Bermuda Shorts - James J. Patterson

Synopsis:
In clothing, Bermuda Shorts are a kind of casual formal wear – and in this collection of essays, Bermuda Shorts is the perfect metaphor for James J. Patterson’s fundamentally serious but playful literary style. Patterson writes like the love child of Henry Miller and Mary Karr, with all the contradictions that implies — a philosopher who thinks best over a glass of fine wine; an ex-Catholic still haunted by the image of the Crucifixion; an irreverent political satirist whose patriotism flies the flag of another iconoclast, Thomas Paine. Patterson grew up with a foot planted in each of two worlds — one in Washington DC, the Capital of the Empire as he calls it, where the wheels of power spin, and one in rural Ontario, where his Canadian mother insisted the family spend their summers. His father, one of the wizards of twentieth century newspaper publishing, introduced him to the city’s wheels of money and power, which he would later navigate as an entrepreneur, starting his first business at 20. But those Canadian summers introduced him to a different world – one where a cedar strip boat was better than any car, and where the ghosts of those who'd previously inhabited the family’s island house floated out over the water of Lovesick Lake. It is those two worlds that blend in this collection, in reflections both serious and playful, on what it means to be a man, an artist, an iconoclast, a patriot, a lover, as the 20th century rolls over into the 21st.


Author Bio:
A life long student of history, philosophy and politics, Patterson has managed country bands, delivered newspapers, adapted Sherlock Holmes short stories for radio plays, and published a highly regarded sports magazine. As a singer-songwriter, Patterson was half of the political satire folk music duo, The Pheromones, one of the first acts to be featured on MTV. With the Pheromones, he toured the US for over fifteen years.


©2010


My Opinion:
There were parts I really liked, and others I found redundant. Let's start with redundant things and get the ugliness out of the way. There were three times in the book where it was not a short story, but only a title. While I enjoyed reading a clear headline, I was disappointed to turn the page and find another headline. There could have been something, anything.
For the good parts, there were two clear moments in the book I connected with enough to really absorb. They were That Was Then, This Is The Pheromones and The Myth Of The Casual Fan. I really must say, being a "Die-Hard" Hockey fan, the latter of the two really hit home for me. It was a great short, and one I am to share with other "Die-Hards" such as myself.
Not for everyone, you really have to be a short story fan to appreciate the work.

2.5/5


~I received a copy from LibraryThing. I was not compensated for my opinion.~