In reading Son of Mr. Green Jeans, I am reminded of Kathryn Chetkovich’s Envy, when she reads “those pages of his I wished I had written.” I wish I wrote this: it’s brilliant. Seemingly random, fully independent snippets mesh together ingeniously to create a cohesive whole. Moore leaves us with a unique, nuanced look at absent fathers. And I always admire a writer who can do justice to a serious matter while maintaining his sense of humor.
When it comes to writing, I am absolutely incapable of pre-planning anything. I find outlines and lists useless; structure only makes me want to rebel. So I wonder how Moore approached writing this: did he start out with a general topic and just begin writing? Was the patterning of this story just lucky circumstance, or is it artfully arranged? Did he know each topic he would touch upon beforehand?
Whatever my writer envy, at least we both like Leave It To Beaver references.
