A slim book of 190 pages, Norwood is Charles Portis's first novel, published in 1966. The main character is Norwood Pratt, an ex-marine who lives with his sister, Vernell, in Ralph, Texas.He likes country & western music, drives a 1947 Chevy Fleetline "with dirt dobber nests in the heater," and uses shaving cream to soothe his bruises.
One night he came home from work and said, "I'm tard of working at that station, Vernell."
"What's wrong, bubba?"
When he heads up to New York to collect a debt, he gets the boots stolen right off his feet. When he returns home with a hat-wearing chicken and a girl he fell in love with on the bus, he is met by Grady Fring the Kredit King, who warns him:
"Don't let your mouth write a check that your ass can't cash, son."
Populated with nutty characters, page after page of goofy dialogue, and so much trivial detail that it's almost campy, Norwood is a rare comic treat.
