Books: Buffalo Lockjaw

Buffalo Lockjaw by Greg Ames


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the best book I’ve read all year. I kind of wish I’d read this in December so that this statement would carry more weight. Alas, it is only January, but I really think that this statement will hold up for the rest of the year. Yes, it’s that good.
There is such an obvious love for the hometown that comes out in the writing, coupled with the cold reality of facing a parent’s dementia. It is so well-done and observant (without being too cute or too clever) that it is a pleasure to read.
Buffalo Lockjaw’s main character and narrator is James Fitzroy, a near-30 year old who writes verses for a greeting card company in New York. His life, as it is, is probably not the success which all parent’s hope for, or sacrifice their own lives for. He is spending his Thanksgiving break visiting his parents in Buffalo.

His mother, Ellen, is 56 years old and is suffering from a crippling dementia: she does not even know who James is anymore. His father is Rodney, who is stern and strong while dealing with his wife’s mental disintegration, but James knows that it is killing him inside. This is a story that for many may hit close to home. James’ love of his hometown, the obvious love that the author has for it, struck a chord with me. I understand what it is like to love something even when it is completely fucked up and in many ways, hard to defend. The fact that James/Ames can find the beauty in Buffalo and its people is one of the most endearing qualities of this book. His parents are unavailable, and for James, seeing his mother, the woman he loves and respects who spent years helping people now in such a helpless position, fuels his desire to try to seek a way out for her.

None of this feels phony. Every step of this journey toward middle age, and adulthood feels real, and that is what makes this such a satisfying read. I think any adult with living parents could identify with the perils of trying to relate to them on an mature level, especially the children of this generation (28-35). There is no World War 2 or Great Depression to define what this generation is, but Buffalo Lockjaw seems to suggest that it is more defined by a sort of slouching response to everything. Our occupations are meaningless (Greeting Card writing being a wonderful metaphor and foil for the more serious work of nursing that James’ mother had done), and no one is counting on us to save the world. And if anyone is, God help them.
Buffalo Lockjaw is a love story for a hometown and I loved reading it. I look forward to whatever Greg Ames writes next.

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