Art in America

Mr. McLarty is a master of characterization. His quirky, endearing characters come to life for me - I can both see and hear them as I read his words. He is also a truly gifted narrator. So I end up with the novel in two forms - printed and audible- first reading, then listening. The best of both worlds.
The book jacket has a review likening this novel to A Confederacy of Dunces and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. ACoD is one of my all-time favorite books, but there is no likeness between the two protagonists, other than large heads and weight. What the two novels do have in common is well-drawn characters, with many eccentricities. The allusion to OFOtCN befuddles me. There is no Nurse Ratched, no oppression, no cohersion. The only commonality I found between the three novels, is that they are very good reads.

Absolutely, sure I missed some parts. There are so many unforgetable characters both city and country.

I "knew" so many of the people who lived in this tale. Mr. McLarty made them live. While many were drawn large, I still came away understanding them and their point of view. He did write them large and I laughed over so many of the situations, I love Ron McLarty's characters and Steven Kearney is every wanna be published writer. His triumph in writing a published play was our triumph.
Sheriff Petey is the law envorcement many of us hope is out there on our side. Mountain Man got himself into a pickle and worked his way out of it learning a lot about himself in the process. It takes a lot of guts to change direction,. I loved the true affection that many of the committed to each other characters had for one another. Then there were the protesters who were genuinely true to their own belief. I felt such compassion for Sandy the bomber even as I pulled for her to get caught. She was so pitiful. Ron McLarty gets carried away some times but in the end I feel like I am listening to an Aople Dumpling Gang with adult themes.

I heard every one and did not have to wonder who they were. Again, Steven Kearny was so clueless much of the time and his voice reflected it.

I laughed so many times and did not cry. Listened several times to different parts to enjoy the humor.

Absolutely anyone who has worked in Planning or has any interest in the environment will grasp this book. Our area of PA is currently involved in what I call Gas Wars. The oil and gas industry is here to extract natural gas from the ground. We have the furs, and a-gins and they are so much like Mr. McLarty's characters. I am sure this is what has given me such pleasure in listening to Art In America. Only wish we could solve our neighborhood spats this easily. Planners on the Audible membership list should at least give this one a try.

It's funny, touching, sad, insightful ~ very captivating.

My favorite character is Petey Myers, the Sheriff. A straight-forward guy who takes care of business in this crazy little town. I also loved Petey's partner, Reedy.

All the books by Ron McLarty are excellent choices.

McLarty is a gifted narrator, and I enjoyed his earlier book, The Memory of Running; however I couldn't get past the first 10 minutes of Art In America. The author's use of the f-word is so overbearing and gratuitous that I felt assaulted. Maybe the story shapes up, but the shabby, repetitious writing made me lose interest. My advice: don't bother unless you REALLY like hearing the f-word a LOT. It's a shame, because McLarty is a good enough writer that he doesn't have to resort to this tactic.

I did not enjoy the book for the most part. Too complicated. I usually identify with his characters but this really gets too complicated for me.

I enjoyed his other two books much more.