Amazon.com’s official review, by S. Kay Murphy, of The Book of Bunk, which should appear on the book’s order page sometime around the moment it becomes officially available:
“Those familiar with Glen Hirshberg’s other works know that he is the consummate storyteller. The Book of Bunk, however, transcends anything he has accomplished previously. Part Great Gatsby, part Grapes of Wrath, and even a tiny bit One Hundred Years of Solitude, this novel exists in a genre of its own. It is a complex and rich piece of story-telling, lovingly rendered. In an age of plot-driven work, Hirshberg offers a richness in these characters that enables us to fall in love with them easily, then mourn the loss of their companionship at the book’s end.
Paul Dent, the protagonist, is similar to Nick Carraway in Gatsby in that he is the quiet observer, the objective reporter as a tragic drama unfolds (although his objectivity is somewhat compromised when he meets the love of his life). After he struggles to escape the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the 1930’s, he lands a job, through strange circumstances, with the Federal Writers Project. His assignment is to study, then write about, the town of Trampleton. What he finds initially is classic small town life—a depiction awash in brilliant colors from Hirshberg’s ardent pen. As he begins to immerse himself in the culture, however, a veil is lifted, and he is made privy to the extraordinary and courageous pursuits of the townspeople, orchestrated by none other than…. I am reluctant to reveal the identity of a well-known literary figure who makes, shall we say, a cameo appearance in the novel. Part of the delight of the book is discovering him there.
My only criticism of this book is its brevity; at 236 pages, the experience of it is over far too quickly. I loved reading it, and I hated finishing it. Superb and highly recommended. ”
I’ll, um, take that…