#BlogTour 21st Century Yokel by Tom Cox

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour 21st Century Yokel by Tom Cox. It's comedy, it's a memoir and it's also about the way Cox experiences the world around him.

About the Author
Tom Cox lives in Devon. A one-time music journalist is the author of the Sunday Times bestsselling The Good, the Bad and the Furry and the William Hill Sports Book longlisted Bring Me The Head of Sergio Garcia. Help the Witch, a collection of folk ghost stories, will be published in October 2019.
Follow @cox_tom @unbound_digital on Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook, Visit tom-cox.com
Buy 21st Century Yokel

About the book
21st-Century Yokel is not quite nature writing, not quite a family memoir,  not quite a book about walking,  not quite a collection of humorous essays, but a bit of all five.

Thick with owls and badgers, oak trees and wood piles, scarecrows and ghosts, and Tom Cox's loud and excitable dad, this book is full of the folklore of several  counties – the ancient kind and the everyday variety – as well as wild places, mystical spots and curious objects. Emerging from this focus on the detail are themes that are broader and bigger and more important than ever.

Tom's writing treads a new path, one that has a lot in common with a rambling country walk; it's bewitched by fresh air and big skies, intrepid in minor ways, haunted by weather and old stories and the spooky edges of the outdoors, restless and prone to a few detours,but it always reaches its destination in the end.

Review
What is a Yokel? An uneducated and unsophisticated person from the countryside. A country bumpkin, a peasant or an oaf. It's probably an oxymoron given the fact said yokel is from the 21st century. Is there such a thing given our level of technology, industrial development and advances in general?

You know, well some of you may know what I mean, when you are sat taking in your surroundings and the beauty of nature, design, architecture. Perhaps while you are sat breathing in the peace and tranquillity of wildlife, plants, the sunset, the sea or anything that catches your attention.

Think of all the thoughts that go through your mind. The dialogue in your head, then again you could be one of those people who say things out load into the universe. Now imagine those thoughts in writing combined with stories from your life or those of your family members, then top it off with opinion pieces, then you nearly have the 21st Century Yokel.

To complete it you need to add humour, a large side order of irony and the keen perception and understanding of self, then you have what this story or book is.

It doesn't fit in one category, it fits in many, which is probably what will draw readers to it. It's a smorgasbord of thoughts, experiences, imprints and emotions. It probably sounds like a lot to try and collect under one roof, however the charm of this unique and quirky piece of wok is not to be underestimated.

Cox has a way of describing his surroundings, in particular nature, in a way that transports the reader to the vivid imagery, scents and sounds he is experiencing as we are reading. Then he will jump into a memory or a story about himself or a family member, and approach it in a humorous and entertaining way. He would have made an excellent medieval minstrel methinks.

'Wonders if he wanders with friends and family and keeps them entertained along the way?'

It's comedy, it's a memoir and it's also about the way Cox experiences the world around him. It's a word-smith duelling with thoughts, images and experiences, in an attempt to convey them to world around him. I believe he does so quite successfully.

Buy 21st Century Yokel at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher:Unbound; pub date 16 Nov. 2017. Buy at Amazon com.