Quick Book Review: "Spanish Fly"

Ferguson explains the origin of the
cover photo in the "Afterward."

"Spanish Fly" by Will Ferguson could be read as somewhat of a prequel to Ferguson's first novel, "Happiness." There's not much of a crossover apart from Jack McGreary and the mention of the De Valu family (which is a reference to the protagonist of Ferguson's first novel). "Spanish Fly" was a bit of a disappointment from that perspective, and Ferguson has this knack for making most of his characters "sound" very similar. I've read a lot of his non-fiction writing, and a lot of the dialogue and banter in "Spanish Fly" often has the same kind of cadence to it even thought the characters themselves are quite a bit different than he's written before.

The actual story isn't riveting but more interesting. It's a character study more than anything, but there's also a history component when it comes to the cons and the ramp-up to World War II happening in the background. But it sure as hell isn't funny, which might have been the point. There are a few moments of amusement but for a lot of the book it's deadpan serious. At first I thought maybe Ferguson was trying to work a "dark humour" angle but I abandoned thinking about that a few chapters in. With the dust jacket harping on the fact Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour a number of times, I was expecting a little more in the way of actual humour.

Maybe I've pigeonholed Ferguson in the "funny" camp and any attempt at escape -- at trying something outside that particular camp -- results in a a volley of cannon fire in the back. Without the expectation of humour my opinion of "Spanish Fly" might have been different because the story of cons and double-cons and conning the cons in 1930's America is actually good.

Couple of books

I’m finding that with my commute I finally have more time to read and/or play games. But I’m all outta books and I feel substantially up-to-date when it comes to my 3DS games. So, I grabbed a couple of books from the library during my lunch hour.

The first is “Spanish Fly” by Will Ferguson, one of my favourite authors. “Spanish Fly” seems like it will be a prequel of sorts to Ferguson’s first novel “Happiness” (or “Generica” in some markets). It features a young Jack McGreary, who was responsible for the self help book that nearly brought about the end of human civilization in “Happiness” years later. It seems strange to me that no where on the cover or inside flap is there reference to “Happiness.” The idea of fleshing out the backstory of a somewhat minor character of one story, even if he does play a pivotal role, in a standalone novel has a certain appeal to me. While “Happiness” offers a snapshot of the McGreary character and what motivates him to write his self-help book, I always got the feeling there was much more to this crazy dude in the desert.

The next is a basically a guilty pleasure. It’s a steampunk novel by George Mann called “The Immorality Engine” – A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation. I read the first book – Affinity Bridge – a couple years ago and enjoyed it for its pulp sensibility, characters, and altered-history premise, but I kind of forgot about the series. I haven’t read the second book so I hope it doesn’t become an obstacle to enjoying the story.

I saw a copy of the Walking Dead novel “Rise of the Governor” on the new arrivals shelf but three books is probably pushing it.