In fact, I can’t remember ever devouring a book this quickly. And, even if I hadn’t been flying, for some time off, I still would have put everything non-urgent aside and just read through it. Michael Amon’s debut book Blinders is a must read, if you love to be captivated by the first sentence onward… Simple, easy, no frills, “Trilby saw her before she saw him.”
Blinders, if you don’t know, are people who taste wine blindly, and then go on to name 1) wine grape variety, 2) year produced, and 3) wine brand producer. The ideal of sommeliers, then imagine a bumpkin in a pumpkin patch. Now, you’re on your way to an exuberantly lively and amusing great time.
Pomposity is a strange bedfellow, isn’t it? I’ve quietly enjoyed it for a long time. In fact, once I had realized how much of it exists in the world of wine, I wrote Road Warrior Survival Guide. It’s a story that reveals all of the kookie behaviors I’ve witnessed on the road, most especially, at wine events. Originally published in Wine Business Monthly, my favorite tidbit is this one:
Mrs. I Think I Know So Much, but I’m Proving I Know So little ~ This overly dressed woman, reeking of perfume, stepped up to the bar, once upon a time. She looked at me, by slightly cocking while dropping her head a tad to the right, so she could see over her glasses and said, “I’ll have your Cab Saaaauv.” She was also tapping on the tasting menu, tap tap tap, with a red manicured, pointy index fingernail. Oooo, “So sophisticated, and me just a barmaid,” I thought to myself. I turned my back to get the bottle of wine, because I didn’t want her to see me giggling, then straight-facedly turned back to her and poured the wine Cabernet, keeping my composure.
Now, picture this person as part of an audience, bidding on those who are going to blind taste a perfect score of 24, and you’re seeing a background element of this story… but it’s not the audience who’s revealed in Michael Amon’s adventure… I’m setting up an obscure backdrop, which adds a flavor of deliciousness to Michael’s Amon’s book. Without the audience, there would be no Blinders; Supply and Demand, being what it is…
Blinders… Twists and turn I could see coming (as how I would write something like this); however, the twist at the end is masterfully executed and totally shocked me… as intended, I would imagine.
Kirkus Reviews: “Debut novelist Amon brings plenty of Pulp-Fiction-style punch to this rollicking story of wine-snob grifters.”
Yeah, I’m not the only one to see this as an excellent read. Love a great book? Got a wine library of the wine-book kind, or know someone with a great wine book library? Run, don’t walk to your favorite book store. Better yet, go on line and buy it with a rush order placement. You’re in for a skillfully written ride.
Recent Comments