The King Is Dead

I don't like a lot of books I've read, in the same way I like movies and see them over and over, but this one is one I keep reading. Great plot twists, really swift writing, meaty but not chewy.

Jim Lewis is certainly a master of description, a scratcher of psychology and a writer who digs hard at the turf of extraordinary people trying to mundane down their lives. The characters of Walter Selby and his son Frank are deeply connected (as is their pre history), yet they are not even known to each other. This is a story of one's inability to escape their heritage or genetics, even though much credit goes into reinventing themselves. In the skilled writing of Jim Lewis, we see a kiss of Wendell Berry and Robert Penn Warren; simply a tradition of the best. Mr. Lewis will make you see the world in a slightly different manner and will impress upon you the need to think, search and reflect right along with his characters. I plan to read his other books and feel graced that I'm able to enter the world of this author's writings.

This is a difficult book to recommend because as much as I loved it I wouldn't argue with someone who didn't, they'd probably have some valid points. Halfway through I threw it in the trash and woke up a few nights later to dig it out and read at three am. My copy is still stained and smells. Not a perfect book if perfection means universal appeal but if you think quantity has displaced quality both in number of books published and number of pages in each book this is the one for you. Jim Lewis is the best author alive in my opinion and has two things most don't - a real gift and the ability to be concise. Anyone can convey a miserable and interminable experience by creating one for the reader but a precious few can do it, or anything else, in one sentence. If 'I know this much is true' was half as long, twice as good, and a little more brutal it would be 'The King is Dead' on its best day. I agree completely with the reviewer who said Jim Lewis makes him reluctant to write by showing what the best are capable of. Robert Penn Warren, John Steinbeck and Annie Proulx come together in this brilliant author. If you like it read 'why the tree loves the axe' if you can find it.

A masterpiece. Unbelivable. Stylistically perfect. If you care about literature this is a book you should not miss out on.

I wish I'd never read this book so I could read it for the first time. I wish I'd never read this book so that I could read other fiction without being disappointed. I wish I'd never read this book so I could go on thinking that I could write a decent novel without "The King is Dead" hanging over my head like the law. This is the best novel I've read in a good while.