Snapper - Brian Kimberling

I found this book a little disconcerting, as I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, but came away unsure what it had been about. The writing was captivating and full of humorous observations, with a believable and likeable central character, and lots of atmospheric detail about the Indiana setting. The book was written as a collection of episodes from various times in one man's life, but as his approach to life was mostly passive and reactive, and the anecdotes often focused on apparent trivia while only mentioning major life-changing events in passing, it didn't ever coalesce into a conventional novel. I don't think that this was a weakness, however; instead it felt like an accurate reflection of how arbitrary and chaotic life can often appear when compared to the neat and meaningful narrative arcs of fiction, and how the things and people that capture our attention are not necessarily the ones that will appear significant in hindsight.