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giantjackalopes's review
5.0
The book is really slow at first, but warms up to good pace. At some points I wanted to stop reading because of the strong sexual content and history mentions I couldn't grasp. But now having read the book fully, I see why Jim included them! Both aspects are vital in the way Sunderson processes his thoughts and how he finds Dwight. Good read
tdeshler's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. This book was mostly about Sunderson, rather than his quest to reign in the Great Leader. In that vein, it reminded me some of the Spencer detective stories, which focused on what he ate and drank at most meals. This one had a greater emphasis on the natural environment, compared to Spencer's urban environment.
seanmcfinn's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not good at reviewing books. I'm not sure I'm good at reading them, though I read them as often as is possible. So this review is one of process, a mess, where the only things I'm certain I don't want to do are simply summarize a book (not a review) or crow how much I did or didn't like it (I suppose that'd be a crude review, just not my style of crude review).
I'm writing this in late March 2020, while Covid-19 silently spreads. How does my dread, for that's what it is, naked dread I try to dilute by being present in each waking moment, color this review or anything I write? I don't know. I'm not allowed to know. Is the answer even interesting? I don't know.
We follow Sunderson, a recently retired Michigan State Police detective. He's trying to track a slippery cult leader (titular) in Michigan and Arizona. That's the plot but the story is his personal odyssey, which is compelling, though colored with too many descriptions of women's asses. I appreciate that's he's still feeling it at 65, but it's a lot of "ass prose." He's also arguably a high functioning alcoholic (though Sunderson himself would argue with "high functioning", as he's endlessly hard on himself), who loves his cold cuts and corned beef sandwiches (this novel made me long for an exceptional corned beef sandwich. I'll get one when the world opens its doors again).
The horndog prose (it's in character, so it's not out of place, it's simply a lot!) is balanced and tipped by his being leveled by his journey since his divorce, his relationship with Mona, a sixteen-year-old who lives next door to him, and his connection with the natural world, which is heightened and challenged when he moves from his familiar flat Upper Peninsula to Arizona.
He makes lists to sort himself during the course of this story, to which we are privy. They're funny and they're an important window into his soul. There are lots of digressions into history, perhaps a few too many, but that's one of the ways Sunderson sorts himself: using his knowledge of human history, "a charnel house" is one of the many things he calls it.
The tone is conversational, almost arbitrary, then he levels me or unsettles me with some epiphany Sunderson has in simple, clear prose.
It's a story of a man finding some peace amidst so many broken pieces.
I'm writing this in late March 2020, while Covid-19 silently spreads. How does my dread, for that's what it is, naked dread I try to dilute by being present in each waking moment, color this review or anything I write? I don't know. I'm not allowed to know. Is the answer even interesting? I don't know.
We follow Sunderson, a recently retired Michigan State Police detective. He's trying to track a slippery cult leader (titular) in Michigan and Arizona. That's the plot but the story is his personal odyssey, which is compelling, though colored with too many descriptions of women's asses. I appreciate that's he's still feeling it at 65, but it's a lot of "ass prose." He's also arguably a high functioning alcoholic (though Sunderson himself would argue with "high functioning", as he's endlessly hard on himself), who loves his cold cuts and corned beef sandwiches (this novel made me long for an exceptional corned beef sandwich. I'll get one when the world opens its doors again).
The horndog prose (it's in character, so it's not out of place, it's simply a lot!) is balanced and tipped by his being leveled by his journey since his divorce, his relationship with Mona, a sixteen-year-old who lives next door to him, and his connection with the natural world, which is heightened and challenged when he moves from his familiar flat Upper Peninsula to Arizona.
He makes lists to sort himself during the course of this story, to which we are privy. They're funny and they're an important window into his soul. There are lots of digressions into history, perhaps a few too many, but that's one of the ways Sunderson sorts himself: using his knowledge of human history, "a charnel house" is one of the many things he calls it.
The tone is conversational, almost arbitrary, then he levels me or unsettles me with some epiphany Sunderson has in simple, clear prose.
It's a story of a man finding some peace amidst so many broken pieces.
pturnbull's review against another edition
4.0
Not the overly-literary soporific prose I was expecting. Instead, it's a hard-boiled detective story in which the detective pulls himself out of his slough and ends up pretty much OK. Excellent understanding of Michigan's upper peninsula. Layer upon layer of meaning, description, character, plot, and though much of the story is grim and unsavory, Harrison leads us out of that world gently, and takes us into sublime nature. It's never dull. It's not my usual type of book (retired male detective drinks too much, hangs out with prostitutes, becomes obsessed with child molesting local cult leader) and Detective Sunderson is a completely miserable human being. But the richness of the setting won me over--and it's a setting that is meaningful to me and known. I want to reread the book and map out every physical location. I want to reread the book and savor all its levels, the lack of commas, Sunderson's journals, the light touch of Anishinaabe culture, the light touch of climate change, and how on earth did Sunderson attract all those women, when he's such an alcoholic wreck of an old guy? Much, much better than I expected. Entrancing.
bbolsen's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
A minor entry in the canon of a great author.
leifq's review against another edition
4.0
My experience with Jim Harrison is limited as I've only read "The Beige Dolorisa" previously but "The Great Leader" was certainly more of the same. I won't recount the Harrison aesthetic that has been so well documented before I ever got here but I will point out something that I didn't hear enough before these two books: Jim Harrison is a notably impressive writer. His plot and characterization are adequate (which is to say completely fine but not particularly better than average for a good writer) but where he shines is with the ease of his language and sentence-to-sentence writing. I make this point often, but I can't help but make it again - MFA writing is boring! Give me self-taught with all of its warts and rough edges. Jim Harrison writes sentences that sing and command attention with their uniqueness.
That out of the way, I have to say a little about the actual book. I loved Sunderson as a character and the chasing down of The Great Leader being a distant second to the true story of Sunderson finding his way through retirement, divorce, aging, mortality, and the like was a masterstroke. Sunderson was entirely human to me and I rooted for him to find a new way to be happy.
That out of the way, I have to say a little about the actual book. I loved Sunderson as a character and the chasing down of The Great Leader being a distant second to the true story of Sunderson finding his way through retirement, divorce, aging, mortality, and the like was a masterstroke. Sunderson was entirely human to me and I rooted for him to find a new way to be happy.
scherzo's review against another edition
1.0
Okay if you want to spend over 300 pages in the mind of an ineffectual guy who spends most of his time obsessing about sex.
I actually stuck with this til the end -- WHY?
I actually stuck with this til the end -- WHY?
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