Loony Book

E. L. Doctorow's Loon Lake is proof that I can completely read a book from start to finish and still have no clue as to what it's about. I know that a character named Joe from Paterson, NJ travels a lot, follows a train, empathizes for a fat woman sex act in a sideshow carnival, and hooks up with one or two women, one of whom was married to a man who gets killed. I don't know exactly what happens to her husband other than something in the union and Joe from Paterson is framed for a time, and I have no idea where the other woman goes.

I also know that Joe from Paterson finds Loon Lake which is for rich people mostly and some guy with initials owns it.

Then there's Warren Penfield who reads Sidhartha, travels the world, and may or may not be rich and may or may not be related to the guy who owns Loon Lake.

Aside from missing the plot, the writing is skillful, thoughtful, and beautiful. Doctorow writes about truth and nature in their raw states. For that reason, I am happy to have read Loon Lake. I've heard it's one of his shorter novels. I think I'd be even more lost in a longer one.