The Last Book I Read

Rick Bass is something of a cult figure among my literary-inclined Montana friends, but I never read anything by him until I picked up the novel Nashville Chrome (encouraged by one of the aforementioned friends). I can fully appreciate why he's a favorite, as the strengths of this book are considerable. He is especially good at developing how his characters are shaped by their kinship with the natural environment out of which they grew. In this particular story, which fictionalizes the career of real-life musical family the Browns, those roots are in the forests worked by their lumber milling father, deep in rural Arkansas. The story might be summarized as an accounting of the consequences suffered the farther they drift from their home, in terms of both physical and intellectual distance; though not emotional, or maybe better to say spiritual-- that seems to be the bond that is ultimately the strongest. It's a compelling story, that plays out particularly in the yearning of elder sister Maxine to somehow return to the spotlight years after the act has broken up, the victims of changing tastes but also perhaps the erosion of their gift of a sweet harmony that was itself a result of how in synch they were with the place where they grew up. My only quibble with the book (and it's kind of a big one for me) is that in telling the story of the Browns, Bass dramatically exaggerates their success for no apparent reason. He has them scoring multiple number one records, garnering numerous Grammys, and most preposterously, competing with Elvis Presley as the biggest act in the world at the end of the fifties-- none of which seemed essential to the telling of his story. I suspect Bass is aware of the problem, as he offers a rationalization (somewhat unconvincing to me) for it in an afterword. To be honest though, that wouldn't be a big deal for most readers, if they even noticed; but having done so much research into that era of pop music history, each time he dropped a whopper I winced. That was part of my reaction, so it's included here in my comments, but all things considered, it shouldn't be a factor in determining the book's worth-- which is considerable with regard to its core themes.