So The Wind Won't Blow it all Away

I agree with those below who consider this Brautigran's best work. I'll add that SO THE WIND is among my favorite books of all time, fiction or nonfiction. It does take you to an absolutely singular emotional/geographic landscape. Each sentence feels like it's reeling you further and further into the truth. I first read the book when I was 23, on the advice of a friend. It blew me away. :) Still does.

Richard Brautigan's story of a young boy whose life is forever changed by the decision not to eat a hamburger is simultaneously sweetly amusing and heartbreakingly tragic. That this novel is out of print, especially in light of his death in 1984, is equally tragic. If you read no other Brautigan work, read this novel.

Though his earlier books still tend to hog the spotlight, sad Richard's swan song is a gem, with dark depths and a weight far beyond that of some of his more playful works. It's a tight, compact piece that really sings, however mournfully, and it's a shame it was received with an indifference that may have nailed in one more plank on the ladder to Brautigan's unfortunate demise. Its reissue in one volume with "Abortion" and "Lawn" will hopefully get the book the attention it deserves, among both the converted and the un.

It is terrible to think of what Brautigan must have gone through in the final years of his life that lead him to suicide. But one of those things was definitely reflection. Here, he leaves behind his tradional creative bursts and settles in for a lush, almost southern-gothic-like novel. But it is the nostalgia tainted by a cruel and adult world. As a reader, you feel blown through the small town landscapes Brautigan gusts at you. But when you realize where he was headed, the symbolism of the central (child) character with the gun is bone-chilling. Had Brautigan recovered, and continued in this style, he would have had a whole new lease on writing. As it is, we have one example; and that one example is astonishing