Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Nearing middle age, painter and cowboy Joe Starling contemplates the relationships and ties of his youth. ``McGuane makes what could have been an indecipherable personal quest into a vivid, even suspenseful story, in language that seems to have been stripped clean of excess, reduced to only the most evocative descriptions and accurate emotions. Even for a writer of his standing, a novel as unfaltering as this one is a rarity,'' lauded PW. (Nov.)
Keep the Change
by Thomas McGuaneView All Available Formats & Editions
Joe Starling, a man teetering on the edge of spectacular failures—as an artist, rancher, lover, and human being—is also a man of noble ambitions. His struggle to right himself is mesmerizing, hilarious, and profoundly moving.
Overview
Joe Starling, a man teetering on the edge of spectacular failures—as an artist, rancher, lover, and human being—is also a man of noble ambitions. His struggle to right himself is mesmerizing, hilarious, and profoundly moving.
Editorial Reviews
Library Journal
Joe Starling leaves his family's Montana ranch as a teenager, attending Yale and later becoming a successful painter in New York. Now in a state of emotional and spiritual disarray, he returns, hoping to lay claim to the run-down ranch and ``find a restored coordination for his life'' in the old values of hard work and closeness to the land. But his romantic notions run aground on the realities of the modern West: He ultimately loses the ranch to his mad Uncle Smitty's scheming and discovers the duplicity of the seemingly innocent Ellen, the ranch owner's daughter he romanced one summer and now longs to return to. Satire and sadness mingle in this low-key, yet resonant, novel as Joe learns the truth of an old American proverb: You can't go home again.-- Lawrence Rungren, Bedford Free P.L., Mass.
Product Details
- ISBN-13:
- 9780679730330
- Publisher:
- Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
- Publication date:
- 10/31/1990
- Series:
- Vintage Contemporaries Series
- Pages:
- 240
- Sales rank:
- 928,876
- Product dimensions:
- 5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Meet the Author
Thomas McGuane lives in Sweet Grass County, Montana. He is the author of eight previous novels and a collection of stories, as well as two collections of essays.
Customer Reviews
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Keep the Change
2 out of 5
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0 ratings.
1 reviews.
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In this story Joe Starling struggles to find where his true home is. He moves from place to place and uses several women. After years away from the west, Joe returns to Montana and tries to find who he is and what he wants.
Looking at this book from a historical point of view it is accurate by depicting the time period of the Vietnam War. Smitty, Joe's uncle, suffered mental problems from the war. The historical accuracy was clear but the purpose was not.
The purpose of the book seemed to be to find ones self but at the end of the book Joe did not. Joe went to college to be a painter even though his father never approved. Joe returned to Montana sometime after his father died since his father loved Montana. He wanted to finally make his father proud by owning the ranch. Joe never painted after that. He did not find who he was; rather he tried to find approval. The book does not seem like it has an ending. The character did not develop to his full potential.
The imagery of the west is incredible but the dialogue is not. I would not recommend this book to an avid western book reader.
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