Jack Kolb - It Will Take All the King's Men to Read This Book!

     As one traverses alongside Jack, to the unfamiliar mind a great deal of slang, literary styles, and habits particular to the South interrupt the engaging flow of the story, forcing the reader to puzzle over their meaning, causing two learning experiences for the reader: one of the eternal infusion of corruption in politics, and another a mastery in decryptography.

     The first and foremost southern idiosyncrasy is the use of obscure, bizarre, and creative similes to aid powerful imagery throughout the book, present in most every situation.

..like a surprised custard pie with a hole scooped in the middle of the meringue.. (Page 130)

..the grin was about as convincing as cold chicken broth in a boarding house.. (Page 172)

..like some window-plant in an invalid's room, grown out of a bottle.. (Page 225) 

     Another literary theme in the narrative, less exclusive to the South but wonderfully used in the book, are the myriad of small phrases of imagery that fully describe the world with minimal use of words. Whether Warren's stellar use of effective miniature descriptions is unique to the book or a common expertise in Southern literature, it is an impressive and notable idiosyncrasy that seems uncommon in modern Western literature.

"The slow withering of the green wisp of dream"
"tow-headed snots"
"breathless monotony
"looked like water, smelled like kerosene, and tasted like carbolic acid: one-run corn whisky"
"the pulsing sunset world of April"

     A third Southern-ism is the unique combination of formal and informal language. Many cringe at thought or remembrance of reading All the King's Men, perhaps for this very reason. It appears that Warren wrote his masterpiece without thinking of the intended audience, his day-by-day moods and attitudes reflected in the different styles of writing present, causing a reader unaccustomed to advanced literature to struggle with harder sections, and advanced readers to puzzle over the more basic and slang-ridden sections of the narrative. Without an intended audience, a specific "reading difficulty" label can not be placed on this book, and perhaps many others by Southern authors, as unlike Dickens or Dr. Seuss this book provides challenges for both parties.

     It is always interesting to seek and spot the small habits of authors, and notice the little repeated patterns present throughout the piece as intricate and beautiful as this. As the story unfolds further, I will certainly be watching out for the small minute details -often overlooked- that reveal the true beauty of a book, and literature as a whole.