Well I haven't seen a post related to this literary genius yet, he deserves to be checked out by all. Trout Fishing in America is just off the hook crazy. A Confederate General in Big Sur is also really good. Any other suggestions?
I think I started one ages ago and no-one psoted in it. I dearly love Trout Fishing in America, just for being a genuinely interesting read which you can just dip into. What's his other stuff like?
I have only read the two I posted above. A Confederate General is like Trout Fishing in that it is a series of random chaotic chapters that have no apparent meaning, but that are so beautiful and sarcastic in style that you read on 'till the story makes sense. It is less wimsical than Trout Fishing, less poetic, but has more developed seedy characters . I have also read In Watermelon Sugar, which was bound with my version of Trout Fishing. Watermelon Sugar is a collection of his poetry, it had some theme, alot of it was about his wife (though of course, not always in a pleasant sense), but I can't remember what it was. I went to look for it on my bookshelf, and I just remembered I lent it out - COLLECTION TIME!!!
I think Watermelon Sugar was about them living somewhere and doing things. like weirdly simple things and all this kinda stuff. kinda like all his works eh? No really, wasn't it the one that had the crazy people who lived in the caves or something? Wow, it's really hard to remember the plots of Braughtigans books, huh? His style is SO , how do you say it....dead pan? under exaggerated? beatifully simple? theres a word for it I'm forgetting... anyways I find his books perfect to read aloud while drunk with your lover. and I always wanted to write like Braughtigan(sp?) and I like the one about the super public-public library (The Abortion?) Where people can drop off their own self published books! a Post-Modern bookwithinabook concept! and But didn't he blow his head off with a shotgun? a rather violent ending for such a peaceful seeming man. unless he just wanted to escape fame????
