Strange Peaches

by Edwin Shrake

Book Overview

A TV western star quits his successful series and returns to Dallas to make a documentary film that reveals the truth about his home town. His quest forces him to learn if he is capable of using his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877190763
• ISBN13: 9780877190769
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Texas Monthly Press
• Length: 375 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Texas Mad Dog Fiction at Its Best

Bud Shrake, the elite SI bonus writer of the 60s and 70s, dipped his toe into fiction with STRANGE PEACHES in 1972. Set in Dallas in November 1963, the book chronicles the party days and nights of John Lee Wallace, local Texas boy made good in Hollywood, but distraught about the hypocrisy of life. Like the drinks his characters are always carrying, Shrake attempts to combine 2/3s comedy with 1/3 tragedy. John Lee and his buddie Buster seemingly interact with the whole of Dallas, from famous to imfamous. They know Jack Ruby as a loud mouth owner of a strip bar, accidently film the Kennedy assassination, and then have the proof eaten by a goat. The strength of the book is capturing the selfishness of the era. Rarely have more self-absorbed characters been put on print. The fun of the book is identifying the real life parallels. John Lee is Shrake himself. Buster is Gary Cartwright. Jingo, the star stripper, is the Jago, Ruby's star attraction. Big Earl and Little Earl are H.L. Hunt and Hassie Hunt. Clint Murchison, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys' QB Don Meredith, Shrake's literary twin Dan Jenkins, and North Dallas Forty author Peter Gent all show up in various incarnations. The major weakness of the book is an absurd ending, one that suggests Shrake himself was getting tired of writing and had to figure out some way to end the mess.

Less than the legend suggests

I was eager to read Strange Peaches after seeing quotes about how it hits the mark with its portrayal of Dallas at the time of President Kennedy's assassination. The first two-thirds of the book detail hard partying by a group of dysfunctional Texans. I suppose this was considered daring at the time, but it quickly turned mundane. The final portion was plagued by a rush to reach a conclusion. But the ending made no sense in the context of offering a snapshot of Dallas. In fact, it just seemed silly. I was disappointed and will approach any further investigation of the famous 1960s Texas literary scene with skepticism.

strange Peaches

This is an excellent novel, well written, historically correct and extremely interesting. I love Bud Shrake's writing from an English Lit course I took in college. I recommend this novel. MJSUNBEAM