The characters at first came across as racetrack stereotypes -- the naive girl; the wise, superstitious black groom -- and I had trouble keeping the different horses straight. Later in the book, though, the story started to come together, and the plot took on urgency. The character of Two-Tie holds together the book; his scenes are the most powerful. Gordon's language is incredible, and it makes Lord of Misrule worth reading: "The sun beat down and by three the red dirt glowed back around each barn and strip of grass like the works of a toaster. The heat was a bullying heat that muffled sound, so that a person saw a brush or bucket fall or a tiechain drop and heard nothing, just a kind of clap of air, a flat toneless echo. Every now and then a sparrow flopped down in the dirt and scratched around."At times, I felt uncomfortable with how close Gordon came to the dark hearts of her characters. In particular, the sexual descriptions of Margaret from Tommy Hansel's point of view made me want to stop reading. It's not an author's job to make life pretty, of course, and later I gained sympathy for Hansel. But I think there can be too close of an identification with some characters. It's problematic, I think, to put some voices into the world without modulation, without a bit of distance. I don't know a thing about horse racing. But I have a fascination with the seedy underbelly of things.My fascination only goes as deep as reading about hard luck cases. No getting dirty for me.I'll read anything that's about characters you might find in a Tom Waits song.Lord of Misrule is just such a book. Add to its great characters beautiful writing, and you have a hell of a book.I was a little lost at first, due to the track lingo, but I was able to pick it up as I went along.
Do You like book L'ultimo Giorno Di Gloria (2010)?
Wow I loved this book. Full length review to come in Grove City College's "The Quad" this spring.
—haleyallen
