Haywire

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Dogpatch humor is the haywire used to bind together this bizarre
collection of essays, recollections, ramblings, gripes, and anecdotes,
previously published under the title Gopher Tales.

The subject of the book is the author’s struggle with (or perhaps
against) life; the bravado with which he faced poverty; and the gusto
with which he tackled challenges such as starting a stalled car,
learning to play a guitar, shooting a deer, or buying groceries. He
presents a portrait of himself as an unskilled but inventive handyman,
jumping from experience to experience with no greater expectation than
basic survival. The adage “jack of all trades and master of none”
immediately comes to mind.

The setting for most of the book is either the prairies or British
Columbia; the period is probably 1930 to 1980. The atmosphere of poverty
prevails, regardless of subject, location or date. The settings include
logging sites, a zoo, a service station, a prairie homestead, and lots
of dusty, rutted back roads.

The author’s philosophical ponderings (on life, on language, on
trends) account for one small section of the work. It is in this section
that he is at his best and funniest.

The writing style used for the work is that of “just plain folks”
with a vengeance. The heavy use of “barn yard grammar” is contrived
and artificial. The use of vulgar language and crude slang means many
readers will find the work offensive.