The Real McCoy

I just read this book in paperback, and, man, is it wonderful. I heard of the author's book "Chang and Eng," but I haven't read that one. I will now. The Real McCoy is full of great writing, and fun drama. One of the funniest, yet ultimately most moving books, I've read in a long time.

Strauss is seriously talented, possibly the best young writer in America (at least of the writers that I've read). His deadpan style is hilarious and poignant at the same time. His command is evident in every sentence. After Chang and Eng (his last book), I had high expectations, which McCoy surpassed. If Strauss continues to improve at this rate, I think he will become one of the greats.

Darin Strauss is a new writer that is growing more important with each book. His first novel, CHANG AND ENG, mingled history with fanstasy, seducing us with the bizarre but wholly credible tale of the lives of Siamese twins. In THE REAL MCCOY he has again demonstrated that he has few peers in the genre of history manipulation in his semi-biographical novel of a midwestern kid who dreamed himself into the champion boxer of the 1900s. I have never enjoyed the sport of boxing or stories about boxing and it was only my lingering excitement after reading CHANG AND ENG that encouraged me to read this book. But the surprise is that this is not a biography of a boxer. This brilliantly written, cativatingly interesting book is about flimflam artists, about the individual's identity in context with his times, about the question of reality versus fantasy. But even more than that it is a 'documentation' of the idiosyncrasies of this strange country America at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century. Created like a richly painted mural that extends from Indiana to Manhattan, Darin Strauss has sensitively examined this vast melting pot of a nation and in doing so allows us to learn much about our past that makes our present more comprehensible, especially in light of the current globalization of terror and the dangers of insular misunderstandings. But as if this book isn't entertaining enough simply on the basis of a contemporary novel, Strauss throws us a curve a la Guy de Maupassant for an ending. Only after some re-reading of certain important chapters and passages can we as readers appreciate the journey Strayuss has created. To say more would be to diminish the rewards for the prople who have not yet had the privilege of this novel. Darin Strauss is a meaty, graceful, gifted wordsmith whose every page contains sheer virtuosity. BRAVO!

Strauss has come a long way sice "Chang and Eng," good as that book was. "The Real McCoy" has a fun, fleet plot full of cons and doublecons and a very moving, unlikely little love story about a scrappy boxer and a famous stage actress--plus it asks some interesting questions about identity and fame, etc. It's a real triumph and further proof that Strauss is one of the most interesting, inventive novelists of the 30something generation.

This is a brilliant follow-up to Strauss' last masterwork -- it's even better than "Chang and Eng." This guy has a real sense of style. It's fun, and beautifully written.