- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate; First Edition edition (6 Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007151519
- ISBN-13: 978-0007151516
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,108,562 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘Proulx’s own ace in the hole is her brilliance at evoking place and landscape. She sets about drawing the vast distances and parched flatlands of Texas with almost immeasurable skill….reined in and muscular, unsentimental and unsparing about the toughness of rural life and the process of decay.’ Alex Clark, Guardian
‘Brilliantly written’. Peter Kemp, The Sunday Times
‘A kind-hearted and intelligent novel.’ The Telegraph
‘There’s any amount of Texas panhandle lore between these covers, lovingly passed on. It’s fascinating stuff…Proulx has a first class eye and ear.’ Adam Mars-Jones, Observer
‘The travels and travails of Bob Dollar, and his habit of asking garrlous locals to tell stories about the old days, allow her to build up a rich and many-layered portrait of the region. The reader gets to pluck the fruits of all that research and through the magic of her prose become engrossed in subjects like windmill repairs and the history of barbed wire.’ Richard Grant, Telegraph Magazine
‘Amusing, intriguing and disturbing.’ Mark Sanderson, Independent on Sunday
‘An absolute corker of a novel which manages the dual feat of being a serious satire on the evils of global capitalism, and a personal comedy of Dickensian dimensions.’ A N Wilson, Daily Telegraph
‘Sometimes the laughs are prompted by joyously well-jointed plot devices, or by Proulx’s small, absurd observations. As often as not, the humour comes from the unmistakable edginess and quirkiness of Proulx’s prose. It is hard to think of any living writer who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Dickens, with the exception of Proulx.’ A N Wilson, New Statesman
‘That Old Ace in the Hole opens up a wealth of material on the Panhandles and America at large, some of it distasteful. But its spirit is questioning, cherishing of individuality and egalitarian. Proulx is a novelist of serious ideas, but she does not allow her ideas to impose on her subject matter; and she never forgets that those who visit her novels come above all for their stories.’ Ruth Scurr, TLS
‘Funny and heartfelt’ Scotsman
‘Proulx is a great American writer, none better.’ Elaine Showalter, Literary Review
‘A great portrait of a rich, raw place that Proulx brings to vivid life. She finds the wonder in the minutae of the Panhandle existence and transforms the dust bowl into a mesmerising spectacle. Saddle up. You’re going to enjoy the ride.’ Big Issue
‘This eagerly awaited sucessor [to The Shipping News] has the same richly textured quality as all the author’s finest work. The beleagured Bob is one of the author’s finest creations, and the use of idiomatic dialogue here is perfectly judged.’ Publishing News
New Statesman
'a contemporary Dickens ... an American League of Gentlemen'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Proulx's genius is her amazing ability to transport you into the landscapes of the places she writes about and the lives of those who live there.
Having been sucked into the geography and people of Newfoundland I picked up That Old Ace In The Hole for obvious reasons. And it lived up to my expectations.
Not that I expected another Shipping News because I do not believe that could ever be equalled. However, That Old Ace In The Hole is excellently written with rich characters and stunning attention to detail.
The crux of the story is that of a young man - Bob Dollar - moving to the Texas panhandle with a new job. Through encounters with the locals and some morally questionable situations, Bob begins to look at himself and his own desires in life.
That Old Ace In The Hole is a heart-warming story that will whisk you off to the Texas panhandle and engage you in its people and landscape.
Don't expect The Shipping News, but do expect to want to move to a small backwater town in Texas.
Having been sucked into the geography and people of Newfoundland I picked up That Old Ace In The Hole for obvious reasons. And it lived up to my expectations.
Not that I expected another Shipping News because I do not believe that could ever be equalled. However, That Old Ace In The Hole is excellently written with rich characters and stunning attention to detail.
The crux of the story is that of a young man - Bob Dollar - moving to the Texas panhandle with a new job. Through encounters with the locals and some morally questionable situations, Bob begins to look at himself and his own desires in life.
That Old Ace In The Hole is a heart-warming story that will whisk you off to the Texas panhandle and engage you in its people and landscape.
Don't expect The Shipping News, but do expect to want to move to a small backwater town in Texas.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Annie Proulx's latest novel offers a fascinating blend of stunningdescriptions of place and superb construction of characters as she offersa compelling insight into life for an outsider in rural Texas.
Whether the Texas that Proulx describes is 'the' Texas or not isinconsequential: as the book's protagonist, Bob Dollar, sets about findingsuitable ranching land to be converted into a much-hated factory hog-farm,the rugged and unique characters merge with the rugged and unique imageryto create a superb read.
For those who have read Proulx's earlier novel, The Shipping News, thisnovel lives up to expectation: she does to Texas in That Old Ace in theHole, through her wonderful observation of physical and human quirks, whatshe does to the wind-beaten North-East coast in The Shipping News.
Some reviews have suggested that perhaps this novel is over-researched andindiscriminately edited, and certainly in terms of sheer length, this is along book. But if you are likely to be irked by lengthy characterizationand scene creation, then this is not a book that I would recommend youread anyway.
Normally a book with a distinctly average, and often non-existent, plot isbest avoided. But when the characterization and descriptions are soincredibly vivid and so powerful, as they are here, the book should not bemissed.
Whether the Texas that Proulx describes is 'the' Texas or not isinconsequential: as the book's protagonist, Bob Dollar, sets about findingsuitable ranching land to be converted into a much-hated factory hog-farm,the rugged and unique characters merge with the rugged and unique imageryto create a superb read.
For those who have read Proulx's earlier novel, The Shipping News, thisnovel lives up to expectation: she does to Texas in That Old Ace in theHole, through her wonderful observation of physical and human quirks, whatshe does to the wind-beaten North-East coast in The Shipping News.
Some reviews have suggested that perhaps this novel is over-researched andindiscriminately edited, and certainly in terms of sheer length, this is along book. But if you are likely to be irked by lengthy characterizationand scene creation, then this is not a book that I would recommend youread anyway.
Normally a book with a distinctly average, and often non-existent, plot isbest avoided. But when the characterization and descriptions are soincredibly vivid and so powerful, as they are here, the book should not bemissed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a huge fan of Annie Proulx - the style, the stories, the ability to put the weirdest things together and you just think, wow, I never knew that could happen - funny names and extravagant deaths, the harshness of life, nature will kill you and if it doesn't, we all have enough hangups to kill ourselves with - and yet the human spirit shines through. This is life. It makes me want to live. I get incoherent when I rave about this writer, clearly!
So this one is good, engaging, with a strong sense of place and character, but is let down but some very odd aspects of structure. It seems to be slightly out of order, slightly repetitive, slightly lumpy, and less masterful. I 've decided that it needed a good deal more editing. That said, it's a bit of an insight into how her books go together - the random bits pieced together to produce a world that's strange but seamless (except in this case).
Get it anyway, though. Even substandard Proulx is better than anything else.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Detailed and beautiful.
If you have read any of Annie Proulx's other novels and enjoyed them, then you'll love this one! If you haven't read any Proulx before, then this book is a superb place begin. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Mark
entertaining and evocative
This book is too long, I think, and cries out here and there for some decent editing, but otherwise it's a great success: the panhandle life seems convincing (though it's not... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Amy J.
Making a silk purse from a sow's ear
You can't describe why this book's enjoyable. A lonely hero in a forgotten part of America doing a job everyone hates him for...where's the fun in that? Read more
Published on 23 July 2004 by "doctor_vison"
Less a plot than a way of life.
The plot, a man sent to do a dirty job but inclined to go native, is thin, in no way original but promising. Read more
Published on 17 May 2004 by Cole Davis
Probably her worst novel.
I had been looking forward to reading Annie Proulx's latest novel for a while now, and picked it up in my local library recently. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2004 by Gautama
"To live here it sure helps if you are half cow..."
Stating that "nothing of the original prairie remain[s]," Proulx presents the Texas Panhandle through the eyes of 25-year-old Bob Dollar, a newcomer, who sees railroad tracks,... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2003 by Mary Whipple
loved it
I loved this book - its a vivid portrait of a small area and its characters, written with heart and joy without being cloyingly sentimental. Read more
Published on 30 April 2003
A rich portrait of life in the Texas Panhandle
In this wonderful new novel Proulx's style is even more confident, sparkling, rich and detailed than ever. Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2002 by c westwood
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