one of my all–time favorite authors

Robert Rankin is one of my all–time favorite authors. He can, pretty consistently, make me laugh out loud while I’m reading his stuff. I stumbled upon his work when I was in England, several years ago, and I always try to pick up his recent material when I can. There’s something that a post–modern English author, perhaps it’s a world–view, perhaps it’s a sense of the absurd from a truly absurdist point of view, perhaps it’s from all living on a small island for so long, or maybe this guy is just a true comic genius, but his work never ceases to amaze and delight me. Of course, there’s a catch, and I suppose one of the most endearing qualities about his work is that it’s got local color in it. It’s just shot through and through with references to local events and that quaint British way of punctuating and spelling. That local flavor accounts for one of the reasons Rankin’s work has never been a big seller over here. As Americans, we just don’t get it. But as a Texan, I feel like I share the same weird set of references to space and time that Rankin’s got. Or that his English readers have, for that matter. One of my main concerns right now is trying to translate a term that frequently occurs in his work: “It’s an old charter or something” and this pops up as a running gag, especially when trying to explain why a character does something, or when a particular action is always repeated. “Why?” “Because it’s an old charter or something…” But I’m at a complete loss as how to explain this to a North American audience. “It’s written in an old Spanish Land Grant”? And yes, I did have lunch with yet another Virgo.