The Bushwhacked Piano

Nicholas Payne is one of the most memorable characters that's ever existed in American literature, and that goes for Huck Finn and Sal Paradise. A hilarious ride from start to finish, The Bushwhacked Piano combines side splitting humor with irony, satire, and reflection. The Bushwhacked Piano is funny, sad, and everything in between. But, most importantly, it's funny. Not many genius writers/masters of language have McGuane's keen sense of humor, which is what makes the book tick. Here's my formula for a good time: 1). Read The Bushwhacked Piano2). Drink malt liquor3). Talk to a pretty girl4). Get smacked in the face, or, if you're lucky, get lucky!Nick Payne straddles the line between jackass and heroic visionary...if we could all only be so lucky. McGuane is the best living writer in America today. Non Serviam. Read this book to increase your vocabulary and mental health.

Nick Payne, McGuane's probably schizophrenic hero, is what we all (well, men at least) would like to be - someone driven by purity of impulse, who sees consequences as unimportant obstacles between his goals and his deeds. Payne's humanity is almost painful in its vulnerability, and yet Payne exhibits more courage and integrity than the ostensibly sane characters populating McGuane's work. The writing is original and unconventional, but for those of us who like to be challenged, entirely satisfying. This is the book that turned me on to McGuane's great talent (later confirmed when I read Ninety Two in the Shade). One of my favorite books.

Terrifically literate, and wildly funny. I'm from the Keys, and I have to tell you, there are many kernels of truth here. Everyone should read this book, if only to flex and tone their literary muscles.

In many ways this is McGuane's finest hour as a novelist. Considering the fact that he is America's greatest living novelist, that puts this book in a high place, and I don't mean a dusty old shelf. In The Bushwhacked Piano McGuane's glorious command of language is operating with a fully open throttle. Few writers can endear the reader to characters so quickly and with so little effort. Despite obvious flaws and possible insanity, you love these characters right away. Among all his desperate men trying to hold true love in one hand and bottled lightning in the other, this is the most desperate, most unpredictable, and ultimately most sympathetic protagonist. McGuane's modern American Western existentialism is at its most finely honed, whereas his sense of humor permeates each sentence. This book has plenty of McGuane's fun for fun's sake, and his hero is fearless in the face of danger, but he never let's anyone have too much control. This is a batrium of amazing language, humor, and desolate western spirit. It draws you in for a ride, but the bronc is going every which way, and the saddle isn't hitched tightly either. You might dig in your spurs and the next thing you know you're sideways on the SOB. Men who can write like this should be given money and be well cared for.

McGuanes's vision is at once darkly comic and lushly poetic. He should be sampled by more readers who love good stories populated by memorable characters in a world that makes no promises. Nobody's Angel, The Sporting Club and Something To Be Desired are worth finding.