Great work as always, if you don't mind a bit of advisement, say a fella had a couple of Willeford omnibuses lying around (for awhile now truthfully) and said omnibuses contained: High Priest of California, Pick-Up, Wild Wives & The Woman Chaser, Cockfighter, The Burnt Orange Heresy, The Machine in Ward Eleven, where should a fella start?
If you're asking, which specific novels, rather than which omnibus, I would say THE WOMAN CHASER, PICK-UP, COCKFIGHTER, and THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY are all essential Willeford novels. But all of those books are good.
I remember (barely) sharing a house with a bunch of fellow acid heads. It was a real peace and love scene until a couple of the trippers came out as Miracle Whip fiends. The mayo normies would not let this go.
I was quite taken by your review of Willeford’s OFF THE WALL, and agree that his emphasis on the Glassman transcripts makes for a strange book. I found two remainders in a True Crime section of a failed shop. BTW— I had a brief correspondence with Charles which was cut short by his early death. From Willeford, came my four decades of friendship with the publisher Dennis McMillan. At the same time, I helped bring to publication Charles’s hilarious and informative THE COCKFIGHTER JOURNAL about his experiences adapting his novel. His documentation of the shoot is extraordinary and rare.
I've been old and in the way since I was young. In later years, I even greatly disappointed Dustin Hoffman when a rare book joint in Brentwood where I was clerking, a few blocks from where O.J. gained his murderous infamy-- had NO bags, or usable boxes. Hoffman ended up carrying armloads of paperbacks to his car. Got him to sign multiple firsts of MIDNIGHT COWBOY and MARATHON MAN, however. This pleased the shop's owners when they came back from vacation.
Wonderful post. I am a Willeford fan but figured I didn’t need to read it. How great to read such a detailed review! And pairing it with Breslin is a stroke of genius.
Great work as always, if you don't mind a bit of advisement, say a fella had a couple of Willeford omnibuses lying around (for awhile now truthfully) and said omnibuses contained: High Priest of California, Pick-Up, Wild Wives & The Woman Chaser, Cockfighter, The Burnt Orange Heresy, The Machine in Ward Eleven, where should a fella start?
If you're asking, which specific novels, rather than which omnibus, I would say THE WOMAN CHASER, PICK-UP, COCKFIGHTER, and THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY are all essential Willeford novels. But all of those books are good.
I remember (barely) sharing a house with a bunch of fellow acid heads. It was a real peace and love scene until a couple of the trippers came out as Miracle Whip fiends. The mayo normies would not let this go.
Yeah but this was Cool Whip, Chas. Cool Whip!
It was the Whip that dazed me.
Sorry, I meant Chas. Autocorrect fucked me, but I fixed it.
I was quite taken by your review of Willeford’s OFF THE WALL, and agree that his emphasis on the Glassman transcripts makes for a strange book. I found two remainders in a True Crime section of a failed shop. BTW— I had a brief correspondence with Charles which was cut short by his early death. From Willeford, came my four decades of friendship with the publisher Dennis McMillan. At the same time, I helped bring to publication Charles’s hilarious and informative THE COCKFIGHTER JOURNAL about his experiences adapting his novel. His documentation of the shoot is extraordinary and rare.
I have never been able to track down a copy of that book. Also, who haven't you met?
I've been old and in the way since I was young. In later years, I even greatly disappointed Dustin Hoffman when a rare book joint in Brentwood where I was clerking, a few blocks from where O.J. gained his murderous infamy-- had NO bags, or usable boxes. Hoffman ended up carrying armloads of paperbacks to his car. Got him to sign multiple firsts of MIDNIGHT COWBOY and MARATHON MAN, however. This pleased the shop's owners when they came back from vacation.
Wonderful post. I am a Willeford fan but figured I didn’t need to read it. How great to read such a detailed review! And pairing it with Breslin is a stroke of genius.
Thank you very much, Ethan, I really appreciate that.