Lord of Misrule, a novel by Jaimy Gordon mentioned by Andrew Beyer in DRF a
couple of weekends ago, won the National Book Award last week.
\"Lord\" is a novel which was apparently written in the mid 1990s; Ms. Gordon
apparently sat on it for nearly 15 years.
Ms. Gordon worked at some leaky roof tracks in West Virginia in the 1970s; \"Lord\"
describes dirt cheap horses and the sometimes desparate people who care for them
at the fictional \"Indian Mound Downs\", a half miler near Wheeling, W. Va.
I found it to be a good read, starting a bit slowly and closing with a strong
finishing punch. \"Lord\" might be more appreciated by folks who were around Racing
40 years ago (when Bute was considered a magic elixir) or if you have some
fondness for or connection with Racing at cheap half mile tracks.
John Hawkes\' The Lime Twig still my gold standard when it comes to
literature which revolves around Racing.
OK guys, back to that Dead Rail....
How could she win the National Book Award when she never left that little half mile track in West Virginia???