sbunyan's review against another edition
3.0
I am somewhat conflicted about this book. I did enjoy the first half of the book in spite of some gruesome details. The flashbacks explaining the relationship between Larry, a shunned white man and Silas, a black man and local constable, were well written and captivating. But the story bogged down about half way through. I was listening to an audio book and ended up getting the print version so I could skim through the last quarter of the book.
I gave the book a 3 and it is better than that but not quite a 4. I want to read something else by Franklin for comparison. He does a good job of making characters come to life but seems to end up interested more in his own writing than in getting to the point.
I gave the book a 3 and it is better than that but not quite a 4. I want to read something else by Franklin for comparison. He does a good job of making characters come to life but seems to end up interested more in his own writing than in getting to the point.
ciska's review against another edition
3.0
The author
Tom Franklin was born and raised in Dickinson, Alabama. He held various jobs as a struggling writer living in South Alabama, including working as a heavy-equipment operator in a grit factory, a construction inspector in a chemical plant and a clerk in a hospital morgue. In 1997 he received his MFA from the University of Arkansas. His first book, Poachers was named as a Best First Book of Fiction by Esquire and Franklin received a 1999 Edgar Award for the title story. Franklin has published two novels: Hell at the Breech, published in 2003 and Smonk published in 2006. The recipient of the 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, Franklin now teaches in the University of Mississippi's MFA program and lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife, the poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and their children
The synopsis
In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.
The review
This books starts very detailed. You learn abut practically every plant growing in a garden and the exact color of the sock the protagonist wears. This goes on for the first 80 pages making them a real struggle to get trough. I even had to start a second book not to get annoyed by it. But once the whole background is explained the story speeds up nicely.
Due to the very detailed start the two main characters are very well described. The bound between the two man is written out clear too.
The book is a nice puzzle. Though it gets easier to put the pieces together nearing the end and nothing really came as a surprise for me the developments in the story are steady and well worked out.
Wont be the first book to come up in my mind when someone will ask me for a recommendation but if someone would ask me if they should ready it I will advice them to give it a go.
Tom Franklin was born and raised in Dickinson, Alabama. He held various jobs as a struggling writer living in South Alabama, including working as a heavy-equipment operator in a grit factory, a construction inspector in a chemical plant and a clerk in a hospital morgue. In 1997 he received his MFA from the University of Arkansas. His first book, Poachers was named as a Best First Book of Fiction by Esquire and Franklin received a 1999 Edgar Award for the title story. Franklin has published two novels: Hell at the Breech, published in 2003 and Smonk published in 2006. The recipient of the 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, Franklin now teaches in the University of Mississippi's MFA program and lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his wife, the poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and their children
The synopsis
In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.
More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.
The review
This books starts very detailed. You learn abut practically every plant growing in a garden and the exact color of the sock the protagonist wears. This goes on for the first 80 pages making them a real struggle to get trough. I even had to start a second book not to get annoyed by it. But once the whole background is explained the story speeds up nicely.
Due to the very detailed start the two main characters are very well described. The bound between the two man is written out clear too.
The book is a nice puzzle. Though it gets easier to put the pieces together nearing the end and nothing really came as a surprise for me the developments in the story are steady and well worked out.
Wont be the first book to come up in my mind when someone will ask me for a recommendation but if someone would ask me if they should ready it I will advice them to give it a go.
letsjusthopethisisnttakenyet's review against another edition
1.0
Fuck. This. Book.
It doesn't even deserve one star. I don't know why this is used as teaching material in schools, but it's just absolutely horrible and I hate it.
It doesn't even deserve one star. I don't know why this is used as teaching material in schools, but it's just absolutely horrible and I hate it.
appalonia's review against another edition
4.0
If nothing else, the author has accomplished one thing with this novel – I have never felt such anger and disgust for a fictional character as I did for one of the characters here. The why is spoiler territory, so I’ll put that at the end of the review with a warning. But the fact that I felt so strongly speaks to the story and character building that the author has created here. He made these people live for me.
The beginning of the story is mostly action, and it is not until you get further in and the backstory kicks in that you begin to understand and care for the characters. As a result, the beginning is a slow read and I didn’t connect with the characters right away. Because it was also a bit sad, I was tempted to set the book aside. But then I became acquainted with the characters and I read the middle of the book almost to the end without stopping. I’ll admit I had trouble with some of the dialogue used. I’ve never so much as visited Mississippi so I can’t claim first hand knowledge, but I find it difficult to believe a character would be able to get through college without learning to construct grammatically correct sentences.
But overall this was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to those who like what is termed “literary mysteries”.
*** Spoiler Warning *** The following contains spoilers for the end of the book.
The character who infuriated me was Silas (32), once it was revealed he had known of Larry’s innocence all along. For him to sit on the information he had was (to me at least) unforgivable. And I mean that literally. He not only let a murderer go free, he sentenced a supposed friend (not to mention brother) to a miserable, friendless existence for over a quarter of a century. If you ask me Larry had a fairly miserable life even before he was shunned by the entire town as a rapist and murderer. And he was such a kind, innocent soul – he didn’t deserve to be treated as he was. I sincerely wanted to crawl inside this book and punch Silas right in the face. And I didn’t care he tried to do the right thing in the end. I didn’t care that he finally told the truth. I wanted him to suffer some kind of punishment, so it was all the more annoying to me when everyone treated him as a hero. Silas laying side by side with Larry in that hospital room, and all the people trooping in to see Silas, caring about Silas, saying he was a hero, don’t worry about work, you’ll still get your pay. Grrrr! What about Larry? No one cared about him, no one came to visit, no one cared he’d basically lost his way to earn a living. And all that was due to Silas.
The beginning of the story is mostly action, and it is not until you get further in and the backstory kicks in that you begin to understand and care for the characters. As a result, the beginning is a slow read and I didn’t connect with the characters right away. Because it was also a bit sad, I was tempted to set the book aside. But then I became acquainted with the characters and I read the middle of the book almost to the end without stopping. I’ll admit I had trouble with some of the dialogue used. I’ve never so much as visited Mississippi so I can’t claim first hand knowledge, but I find it difficult to believe a character would be able to get through college without learning to construct grammatically correct sentences.
But overall this was an enjoyable read and I recommend it to those who like what is termed “literary mysteries”.
*** Spoiler Warning *** The following contains spoilers for the end of the book.
The character who infuriated me was Silas (32), once it was revealed he had known of Larry’s innocence all along. For him to sit on the information he had was (to me at least) unforgivable. And I mean that literally. He not only let a murderer go free, he sentenced a supposed friend (not to mention brother) to a miserable, friendless existence for over a quarter of a century. If you ask me Larry had a fairly miserable life even before he was shunned by the entire town as a rapist and murderer. And he was such a kind, innocent soul – he didn’t deserve to be treated as he was. I sincerely wanted to crawl inside this book and punch Silas right in the face. And I didn’t care he tried to do the right thing in the end. I didn’t care that he finally told the truth. I wanted him to suffer some kind of punishment, so it was all the more annoying to me when everyone treated him as a hero. Silas laying side by side with Larry in that hospital room, and all the people trooping in to see Silas, caring about Silas, saying he was a hero, don’t worry about work, you’ll still get your pay. Grrrr! What about Larry? No one cared about him, no one came to visit, no one cared he’d basically lost his way to earn a living. And all that was due to Silas.
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
3.0
There were parts of this that had me really engaged, but they few and far between. I listened to this vs. read...in short spurts...and was often confused about the timeline. Probably more my fault than the author's.
I found the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the book really slow and not very interesting. I found the middle the most interesting about the Walker girl with Larry.
The writing was fairly good. Larry Ott and Silas were interesting characters.
I found the first 1/3 - 1/2 of the book really slow and not very interesting. I found the middle the most interesting about the Walker girl with Larry.
The writing was fairly good. Larry Ott and Silas were interesting characters.
bellatora's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't read much Southern literature (outside of the standard Faulkner and To Kill a Mockingbird) and I in fact have never been to the South. That didn't prevent me from liking the book and getting a real sense of setting (in this case, rural Mississippi) from it.
This could be described as a mystery, but really it's a tragedy with a solid dose of hope. The dual protagonists are both tragic figures. One is the resident Boo Radley, Larry "Scary Larry" Ott. A scrawny white boy with a love of books (especially in the horror genre) and an overbearing, disappointed father, poor Larry can't catch a break. He's an outcast in school, his one brief childhood friendship goes up in smoke and on his first and only date the girl disappears and he's suspected (but never charged) with her murder. He joins the army, but returns when his father dies and his mother becomes senile to live as the town outcast again and become the prime suspect when another girl goes missing. The other protagonist is Silas "32" Jones an athletic black boy who was Larry's only friend until things went to shambles. His life seems pretty good when the story starts: he's a policeman in the town with a great girlfriend and the leftover glory of his high school baseball days. However, Silas has more problems than is first let on. As the story unravels, the mystery of the missing girls shares equal time with the intertwining backstory of Silas and Larry.
I spent most of the story feeling incredibly sorry for the protagonists, especially Larry. They both got out (via the armed forces). Why did they come back? It's hinted that Silas has a natural talent for detective work. So why settle for small town police work, which for Silas was mainly directing traffic? Larry was harassed, ignored and feared by his neighbors. So why not go away to some place where no one knew of his past? The town just seemed terribly suffocating.
The mystery was well-handled but mostly I was impressed with Franklin's deft touch with characters. Truth be told, I often hate tragedy in books. Especially when it's as effectively heartbreaking as Larry's childhood. But the thread of hope in the story placated me. Franklin also kept the story moving along quickly. It was atmospheric but not too in love with its own description to stall the action.
This could be described as a mystery, but really it's a tragedy with a solid dose of hope. The dual protagonists are both tragic figures. One is the resident Boo Radley, Larry "Scary Larry" Ott. A scrawny white boy with a love of books (especially in the horror genre) and an overbearing, disappointed father, poor Larry can't catch a break. He's an outcast in school, his one brief childhood friendship goes up in smoke and on his first and only date the girl disappears and he's suspected (but never charged) with her murder. He joins the army, but returns when his father dies and his mother becomes senile to live as the town outcast again and become the prime suspect when another girl goes missing. The other protagonist is Silas "32" Jones an athletic black boy who was Larry's only friend until things went to shambles. His life seems pretty good when the story starts: he's a policeman in the town with a great girlfriend and the leftover glory of his high school baseball days. However, Silas has more problems than is first let on. As the story unravels, the mystery of the missing girls shares equal time with the intertwining backstory of Silas and Larry.
I spent most of the story feeling incredibly sorry for the protagonists, especially Larry. They both got out (via the armed forces). Why did they come back? It's hinted that Silas has a natural talent for detective work. So why settle for small town police work, which for Silas was mainly directing traffic? Larry was harassed, ignored and feared by his neighbors. So why not go away to some place where no one knew of his past? The town just seemed terribly suffocating.
The mystery was well-handled but mostly I was impressed with Franklin's deft touch with characters. Truth be told, I often hate tragedy in books. Especially when it's as effectively heartbreaking as Larry's childhood. But the thread of hope in the story placated me. Franklin also kept the story moving along quickly. It was atmospheric but not too in love with its own description to stall the action.
sofiasky's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The descriptions were unnecessarily long and the end wasn't really surprising.
thebookfetishist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Hated the portrayal of women (served only the men, didn't have personalities on their own) I know, that no female character could be considered a main character in this particular book, but come on, there are authors out there, that can still give their side (female) characters/less important (female!) characters a way better fleshed out personality compared to whatever this was. Also, hated the frequently occurring overly sexualised descriptions of women.
Crime mystery was pretty average, not much tension going on towards middle/end part of the book, although I have to give it to the author, the beginning did confuse me quite a bit and made me curious. Unfortunately, he failed to keep the tension through the entire book, so it ended up falling kinda flat for me.
The writing style was most of the time very beautiful, some very nice descriptions and metaphors going on. Additionally, I was able to learn quite a lot of Southern Slang and generally some new words I haven't heard about before, as someone who isn't a native English speaker.
Crime mystery was pretty average, not much tension going on towards middle/end part of the book, although I have to give it to the author, the beginning did confuse me quite a bit and made me curious. Unfortunately, he failed to keep the tension through the entire book, so it ended up falling kinda flat for me.
The writing style was most of the time very beautiful, some very nice descriptions and metaphors going on. Additionally, I was able to learn quite a lot of Southern Slang and generally some new words I haven't heard about before, as someone who isn't a native English speaker.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Bullying
Moderate: Dementia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Pedophilia
itsarichmansworld's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75