not something i would normally pick up. i've been scouring the library by publisher and have been working on the 'two dollar radio' catalog. a fun/ny tale of the old west...

This acid western has it all, medicine men, psychedelic trips, piles and piles of violence and bodies, unsavory people, what might be a witch, barroom brawls, sinking schooners, and so much more. It’s a very American book about cycles of repeating violence, sensationalism, identity, and the shifting tide of history which just jumbles everything up and watches it resettle into the almost identical patterns it was in before. The writing is crisp and evocative, Wurlitzer never spends too much time in one place or one situation but you leave each scene with a strong visual sense of the time, place, and characters. It’s funny, especially if you’re a fan of westerns or have an understanding of western tropes and stereotypes. The lead character, Zebulon Shook, is despicable but heroic with his own sense of morality, a perfect anti-hero. The story is broken down into small sections which helps the story clip along and cover a lot of ground in very little time—and I do mean a lot of ground, from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, to San Fran, to Oregon. This is a really great book, a fantastic read for anyone with even a remote soft spot for westerns or for the neo-westerns that have become popular (Dead Man, El Topo, etc), or for those who like a little casual psychedelia with their story-telling. Two huge thumbs up from me on this one. -

2nd read:
Still love it. Might read it again next year too. Great companion piece to the Monte Hellman film, "The Shooting." as well as Jarmusch's reinterpretation of the story in "Dead Man."

I really wanted this book to be good but it let me down. I am a huge fan of McCarthy and Denis Johnson, so this should have been in my wheelhouse. The beginning and end were fun, but the middle was a slog. Not a book I would recommend to everyone.

A true acid western book. More western-y than acid-y but weaves oddness throughout it. Also what kind of name is Zebulon?

Though better than Western novel chaff, this is more a simulacrum of a John Ford movie. While most the stock characters on the 'coaster remain two dimensional, the ride is rollicking and hysterical.

Solid 3.5, really enjoyed it. Tough to read anything set in this time period after Blood Meridian. Fans of Jim Jarmusch may be interested in a Wurlitzer interview where he and Alex Cox claim Jarmusch ripped a bunch of stuff off for Dead Man:
http://www.joereifer.com/words/?p=543

The book description is basically all one needs know about this book. Wurlitzer is a fine writer and this book goes down pretty easily. Unfortunately (for "Drop Edge of Yonder," not me) I pretty recently read "The Sisters Brothers" which hit all the same beats this book did but better. Hatchet Jack and Delilah were really the only characters who held much interest for me with Zebulon's dad's single scene being a high point as well. I'm not angry with the time that I spent with "Yonder" but there wasn't much to recommend it either.
It's fine but on a list of like books, see the other sights first

3.5 stars. Existential, transcendental, mythic, mystic, "Acid" Western that is considered the basis for Jim Jarmusch's DEAD MAN with Johnny Depp. Some good stuff, but not to everyone's tastes. Wurlitzer (probably rightfully) casts the settlement of the American west in post-apocalyptic prose.