Well, That Was A Surprise

So, I downloaded this on a lark, and mostly because the cover looked funny and happy. I turns out that this was probably the cleverest and most cheerfully upbeat book I've read this month. Go figure.

Lots of times this sort of "mountain", "rural", and especially "Appalachian" humor is forced and/or phony feeling. Or, it has a dopey Hee-Haw vibe. Not here. This is a smart and witty tale that is silly, deadpan, and big-hearted, but with a few edgy little throwaways that give it a touch of vinegar and spice. The premise is that our hero wants to find a real Mountain Princess, and the way to test her out is to see if she can sleep on a pile of mattresses in the back of a pickup truck, (a la "Princess and the Pea").

It's a funny idea. But it gets better. The semi-rhyming text works. It isn't poetry, exactly; or at least not poetry that scans formally. It's more like a lilting kind of musical prose, with internal rhymes, ("He searched the Sierras for ladies in tiaras."). The result is pleasant, humorous, and very kid and read-aloud friendly. Putting aside structure, the text is funny, with gentle asides and witty surprises.

This is all enhanced by the drawing. It's part crayon-naif and part collage, with a fluid and friendly impressionistic approach to the human characters. It has a homemade feel that disguises the talent it takes to get across an impression of simple charm.

So, this is a little gushy, but I really was delighted by this treat that just came out of the blue. A wonderful find. (Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)