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Captain Saturday by Robert Inman Recommendation: ••
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Stormy Weather Raleigh TV weatherman Will Baggett seems to lead an idyllic life until one day, things began to fall apart. Robert Inman’s new novel, Captain Saturday, presents in 450 pages of mediocre writing, the unraveling of Baggett’s life and the steps Baggett takes to put together a new life. Flashbacks help readers understand Baggett’s early life and how his character was formed. In Inman’s hands, Baggett always seems cartoon-like and incomplete. Some other characters are better developed, but the protagonist remains a work-in-progress throughout the novel. Stories of loss and recovery are plentiful, and many classics are far better presented than Captain Saturday. What Inman delivers is a setting in the New South, with some characters that embody Southern living. Some characters actually care for each other, and it shows. Despite abundant slapstick moments, Inman presents occasional insights, and the Baggett’s journey toward redemption has poignant moments. Most of the writing, though, leaves a reader wincing, and at least two hundred pages could have been cut without much loss. Here’s an excerpt: “He didn’t notice the police car until he pulled into the parking lot at Channel Seven. It was perhaps a hundred yards behind him, blue lights flashing. He was out of his own car and heading toward the front door of the station when the squad car pulled up behind him and an officer scrambled out. ‘Hey,’ he called to Will. ‘Hey!’ Will stopped and turned back. ‘You just ran a red light.’ Will glanced at his watch. Two minutes before two. ‘I’ll be right back,’ he said, and kept walking. ‘Hey!’ the officer called, more insistent this time. ‘Stop right there.’ Will spun. ‘Do you know me?’ ‘Yeah. You’re the guy that just ran a red light.’ Will pointed toward the second floor of the Channel Seven building. ‘Look, if I’m not up there in two minutes, I’m gonna lose fifty thousand dollars. You can wait in the lobby, I’ll be right back. I didn’t run a red light, but we’ll get it straightened out.’ Will was at the front door now, and as he opened it, he could see the reflection of the police officer in the glass, reaching for something on the dashboard of the squad car. He wondered fleetingly if the man was about to shotgun him in the back. Then he was through the door, crossing the lobby, glancing quickly at the desk where Dinkins usually sat. Empty. The whole station, open to terrorist attack.” If that’s your idea of decent dialogue, you may enjoy Captain Saturday more than I did, presuming you don’t object too strongly to phrases like “shotgun him in the back.” So many verbs, so little need for them. By the final fifty pages or so, I started to like Will Baggett, and was well prepared to close the book at its ending. The journey getting there had a bit more pain than pleasure. Steve Hopkins, March 6, 2002
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