The joke gets old, but Wigfield is ok. ( )

I was really shocked to see the amount of hate this book gets! I thought it would be funny, occasionally thoughtful, and definitely a good time. And it was so much more than that! The characters in the town are so well drawn. There are moments where the satire is powerful, and feels important, but it is done with nuance and without pushing perspectives on the reader (or, maybe I just agree with them more often than I disagree, one of the two).

I read the book and then listened to the audiobook, which is read by the authors, and is even better. It is unclear to me what people would want in this book besides exactly what it is. It's no Moby Dick. But is Moby Dick even Moby Dick? ( )

This is the first novel of one R. T. Hokes. A man in search of a book deal, he wanders the countryside looking for a small town that will encapsulate the American Dream. The town he eventually settles on is Wigfield, an unincorporated group of squatters living in an empty riverbed under a giant dam. Wigfield is basically a shantytown whose primary businesses are gentlemen's clubs, used auto parts lots, and morgues. Mr. Hokes finds the people welcoming and the story of the dam's imminent destruction a perfect hook for his book. Filled with colorful interviews of the town's unique inhabitants, this book is pretty funny and an easy read. Much recommended. ( )

Love the authors. Didn't love this project. ( )

We bought this audiobook on the chance that it would keep us entertained during some long drives. I remember chuckling at a few jokes near the beginning, but we soon became bogged down in the one-trick-pony nature of this humor. If you like Colbert-style humor simply because it is Colbert-style humor, you might enjoy this, but for us, this was just too repetitive. By the time we'd met the tenth samey redneck character, we'd gotten the point. Enough already. ( )