Wild Bill; French Exit

I really liked "Dodge City" by Tom Clavin, so I was excited for his biography about Wild Bill Hickok. It was a little disappointing, actually. I can't exactly pinpoint why. There were moments I really enjoyed, Clavin's writing style is fun, and even though it was a subject I was interested in, it just didn't hold my attention. James Hickok (who knows where "Bill" came from, nicknames in the Old West often didn't make sense) fought in the Civil War, fought Indians, was a peace officer, and when it became clear the Old West was disappearing he joined up with his friend Buffalo Bill Cody and joined his wild west show. He hated it and quit, moving to Deadwood, where he spent his final days gambling. He was killed by a coward who approached him from behind and fired a shot, not giving Wild Bill a chance. It was a sad way for him to go out.

I really loved "Undermajordojo Minor" and "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick DeWitt, so I was looking forward to this one, too, and again, really disappointed. I know why with this one: it was just thin. The characters weren't very well fleshed out, the story wasn't executed very well. It was a great premise: Frances has lost her fortune through willful neglect. Her friend Joan offers her use of her Paris apartment, since Frances and her son Malcolm are being kicked out of their Manhattan penthouse. They take her up on it, sell everything that isn't nailed down, and sail for France. In France they meet several curious characters and have some strange things happen to them and then it ends (I don't want to spoil it, but the ending was predictable). At least it was a quick read, so I didn't feel like I wasted too much time.