June 4

Pages of Ninety-Two in the Shade read today: 59 (with more to come before bed, I hope)

A paltry number, I know. But in my defense, these pages are long and filled with teeny tiny type. Also, I worked on and off all day with Rob trying to get the pool set up. And am still contending with the gaping, painful hole in my mouth.

But I still managed a little time with Ninety-Two in the Shade. McGuane is an amazing writer, but he is not one that can be taken lightly. His prose is serious, and even when it is funny, it is seriously funny. I have loved every minute of every McGuane book I have read (Nothing But Blue Skies, The Bushwhacked Piano, The Cadence of Grass, The Sporting Club), and am impressed by his amazing command of our language, his nuance and humor, and the chords he finds in even his most despicable characters that ring common to me.

Ninety-Two in the Shade is the story of Thomas Skelton, a born loser who returns home to Key West after a misspent youth away. Skelton decides to hire himself out as a fishing guide and invokes the ire of Nichol Dance, a rival guide with a penchant for homicide.

I am about halfway done with the book, and I can say with certainty that the dance these two madmen engage in is equal parts hilarious and terrifying.

I expect to be up late with my book light on tonight, kiddos.