Remember how in February I was dying to get my hands on David Duchovny’s last book Truly Like Lightning? Well, I did, and I read it and … there is no reason to beat it around the bush this is my least favourite of his books, and this includes Holy Cow.
What is it about? I’m not sure how much how to tell you without divulging too much, because apparently there will be a movie based on it. But I will give it a try.
This book, up to a point, is David Duchovny’s wet dream of being able to love all the important women in his life without them being jealous of each other, without him being considered a cheater and without being labeled as a womanizer. His solution was to project himself onto a character that is a Mormon. And because the book events happen in current day and age, when polygamy is frowned upon, this Mormon happens to inherit a huge, isolated piece of land where he can … live with his Mormon family in the Mormon way. And because in the middle of nature you have to be pretty able to grow your own food, or hunt it, his main character is morphed into this Mormon very able bodied cowboy.
You know how in 50 shades of Grey, all the men seem to fancy Ana? Well, all women in this book seem to fancy Bronson, the main character, the Mornom Cowboy. How do I know David Duchovny projected himself on this character? Because one of the characters makes an observation I made about David Duchovny when I first saw him on stage, in Amsterdam, in 2016. Sample:
Yup, David Duchovny has great strong arms, that are not quite proportional to the rest of his body. Impressive taken by themselves, but they look pretty weird when you take him as a whole. At least for me, because I have a thing about proportions.
Anyway, one of the female characters notices that the Mormon Cowboy has really strong and bulked up arms and she is turned on by this. Also, the same character is fascinated by how handsome this rugged man in his 50’s is.
Well, if I was to make the imagination exercise and put David Duchovny in Bronson’s shoes… well booths, since I’ve met him twice, I can agree with the character he is. He really is handsome, despite his disproportionate arms. (hi hi!)
As for the book – it is well written. It does a good job at presenting the downside of both worlds, the modern one and the little rural, isolated, sanitized one. I think some of the characters could have been developed a little bit more. Reading this book as an atheist, makes me despise religion even more, and makes me despise the people willing to indoctrinate children that are unable to discern right from wrong even more. The clash between those worlds it cathartic and without resolve. There is no conclusion, because there cannot be. There is no way for any world to win, to be declared better than the other. At the end of the book, the characters are in disarray, as they should be. There is no character growth for anybody, except a single character that decides to stop kissing her boss’s ass and take off for another city, another career.
It was a good, quick read, but it hasn’t moved me as much as Bucky Fucking Dent. Should you read it? Depends on what you usually read and if this entry has made you curious, go for it. Reading anything is better than not reading after all.
I really wish my review could have been filled with appreciative attributes like fantastic, incredible, mesmerizing and moving, but I really cannot describe this book that way. I am no literary critic, but this book is just … plain.
Stay safe, stay happy!
