Customer Reviews

Spanish Fly

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Spanish Fly is Will Ferguson's captivating and funny new novel, deserving the accolades of his debut novel, Generica a.k.a. Happiness.This new shrewd but silly tale weaves the desperation of the poverty of the Great Depression/Dust Bowl years in the American S.W. (W.F. explains his choice of location in his afterwords)with the story of young,bright,handsome,smalltown Jack McGreary finding his purpose in life. Jack tags along with experienced con artists Virgil Ray and Miss Rose to learn as Virgil says," When 'they' hand you their money willingly, it doesn't count as stealing." Jack's got the head for increasingly complex cons but does he have the heart for them? Herein lies the tension which makes the pages turn quickly to make this book such a satisfying read.

I really enjoyed Will Ferguson's "Spanish Fly" as my first encounter with his writing. His literary style is a combination of rapier wit and sardonic humor that combines the wisdom of Will Rogers and the slapstick of vaudeville. The reader gets to follow a young man's quest for personal greatness during the Great Depression. Ferguson chooses the Great American Plains as his setting because they serve up all that is physically and socially challenging to the human desire to succeed. The novel is full of moments of excitement, allurement, despair, and fear as young Jack McGreary attempts to chart his course through life. Growing up in a little hay-seed of a Prairie town forces him to dream outside his own narrow existence. He starts out by opting for knowledge in books as his ticket to future success. Then he becomes infatuated with a local girl who works at the library only to realize that such aspirations will require money in order to happen. At the same time, nagging at him is a latent desire to go to war to fight tyranny. Essentially, Jack is a much conflicted adolescent who is about to fall into the clutches of Virgil and Rose, two very clever con artists who recognize and know how to exploit talent and desire, of which Jack has plenty. The narrative becomes a fast-paced Bonnie-and-Clyde hunt for the next victim as this trio moves from desolate town to desolate town. They have at their disposal a multitude of tricks - a few fascinating, most unbelievably stupid - by which to hoodwink their unsuspecting clients. Everybody in these desperate times, it seems, is willing to part with the little money they have in order to cash in on the promise of extraordinary wealth around the corner. Kind of reminds you of the times we're currently living in where greed is king. As this quixotic tale unfolds, Jack becomes increasingly uncomfortable with his rising fortunes based on games of deception dressed up as chance. Its intoxicating grip is compared to the power of the Spanish Fly to dominate and destroy a person's sex drive. I recommend this novel for how it creates and sustains a high level of human drama throughout the plot, using exceptional characters, colorful actions, timely humor and well-managed suspense. I even found myself asking the question as to how vulnerable would I be if I had found myself in similar circumstances during this era.