Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
London Picador 1978 3-187p 20cm pbk
User reviews
LibraryThing member CarlaR
I am very glad that I gave Brautigan another try. The first book of his I read was Abortion, and I must admit to being less than pleased. This time the story was much tighter, better written, and more imaginative.
This story is about a humorist with no sense of humor and how he begins writing a
The sombrero, at a temperature of -24 degrees falls from the sky. The cousin of the mayor and the unemployed man stand around the sombrero, both having their own reasons for wanting to pick it up and give it to the mayor. Even after the local police are killed, the librarian was rendered earless, people beat on each other, the National Guard was called in and WWIII threatens to break out, nobody picks up the sombrero.
Fun book!!
This story is about a humorist with no sense of humor and how he begins writing a
Show More
story. The story gets thrown in the wastebasket while the humorist obsesses about the mercury in tuna fish, eating hamburgers, and finding strings of Japanese hair on the floor while the owner of the hair sleeps a mile away.The sombrero, at a temperature of -24 degrees falls from the sky. The cousin of the mayor and the unemployed man stand around the sombrero, both having their own reasons for wanting to pick it up and give it to the mayor. Even after the local police are killed, the librarian was rendered earless, people beat on each other, the National Guard was called in and WWIII threatens to break out, nobody picks up the sombrero.
Fun book!!
Show Less
LibraryThing member psybre
This humorous tale of despair and unrequited love is a comic thumb of the nose to established authority and the common masses alike. More Vonnegutian than any other work by RB that I've read. Beautiful poetic passages that are Brautigan's main trade are found throughout and some are fresh and
It's possible that the author wished he was the Sombrero, and not the protagonist.
Recommended as a quick read for those who have enjoyed Twain's and Vonnegut's darker humor.
Show More
original enough to make your heart melt. It's possible that the author wished he was the Sombrero, and not the protagonist.
Recommended as a quick read for those who have enjoyed Twain's and Vonnegut's darker humor.
Show Less
LibraryThing member M.Campanella
I hadn't read Brautigan in about seven years. Between that last one and this one, untold hundreds of books have passed my eyes, some good some bad.
When I was going through a Brautigan kick seven years ago, I enjoyed every word of it. When I tackled this one, I felt that it was equal in quality to
"Those who do not reread..."
The question then becomes, what does (or should) do about the ratings of other Brautigan books in my library?
When I was going through a Brautigan kick seven years ago, I enjoyed every word of it. When I tackled this one, I felt that it was equal in quality to
Show More
what I had read earlier. Yet somehow, it had less effect on me."Those who do not reread..."
The question then becomes, what does (or should) do about the ratings of other Brautigan books in my library?
Show Less
LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
An obsessional humourous writer attempts to start a new story, but the recent break-up of his relationship with a Japanese woman prevents him from concentrating on creating; he throws away the first sheet of his story, but it writes itself secretly in the bin. Meanwhile, in classic Brautigan
Show More
fashion, we see what goes through the mind of the writer, and explore the dreams of the Japanese woman as she sleeps, oblivious of everything else. Show Less
LibraryThing member adrianburke
A truly liberating novel which is hard to pigeonhole. Blazed a trail that many followed.
LibraryThing member weeta
town rises up in riot against the librarian getting her ears shot off, while an American humorist obsesses over an ex-lover whose cat midnight snacks while she dreams of kyoto and her father. also, a cold sombrero.
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
This book is...oh, so Richard Brautigan! Some of what he writes is bizarre, some is poetic, and some is a message. However, it's up to the reader to try to decipher the meaning of his narrative.
In this book, the bizarre is a sombrero, with a temperature of 24 degrees below zero, falling out of the
The poetic is the sadness of the narrator losing the love of a Japanese woman whom he lived with and adored for two years. He is now left with only one strand of her black hair.
"She had a beautiful laugh which was like rain water pouring over daffodils made from silver."
The messaage of this story to me was that killing is senseless.
Though not the best of Brautigan's books, I found this small volume fun to read, full of notable quotes, and strange ideas. I liked it!
In this book, the bizarre is a sombrero, with a temperature of 24 degrees below zero, falling out of the
Show More
sky. The sombrero, standing alone invites chaos and killing.The poetic is the sadness of the narrator losing the love of a Japanese woman whom he lived with and adored for two years. He is now left with only one strand of her black hair.
"She had a beautiful laugh which was like rain water pouring over daffodils made from silver."
The messaage of this story to me was that killing is senseless.
Though not the best of Brautigan's books, I found this small volume fun to read, full of notable quotes, and strange ideas. I liked it!
Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
187 p.; 19 cm
ISBN
0330255487 / 9780330255486