A Book Review of Pat McManus"s "A Fine and Pleasant Misery"
A Fine and Pleasant Misery is a riotous compilation of twenty-seven short stories previously published in Field and Stream, and Outdoor Life magazines.
I felt at home while reading it - like I was with Pat every step of the way.
It seemed as if we had the same childhood experiences - hunting, fishing, camping, and growing up in the wilderness and small communities of the Pacific Northwest Inland Empire.
McManus used a quirky cast of well-developed characters including Crazy Eddie Muldoon (Pat's childhood friend), Gram, Rancid Crabtree (the crusty, lazy, old woodsman), Retch Sweeney (Pat's friend during the adult years), Cousin Buck (who dispenses copious amounts of ill-advised information), The Troll (Pat's much older and annoying sister), and Henry P.
Grogan (owner and huckster of Grogan's War Surplus); with them, he painted humorous dialogues and events.
His explanation of the difference between a "Creek" and a "Crick" is a classic! As my son, Trevor, pointed out, many of these situations draw a parallel to the camping, hunting, and fishing experiences that I graciously foisted upon him during his youth (probably grounds for child abuse).
That's the genius of McManus, he allows us to feel each of his provided experiences as if we were there.
In the words of Rancid Crabtree "gol-dang" this was a fun read! McManus has been writing and publishing humorous short stories for outdoor magazines since the 1970s.
He has written and published sixteen hilarious books about hunting, fishing, camping, and growing up in the rural areas of northern Idaho.
Those books include: A Fine and Pleasant Misery (a pure classic); They Shoot Canoes Don't They; Never Sniff a Gift Fish; The Grasshopper Trap; Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs; Whatchagot Stew; The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw; Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!; The Good Samaritan Strikes Again; How I Got this Way; Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing (my all-time favorite); Never Cry "Arp!"; Kid Camping from Aaiii! To Zip; The Bear in the Attic; The Horse in My Garage; and Kerplunk! Each of these books is made up of twenty to thirty short stories and all are hilarious for those people who appreciate outdoorsman humor.
For the stodgy, staid, or stolid reader, I'd look somewhere else for entertainment.
McManus has also written The Deer on a Bicycle, Excursions into the Writing of Humor; and this account gives excellent advice to would-be humor writers.
Most recently, McManus has completed five books in a new and unusual genre for a humor writer: crime mysteries! These riveting stories feature the manly, but poetic and artistic, fictional character: Sheriff Bo Tully, and they include The Blight Way; Avalanche; The Double-Jack Murders; The Huckleberry Murders (my favorite of this genre), and The Tamarack Murders.
I highly recommend all of Patrick F.
McManus's artistic endeavors.
I felt at home while reading it - like I was with Pat every step of the way.
It seemed as if we had the same childhood experiences - hunting, fishing, camping, and growing up in the wilderness and small communities of the Pacific Northwest Inland Empire.
McManus used a quirky cast of well-developed characters including Crazy Eddie Muldoon (Pat's childhood friend), Gram, Rancid Crabtree (the crusty, lazy, old woodsman), Retch Sweeney (Pat's friend during the adult years), Cousin Buck (who dispenses copious amounts of ill-advised information), The Troll (Pat's much older and annoying sister), and Henry P.
Grogan (owner and huckster of Grogan's War Surplus); with them, he painted humorous dialogues and events.
His explanation of the difference between a "Creek" and a "Crick" is a classic! As my son, Trevor, pointed out, many of these situations draw a parallel to the camping, hunting, and fishing experiences that I graciously foisted upon him during his youth (probably grounds for child abuse).
That's the genius of McManus, he allows us to feel each of his provided experiences as if we were there.
In the words of Rancid Crabtree "gol-dang" this was a fun read! McManus has been writing and publishing humorous short stories for outdoor magazines since the 1970s.
He has written and published sixteen hilarious books about hunting, fishing, camping, and growing up in the rural areas of northern Idaho.
Those books include: A Fine and Pleasant Misery (a pure classic); They Shoot Canoes Don't They; Never Sniff a Gift Fish; The Grasshopper Trap; Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs; Whatchagot Stew; The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw; Real Ponies Don't Go Oink!; The Good Samaritan Strikes Again; How I Got this Way; Into the Twilight, Endlessly Grousing (my all-time favorite); Never Cry "Arp!"; Kid Camping from Aaiii! To Zip; The Bear in the Attic; The Horse in My Garage; and Kerplunk! Each of these books is made up of twenty to thirty short stories and all are hilarious for those people who appreciate outdoorsman humor.
For the stodgy, staid, or stolid reader, I'd look somewhere else for entertainment.
McManus has also written The Deer on a Bicycle, Excursions into the Writing of Humor; and this account gives excellent advice to would-be humor writers.
Most recently, McManus has completed five books in a new and unusual genre for a humor writer: crime mysteries! These riveting stories feature the manly, but poetic and artistic, fictional character: Sheriff Bo Tully, and they include The Blight Way; Avalanche; The Double-Jack Murders; The Huckleberry Murders (my favorite of this genre), and The Tamarack Murders.
I highly recommend all of Patrick F.
McManus's artistic endeavors.
Source...