I bought a copy of “Back To Blood,” the great one’s newest. Gave up 15 or 20 pages into the first chapter. Why? This parody from The Guardian, purporting to sum up the novel in 400 words, pretty much says it all. Excerpt:

 SMACK. Thadaboom. SMACK. Thahadaboom. The Safe Boat thadathunks its foam-filled fu**ery across Miami – MEEE-AH-MEE – bay. “Dere’s a fu**in’ Wetfoot at da top a dat fu**in’ mast a dat boat,” yelled Sergeant Kite. Officer Nestor Camacho rolled up his sleeves. His biceps were ripped. Taut. :::: What the f**k was he doing thinking like this inside this crazy, mashed-up punctuation? :::: Tappetytaptappetytaptaptap. KER-CHING! Tom couldn’t believe his luck. $10,000 per page to write on steroids. :::: Like taking candy from babies. That’s America, baby ::::

Somebody please tell me I bailed on this book too soon. I love Tom Wolfe. I spent cash money on this book. But I can’t find the wherewithal to push on through. Is it just me, and my usual difficulty sticking with fiction, or is the Wolfe book just not that good?