Funniest novel I’ve read in a long time. Like the Coen brothers rewriting Beckett. A kaleidoscope of whacked Americana stuffed with gutbusting dialogue. Gotta get me some more Portis pronto! ( )

I wonder if Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and the villain Gustavo Fring, is a fan of this book. An antagonist in the plot shares the same last name. This book is hilarious, although it was sometimes jarring to have references to television and other mid century inventions. The whole scenario seemed to be taking place in the 30s.
Also? Heavy use of the N word. You’ve been warned. I do recommend the book but that was problematic. ( )

Another hilarious picaresque novel about a loser pointlessly careening across the country. Since I read The Dog of the South first, even though Norwood was actually his first book I kept thinking "gee, this reminds of The Dog of the South", but this is a little different. It seems to have a little more loose energy in it, more reminiscent of On the Road. "It's about the journey, not the destination" is a good way to summarize how it comes across, since there's much more traveling in this book and there's not really much of a solid ending. Even though it was very funny (check out the boots scene on the train, or Norwood's fights with his sister's boyfriend), I don't know if I would have read his other works if I'd found it first, just because even though it has his trademark deadpan voice and great dialogue (yet again, if you've ever spent any time in the south you will recognize all these people instantly), the book doesn't quite have the heights that the other did. At the risk of overdosing on Portis, Masters of Atlantis is next. ( )

This is the first Charles Portis book I’ve read, and I’m still not completely sure what to think. It was hilarious in parts, witty in parts, and down right confounding in parts. The confounding part was basically the entire story (completely character driven) that just refused to conform to any sort of expected plot points. But the writing is so good that it didn’t matter.

This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read. I enjoyed it enough to grab his more well-known books and keep exploring his work. ( )

I don't know when I enjoyed reading a straight piece of fiction, like I did with Norwood. I can't even put my finger on why I liked it so much. I think it might be because Norwood is such a character and stays true to himself throughout the book, much like Iggy in Confederacy of Dunces (although they are nothing alike). ( )