get suckered into the hype, I recommend letting go and enjoying it.