Brad Watson Reading

I have not attended many readings, but this one was excellent. Mr. Watson was able to clearly convey the passion he had for the stories in his reading. He said that this book was the most fun for him to write, and it was evident in the emotion he put into the tone of the characters. I liked that he read us the first couple of paragraphs of his stories because sometimes it feels like the authors try too pick excerpts that will appeal to there audience even though the excerpts may not represent the true theme of the book. Mr. Watson choosing to read the first couple of paragraphs gave a a feel for the mood and themes of his writing. He basically said "This is what the book is like, and I hope you like it. If not, oh well."
I really do not understand why the critics did not see the humor in his writing. Thinking back on the imagery from a few of the scenes I am still laughing out loud. One image I cannot get out of my head is the scene where the young boys are staring slack-jawed at their mother who is yelling about being under-appreciated. If it was a movie I can imagine the scene as the camera cuts back and forth from the mother yelling to the children hearing only the vacuum. His humor is not something you would find in today's pop culture that is obsessed with cheesy comedy and dick jokes. It is dry and very grotesque. Even his story about his meeting with the doctor made me laugh out loud. I knew I should not be laughing at a baby being torn apart, but the idea that the doctor was telling them the story three days before she was due was just so absurd that I could not help it. I plan to buy the book once it is out on paperback (cant afford new hard-covers on a student income) and hopefully I can send it to his office at the University of Wyoming for an autograph since I missed it this time.