Feast Day of Fools

A Novel

By: James Lee Burke

Narrated by: Will Patton

Winner of the 2012 Audie Award for Mystery

The critically acclaimed thirtieth entry from New York Times bestselling author James Lee Burke, featuring Texas Sheriff Hackberry Holland in an epic tale that is equal parts thriller, Western, and literary masterpiece.

James Lee Burke returns to the Texas border town of his bestseller Rain Gods, where a serial killer presumed dead is very much alive…and where sheriff Hackberry Holland, now a widower, fights for survival—his own, and of the citizens he’s sworn to protect.

When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert, Hackberry’s investigation leads him to Anton Ling, a mysterious Chinese woman known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies any knowledge of the attack, but something in her aristocratic beauty seduces Hack into overlooking that she is as dangerous as the men she harbors. And when soulless Preacher Jack Collins reemerges, the cold-blooded killer may prove invaluable to Hackberry. This time, he and the Preacher have a common enemy.

Oooph...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe - very violent.

What did you like best about this story?

Burke's descriptive prose.

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

Everything but there were MANY characters and some sounded like others.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The violence was very hard to stomach.

Any additional comments?

I’ve been a fan of James Lee Burke for over 20 years. I’ve read every one of his books once and a lot of them 2-3 times. I can’t pick a favorite because there are too many really good ones. Feast Day of Fools is the first one I almost didn’t finish. I know, I know…all the critics named it his very best work and raved on about his writing brilliance. But this book is UN-RE-LENT-LESS graphic violence, from being buried alive to crucifixion and then burning, to hands and feet chopped off, and on and on. When the crucifixion happened, I shut my iPod off and walked away, sick to my stomach. I had no intention of finishing it but of course I did because it was Burke. Hackberry is no longer a sympathetic character and Pam is just annoying. I can’t give away the ending but at the end all I felt was that the book was gratuitous violence without achieving anything. Bodies drop like flies. I hope Burke doesn’t do this to the next Dave book. It IS beautifully written but it takes a strong stomach to get through it.

A tome well worth the listen

This is perhaps James Burke's finest work to date. The listener cannot get visually closer to Burke's descriptions. His lyrical gift flows like a river and his dialogue is as real and clever as they come. The story takes a while to unravel, but the pace is terrific and worth the wait. There are so many well developed characters here that skillfully mixes the bad that men do with the good that we are given people whose individual spectrums run the gamut. It is about the paradoxes within alll of us and the range of colors humans manifest.

That sums it up-color-color in character, color in storyline, color in dialogue and narrative. More different bad guys with different agendas than you can imagine all played out against the western skies. They're after the same guy for very different reasons. Artfully complex but skillfully presented to easily follow.

Perfect pairing

As many have already written for this book and others, Burke's prose and Patton's reading make a perfect pairing. There is no reader at Audible I like more than Will Patton, in spite of his Russian accent that is even worse than Star Trek's Chekov. I listen to Burke's books multiple times, sometimes oblivious to the plot and just simmering in the imagery and sound.

There is a generous supply of bad guys in this book. At first it seems like too many bad guys, but Burke manages to make them all interesting.

I love Hackberry Holland!

Will Patton does a great job with all these voices. It's a little incredible that Sheriff Holland can do the things he does at his advanced age, but Patton brings this flawed man to life and makes you care about him and his deputy, love-struck Pam Tibbs. He also gives an interesting voice to arch-enemy Preacher Jack Collins, and convincingly puts the 3 on the same team, albeit briefly. The pace is slow at times, but the story engaging, and the characters worth knowing.

Escapism with spiritualism

Would you listen to Feast Day of Fools again? Why?

I would listen again to nearly anything read, for me, by Will Patton.

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

Will Patton gives individual voice to each character in the story, with just the right nuance and emphasis.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Mr. Burke is a master at varying the pace and rhythm of his narrative, so that you rock along enjoying the ambience and then are shocked and compelled when action and sometimes violence occurs.

Any additional comments?

The voice of the reader is a deal-breaker for any audiobook. Will Patton is the best there I've ever found.