Sex and Sunsets

Don't be swayed by the negative reviews for this book! Tim Sandlin's stories are not steeped in realism, they require a suspension of disbelief and a light hearted approach. Far from being a creepy stalker, the main character Kelly Palamino (best protagionist name ever!) is a die hard romantic, playful and self-depricating, who falls in love and perserveres against all odds. Sure, it's a plot that been been done before, but I've never come across an ending as satifying. Those who feel his character isn't believable aren't being honest with themselves. All of us share Kelly-like quirks, thoughts and motives, (we just don't act on them the way he does!) Sandlin is one of the few authors who makes me laugh out load and every once in a while hits upon a universal truth about life that delights. I think the people who didn't enjoy this book just don't "get" Sandlin's sense of humor and style. I feel lucky that I'm someone who does.

I had the pleasure of reading Sex and Sunsets while living in the community in which the book is set. A deceptively light-hearted romp with a lead character so odd, so miserable, so painfully honest in accounting for his myriad misfortunes that one can't help cheering for the fellow. He is Everyman to which EVERYTHING has gone laughingly wrong. Other reviewers have faulted this book for it's lack of a real-world sensibility--a quality which I believe recommends it for re-reading. I get enough of the real world in the course of my everyday life--Sandlin gives us romance via vaudevillian silliness. His charms are those of the jester--deceptively wise. His follow-up, Western Swing, is even better.

I found Sex & Sunsets in a used bookstore yesterday and today I'm going out to buy all his other books. I couldn't put it down. Kelly Palomino is crazed and the scary part is I totally understand him. Sandlin is an incredible wordsmith--I found myself laughing out loud at his wry, quirky, hyper-attunement, and underlining words and phrases to remember the rest of my life!

This book was excellent! The main character, Kelly is so likeable because of the antics he thinks up to win Colette over. Tim Sandlin is a fabuous fiction writer and I can't wait to read Sorrow Floats.

Sex and Sunsets by Tim Sandlin is an unusual, funny heartwarming story of love and persistance. It grabs you from the start when a down and out Wyoming dish washer sees a woman kick a football over a church just before she goes in to get married. From that point, he is determined to make her his...wether she likes it or not. A must read for fans of humor and off beat love stories