CRAZY OF NATURAL CAUSES by Monte Dutton is a strangely wondrous novel filled with a cornucopia of surprises. Chance Benford is the protagonist and a strange cat indeed. I'm not sure if he's a good man or merely an opportunist, but I couldn't stop reading about him. His meteoric and unexpected rise as a religious-based, inspirational speaker had a tinge of hucksterism about it, and yet I was swept away by his bold antics. His journey was part Forrest Gump, Horatio Alger with a little bit of Jimmy Swaggert thrown in for good measure.
It' obvious that Dutton is an accomplished writer. He fills these pages with revelation after revelation, mostly about his beloved creation, Chance Benford. The novel veers and sways at times like an old car on a rickety wooden roller coaster, but Dutton somehow manages to keep the plot on track. He riffs and takes us on detours, all the while his novels leads us on biblical goose chases. i found the initial high school football scenes the strongest part of the novel and would have happily read on about high school football in Kentucky. Benford drinks and smokes weed with his players, sleeps with their mothers, calls brilliant trick plays on opponents and chases a celebrated coach off the field when he refuses to shake his hand after a stunning loss. The man has few boundaries.
Soon after getting fired for unbecoming behavior, a car accident and brain injury transform Chance into a new man. He reads the bible while recovering, and a videotape of one of his biblical riffs hits the internet. Thus begins his rise as a motivational speaker/quasi preacher. But his sermons are slippery slopes destined to appease the audience he is speaking to. He never judges, continually falling back on Jesus as Humanist. Bedford continues to smoke weed and drink, and generally does whatever he wants. His intentions always seem honorable in a vague sort of way. I kept thinking that Benford would have made the perfect politician, but even he understands that politics would eventually fail him.
I thoroughly enjoyed following Benford's unique journey. Whatever his motivation, he's a character one cannot take their eyes off of. Dutton obviously loves his star coach and it shows in this novel. He writes with confidence and a sharp eye to the southern experience. A sense of place resonated strongly with me, as did the ambience of the Bible Belt. The state of Kentucky also played a starring role along with Benford. This is an entertaining book that goes off on guitar riffs from time to time, but stick with the concert because the promise is fulfilled.
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