The Canons of Culture (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Pete Jones]

[Wile E. Coyote]

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis: JD Vance.


J.D.'s grandparents were "dirt poor," by moving to Ohio they hoped to escape the dreadful poverty around them. But despite this new start J.D.'s grandparents, aunt, uncle, sister, and, most of all, his mother, then struggled profoundly with the demands of their new middle-class life, never fully escaping the legacy of family abuse, alcoholism, poverty, and trauma. After graduating from Yale, and becoming VP, Vance shows how he himself remainsl haunted by the demons of his chaotic family history.

Sounds promising. I do wonder if it will be tough enough at the start. Was then any genetic intermarriage, within the family, leading to a deformed jaw, or seven toes?

If so, I would be happy to accept your proposal. It could even be top two or three.

[Mick Harper]

Has anyone checked whether any of it is true though? It's straight out of the Abraham Lincoln playbook. No presidential candidate can afford to be a white male growing up in middle America nowadays. Trump was OK because he had an arsehole millionaire father. It's tough at the top as well as the bottom.

But of course Wiley is the judge of these things, including whether memoirs have to be fact or fiction. One wonders what childhood daemons he is trying to exorcise with this venture.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Wiley has secured a publishing deal.

"Chasing speed, defying gravity: The true story of Wiles E Coyote" should be with you shortly.

[Mick Harper]

You're delivering them yourself? Aren't you worried you might look a bit eager? It's not very British.

I have checked with two friends of mine with a combined literary hive mind and neither Pete nor Hatty had heard of any of the books you listed. Either misery childhood recollections are a specialised taste or you wrote them yourself. I'm sending you an AEL Home Polygraph to find out which.

[Wile E. Coyote]

[Mick Harper]

We offer a 'plus nurse' service if you give us, you know, a convenient time for her to call.

Which reminds me. I emailed by sister about my nephew being summoned from Bristol to help his doddery old uncle clean up the flat preparatory to her annual visit, so I wittily titled it Avon Calling (I had to explain to her that Bristol stands on the River Avon) and she had the cheek to say I was behind the times because Avon only sell on line nowadays.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Its incredibly tough to make it to the top of the Amazon best seller list of Memoirs, Tara, is currently at 10, Jeanette is 14, Lara is 26, Kiese doesnt sell as much these days, but "Heavy" received awards it was a former Los Angeles Times Book PrizeWinner, and selected as one of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times......

Does your Nurse do hand holding? I might need it......

[Pete Jones]

There's an old joke from The Simpsons:

[Pete Jones]

See here for the joke: https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/File:Books_Books_and_Additional_Books.png

[Mick Harper]

I am staggering through Infinite Jest just as you, reportedly, are staggering through Dance to the Music of Time. These epics are worth more than ordinary tenacity because, if they turn out to be in your wheelshed, they solve the what-to-read problem for a year or more. (Another) friend wrote to me

[Pete Jones]

Dance to the Music of Time, novel #3 proved to be the stumbling block. At minimum. Whether I ever recover my gait and keep going remains to be seen.

Is it enticing enough for me to a) start and finish novel #4, so that I can move onto the second deliciously inexpensive set of 4? Well, having to ask probably means No.

Right now, I'm leaning toward The Recognitions, which really has a great description on Amazon:

[Mick Harper]

Now I know the ending...