A Feast of Snakes: A Novel

Poorly printed book, not worth £10.99. Listing should say this is 'Printed in Great Britain by Amazon' (these words appear on the last page and as therefore missed by the 'look inside' view). So not manufactured in the USA as shown in the 'look inside' view on the publishing information page?Amazon - this quality of printing reflects very poorly on you and ruins the book reading experience. I can only assume you are trying to drive people to kindle. If you must produce books of this quality at least mention it in the listing and charge a fair price, say £1.99. I would pay extra for an above average print quality by the way.Wouldn't have bought it if the listing had been honest.

"The annual rattlesnake round-up in Mystic, Georgia bears no relation to 'Whacking Day' in The Simpsons at all! As the thousands turn-up to take part and watch, by the day of the actual hunt, you know it'll have all gone horribly wrong. Throw a handful of good 'ol boys and their women, moonshine and whisky, fighting dogs, diamondbacks and the return of the prodigal cheer-leader queen into the mix and you have a heady brew that will burst from its bottle in a flash. At the centre of this is Joe Lon Mackey, a former footballer who didn't get the grades to go to further, stuck in a trailer with his fading wife, two babies, and with nothing to do except mind his father's liquor store, misses his former girl Berenice the cheerleader, and finds himself taking it out on everyone ...It's tragedy in the making, and the writing is brutal, visceral, yet not without a wicked sense of humour in the caricature of the characters. No words are wasted in this cinematic novel of murder and mayhem, and the tension builds and builds until it finally explodes in an stunning ending that will shake you to the core."

This book came as recommended for me. If i'd known it was only 177 pages i may not have bothered. It was more than i would normally pay for a paperbqck too. I am so glad i bought it! A great read, and quite horrific. Yes you guess the worst charqcter will get his comeuppance, and it makes you want to cheer when it happens. I didn't realise how long ago it was written, why have i never heard of it before i can't fathom. It should be made into a film, it reminded me of an southern american whicker man in some ways. Buy it, read it, recommend it!

I really like Harry Crews stuff. I got this one after reading 'Car' and 'The Gypsies Curse' and loved it just as much. It's dark and violent and very enjoyable.

Of the several Harry Crews books I've read so far, 'A Feast of Snakes' is my favourite. It conjures up a view of the South that is both very real & yet unreal. He captures the feel of the south superbly, the prose is lyrical and makes you feel that you are there, experiencing the action like you can really smell it. While the Northern States may have been rich in culture it was in the South that Story-telling became a way of life and an integral part of life; Harry Crews is a master story teller.