Jubilation Gap

Most people who read it think that this is the funniest of Dan's books. He is truly the best writer around today though... and ALL of his books are marvelous! I agree with the person who said it was hard to read his books in a public place... I have been embarrassed many times by laughing out loud when reading them! And sometimes I laugh so hard....I cry...or I can't even get my eyes open to read! He is a master at the running jokes... and the unusual twists! It took me years to hunt down several of his books. But they are all worth the effort. This man is a real treasure... and so far not even an appreciated one! I reread his entire collected works...every year! I need the laughter. And his characters are so wonderful... I KNOW these people...and he reintroduced me to them. Plus, it has been so wonderful to learn so much history in such a fun way. BUY HIS BOOKS...read them... he is an American treasure!

This is the funniest thing I've ever read. I got in 32d hand from a cousin on ma's side, who had already passed it thru her entire family twice. From me to my dad to my cousins on his side and back around to my sibs. Nobody could find it in a bookstore, and we kept passing this volume around until it literally fell apart despite valiant efforts with glue and tape by several of us.Every kind of humor is here -- man/woman humor, cowboy humor, slow humor building from inocuous beginnings that evolve into outrageous consummations, plays on words and names, memorable phrases by forgettable rascals ("Shoot the scutter!"). This homely tale of the range of the Old West has cunning cows, stupid people accidentally winning, smart people outsmarting themselves, bad guys getting their due. Everyone's on the make in some sense and no one's plans work out quite as envisioned. If God has a sense of humor, this is surely how he sees the human comedy.

When my father-in-law recommended this book I took it with trepidation. It was old and tattered. I should have known, no one reads a book that many times unless it's great! I have now read the book 3 times. It is uproariously funny! Parkinson is a master of juxtaposition of his characters--be they people or animal. If you've read Parkinson before, you'll know he usually includes a running gag all through the book. This one revolves around the Russian character Vladimir. His native tongue is misinterpreted in many ways. It reminds one of Mrs. Malaprop!

Dan Parkinson is the master of creating chaos out of order.Unusual characters thrown together in an out of the way -turn of the century Las Vegas in Kansas of all places. Toss in a Russian master of "Wadka", an out of place Massachusetts blueblood,a drunken Shakespearean,a lost herd of cows, girls, illegal booze, and oh yeah a circus elephant.How Parkinson weaves all these elements together is pure mastery of the obsurd and the hilarious.Laugh out loud? Impossible not to!

I found this book to be embarassing to read in a public place because of continual uncontrolled outburst of laughter. It is probably the funniest book I have ever read. I would love to find another copy because the one I had got passed around so much it finally disintergrated.