Joe Starling left the family ranch in Montana to become an artist based on his misinterpretation of a painting of hills he’d seen as a boy on the wall of a house. He achieved minimal success painting and lived partially off the land lease payments from the ranch. He tried commercial art in New York City until “he knew he couldn’t stand one more liaison with someone with irons in the fire.” He moved to Florida and met Astrid, a Cuban woman. When the lease payments stop coming he steals Astrid’s car and drives home to see what’s up.

This begins Joe’s effort to run the ranch. His various pasts collide as he tries to claim the ranch from his conniving uncle and aunt, he is led to believe by an old fling that he’s a father, and Astrid comes to Montana. Thomas McGuane’s writing and portrayal of Joe’s odyssey is, as always, brilliant, humorous and beautiful as the country he describes. ( )

Typical McGuane. Set on ranches, with people who know how to look after steers, and unsentimental descriptions of horses and dogs, in a world where ranching is not a way to make a good living, with awkward men and admirable women, and impending financial doom. McGuane is great. ( )

This is the story of Joe Starling, Jr., who inherits the ranch in Montana after a short and spotty career in art and illustration. He finds Astrid, a woman from Miami, dallies briefly with Ellen, a girl from his youth, and finally signs the ranch over to Billy, who is married to Ellen.

This story is spare, given over to Montana-speak (like Kent Haruf, only without the depth of emotion or impressive characterization or poetry). Our hero's mood swings are sudden and uneven and sometimes mysterious. I think McGuane wanted to place Joe's emotional state in a family context, but I began shortly to wonder what was the point. And concurrently I quit caring.

I saw this book reviewed as an "epic," and that's just mistaken. I often have a hard time with prose that poses as "spare in the service of a stark story," because so often it's mishandled just enough to make motivation completely mysterious. That, I'm afraid, afflicts this book.

http://bassoprofundo1.blogspot.com/2010/07/keep-change-by-thomas-mcguane.html ( )

L'homme qui avait perdu son nom raconte l'histoire d'un jeune peintre brillant, né dans les plaines du Montana et qui, bien qu'il n'y ait jamais vécu, y voit un idéal où s'est forgé son père idéalisé. Après s'être perdu dans les excès des années 70, Joe Starling, se souvient de cette terre idéale et décide de s'y ressourcer en redevenant le cow-boy qu'il a tenté d'être à 18 ans.

Etrange histoire de retour à la prairie où l'on ne croise ni retour, ni prairie. Le retour à la terre comme moyen de retrouver ses racines et s'éloigner des excès des années 70. Un livre ironique et critique, où ni la tradition ni les excès de la modernité ne semblent trouver gré aux yeux de l'auteur. Le héros ne parvient même pas à se rattacher à ses souvenirs ou à ses amours. Même le Montana n'est plus le pays idéal pour rien. Désabusé.

Reste que les personnages ne convainquent pas et que cette histoire très découpée, très hachée, ne trouve pas d'équilibre en passant d'un idéal à un autre. L'auteur n'a pas perdu que le nom de son personnage, il a aussi perdu le sens de son histoire. ( )