Dead Solid Perfect (Hardcover)

It's hard to put a finger on what exactly went wrong here. Part of it I think is that while Semi-Tough seemed to have a genuine (if obviously exaggerated) locker room verisimilitude, Dead Solid just doesn't seem to ring as true. This despite the fact that Jenkins was/is if anything far better known and revered as a writer about professional golf than he ever was about the NFL (college football was his other main beat at Sports Illustrated). Perhaps this is because in Semi Tough, many of the supporting characters were narrator Billy Clyde Puckett's teammates, whereas in Dead Solid Perfect they are mostly the protagonist's ex-wives and (to a lesser extent) old high school and Fort Worth cronies. The end result is less a novel about golf, and more about a man with a colourful personal life who happens to be a professional golfer.

That wouldn't really matter much if the book were funnier. But, as mentioned, Dead Solid Perfect is very uneven. Jenkins seems to think that eccentric characters with odd names are funny in and of themselves, and that you don't have to actually give them anything funny to do or say. Instead he relies on goofy Texas aphorisms (which start to wear out their welcome long before the book is over) and occasionally REALLY racist and/or sexist remarks that add little to the package but seem designed to show us what a bold, swaggering, iconoclast the author is.

The trick in writing humour (not to mention playing good golf) is to "never let them see you sweat". Unfortunately, Dead Solid Perfect sees Dan Jenkins sweating way too hard to follow up on a classic, to considerably less effect. Of course I could be wrong there. Maybe the problem is that with this book is that Jenkins wasn't really trying AT ALL.

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I have no doubt that this book could have been written this year and still rings true, although maybe not all the dope smoking.

Like many of Jenkins' books, the story revolves around the Texas mystique and a man who can ace his avocation but fail miserably in his personal life. This book mixes enough politics, gambling, golf and sex to become one of the funniest books out there.

Jenkins' style is love-him-or-hate-him, but you if like this one, you'll be searching more used bookstores for other books that are out-of-print.

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