Richard Brautigan

Sombrero Fallout

A heartbroken American writer starts a story about an ice-cold sombrero that falls inexplicably from the sky and lands in the centre of a small Southwest town. Devastated by the departure of his gorgeous Japanese girlfriend, he cannot concentrate on his writing and in frustration he throws away his beginning. But as the man searches through his apartment for strands of his lost love's hair, the discarded story in the wastepaper basket - through some kind of elaborate origami - carries on without him. Arguments over the sombrero begin, one thing leads to another and before long all hell breaks loose in the normally sleep town. Brautigan's fertile imagination twists and pulls at the ensuing chaos to come up with a tender, moving, surreal and incredibly funny tale that is told by a writer at the very peak of his creative powers.

A Japanese Novel

Katerina

The master of the absurd… Mr Brautigan, everybody! I thank him for yet another bizarre adventure. This was such a ride. 

Buckle up, here it goes…

“Sombrero Fallout” tells the story of an American humorist (ahem) who starts writing his new novel about a black sombrero falling out of the sky but quickly gives up when he becomes too obsessed with his recent breakup and the thought of finding his Japanese ex-girlfriend’s hair in his small apartment while she, herself, sleeps on the other side of town, dreaming of Kyoto and her dreams are being powered on by the purring of her cat. Yes, this was one hell-of-a-what sentence. One! Now you kind of, very slightly, maybe get the idea. It’s a ride, alright? And there’s so much more. 

While this American writer gets consumed by his jealous rage over whom his ex-girlfriend might be sleeping with, he throws the story of the sombrero in the bin where it continues to write itself. And let me tell you, hell breaks loose in that bin. Who could have thought that a sombrero falling out of the sky might start a war? 

I’ve never laughed this much over a book in my entire life. I cannot comprehend how Brautigan describes such absurd events in such impassive fashion. That damn Tuna chapter made me snort with laughter. 

And to add up to the talent of the author, it felt as if each chapter of this book can easily be a separate short story and still grab you by the throat with the same intensity. 

If high is ecstatic and low is depressed, then “Sombrero Fallout” is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster. It pulls you effortlessly and drags you by the hand through the stories of the three main characters — the humorist, the Japanese ex-lover and, of course, the sombrero. Throughout this crazy ride, you are met with the writer’s suffering, doubt and anxiety, while at the same time you are also being introduced to a witty and profound comedy. Ah, the genius behind this… it can only be praised and admired. 

It’s as if Brautigan is telling us, like Jarvis Cocker put it, that it’s all in our head: the good and the bad. And that we damn well gotta laugh through all of it. 

“Sombrero Fallout” proudly wins its place on my favorite-books-of-all-times bookshelf. It’s perhaps one of the very few I am looking forward to rereading in the future. And, I much agree with the introduction, written by Cocker — if I was ever asked to bring just one book to a deserted island, my pick would be “Sombrero Fallout” without a doubt. ‘Cause it’s got it all — life, as nuts as it seems sometimes, the human mind and it’s torturous tricks and the wisdom to look at it all on the fun side. Bravo!

A heartbroken American writer starts a story about an ice-cold sombrero that falls inexplicably from the sky and lands in the centre of a small Southwest town. Devastated by the departure of his gorgeous Japanese girlfriend, he cannot concentrate on his writing and in frustration he throws away his beginning.But as the man searches through his apartment for strands of his lost love's hair, the discarded story in the wastepaper basket - through some kind of elaborate origami - carries on without him. Arguments over the sombrero begin, one thing leads to another and before long all hell breaks loose in the normally sleep town.Brautigan's fertile imagination twists and pulls at the ensuing chaos to come up with a tender, moving, surreal and incredibly funny tale that is told by a writer at the very peak of his creative powers.

Sombrero Fallout

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