Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Algonquin Books (2003), Edition: Reprint, 368 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML: "Brilliant . . . Larry Brown has slapped his own fresh tattoo on the big right arm of Southern Lit." �The Washington Post Book World Now a major motion picture starring Nicolas Cage, directed by David Gordon Green. Joe Ransom is a hard-drinking ex-con pushing fifty who just won't slow down�not in his pickup, not with a gun, and certainly not with women. Gary Jones estimates his own age to be about fifteen. Born luckless, he is the son of a hopeless, homeless wandering family, and he's desperate for a way out. When their paths cross, Joe offers him a chance just as his own chances have dwindled to almost nothing. Together they follow a twisting map to redemption�or ruin..
User reviews
LibraryThing member Polaris-
The promise, style, and searing power of Brown's earlier works: two short story collections ("Facing The Music" & "Big Bad Love"), and the stunning debut novel about wounded Vietnam veterans ("Dirty Work") would have been hard to improve upon. But Brown has quite possibly done so with the superb
Set once again in the small towns of northern Mississippi that Brown knew so well, and amid the dense woods, fishing lakes, and dusty roads of the rural back country, the characters so expertly crafted by Brown are joined by the richly drawn characterisation of the landscape itself that they inhabit. I've not yet ever visited the United States, but thanks to Larry's writing I feel as though I know this part of the world really quite well!
Joe is a middle-aged divorcee who makes a living as a seasonal forestry contractor. He runs a gang of casual black labourers and they are usually either poisoning the trees in the summer before a clear-fell, or planting up whips in the winter. Joe spends his money on drinking and gambling and girlfriends, and not too much else. He does love his adult children, and wants to help them as well, though things are never straightforward. We are drawn deep into Joe's life, as one summer progresses. He has encountered Gary Jones, a boy aged "about 15" who wants to work. Gary's family are itinerant and poor - the father is about as despicable a character as you could ever have the misfortune to encounter. The old storekeeper knows him from something some time long ago...
One of Gary's sisters - Fay - will be the subject of a different and later novel by Brown, as she manages to leave her no good family behind her early in the book's pages. In the meantime, the depiction of "the old man" is about as chilling and real and unforgettable as Dickens' terrible Bill Sykes. Yes, as diabolical as that.
Gary is determined to break free from his ne'er-do-well father's clutches and if he can just earn (and keep hidden) enough money to buy a truck, then he could be free.
What follows is about as heartbreaking and engrossing a tale I have read.
Despite his protagonist's many shortcomings, Brown shows us that there is a tenderness to a man like Joe that most won't ever see. This is a story about attempts at redemption and dignity as much as one of life's disappointments and tragedies. As the novel progresses the tension and the drama builds subtly like the flavours of a simmering stew. The end result is a story whose traces will remain visible in the mind for a long time, and characters that I will never forget. There is grit and poverty, and heartache, but there is so much beauty in this writing to behold. Highly recommended.
Show More
Joe. This is my first '5-star' novel of the year (in November!) as it is in my opinion without fault and perfect in every way. Set once again in the small towns of northern Mississippi that Brown knew so well, and amid the dense woods, fishing lakes, and dusty roads of the rural back country, the characters so expertly crafted by Brown are joined by the richly drawn characterisation of the landscape itself that they inhabit. I've not yet ever visited the United States, but thanks to Larry's writing I feel as though I know this part of the world really quite well!
Joe is a middle-aged divorcee who makes a living as a seasonal forestry contractor. He runs a gang of casual black labourers and they are usually either poisoning the trees in the summer before a clear-fell, or planting up whips in the winter. Joe spends his money on drinking and gambling and girlfriends, and not too much else. He does love his adult children, and wants to help them as well, though things are never straightforward. We are drawn deep into Joe's life, as one summer progresses. He has encountered Gary Jones, a boy aged "about 15" who wants to work. Gary's family are itinerant and poor - the father is about as despicable a character as you could ever have the misfortune to encounter. The old storekeeper knows him from something some time long ago...
One of Gary's sisters - Fay - will be the subject of a different and later novel by Brown, as she manages to leave her no good family behind her early in the book's pages. In the meantime, the depiction of "the old man" is about as chilling and real and unforgettable as Dickens' terrible Bill Sykes. Yes, as diabolical as that.
Gary is determined to break free from his ne'er-do-well father's clutches and if he can just earn (and keep hidden) enough money to buy a truck, then he could be free.
What follows is about as heartbreaking and engrossing a tale I have read.
Despite his protagonist's many shortcomings, Brown shows us that there is a tenderness to a man like Joe that most won't ever see. This is a story about attempts at redemption and dignity as much as one of life's disappointments and tragedies. As the novel progresses the tension and the drama builds subtly like the flavours of a simmering stew. The end result is a story whose traces will remain visible in the mind for a long time, and characters that I will never forget. There is grit and poverty, and heartache, but there is so much beauty in this writing to behold. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member patience_crabstick
Larry Brown can really write. I could hardly put down this story of poverty, alcoholism, and misery in Mississippi. Absolutely perfect dialogue, great story, I want to read more by this author.
LibraryThing member mnlohman
Recommended by M. Peacock. Larry Brown is a NC writer who died in Dec. of 2004. This book makes Backroads look like Rebecca of Sunnybrook. Farms. Joe's a nice guy with a really good heart, but has a little trouble with drinking (he has a bottle of whiskey with him from the time he wakes up in the
Show More
morning till he passes out at night), and anger management. However, he takes a young black boy, Gary, under his wing and while trying to improve Gary's life, destroys his own. I had trouble getting into the book, but later couldn't put it down. I don't know who I'd recommend it to, or why. Show Less
LibraryThing member mikedraper
"Joe" describes life in northern Mississippi showing everyday people, abandoned shacks and businesses that cater to the country folk, showing their wares, some of which they shot in the woods.
Joe Ransom is a foreman of a number of black men working to clear land. He's also trying to maintain a
Gary Jones is a fifteen-year-old who is with a family that wanders from place to place. His father is a drunk and abusive. His mother is insane.
Gary meets Joe and Joe sees a redeeming factor in him, perhaps his work ethic or respect in dealing with Joe. Joe decides to give Gary a chance and we view the result of this.
The story is well plotted in the Faulkner, Mississippi vein of literature.
Joe Ransom is a foreman of a number of black men working to clear land. He's also trying to maintain a
Show More
relationship with his daughter.Gary Jones is a fifteen-year-old who is with a family that wanders from place to place. His father is a drunk and abusive. His mother is insane.
Gary meets Joe and Joe sees a redeeming factor in him, perhaps his work ethic or respect in dealing with Joe. Joe decides to give Gary a chance and we view the result of this.
The story is well plotted in the Faulkner, Mississippi vein of literature.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Northfield_Library
Dark, gritty and worthwhile. Welcome to poverty.
LibraryThing member mrgan
Devastating. Utterly depressing and dark.
LibraryThing member DonnaEverhart
I really, make that REALLY liked this book. Larry Brown's Joe Ransom is captured as a hard edged, ex-convict who drinks, (and drives!!), smokes way too much, is his own man, who doesn't like to be told what to do. A man's man is the way I saw him. The way Brown writes the story is almost like a
Gary Jones is "the boy" referenced sometimes as Gary, sometimes as "the boy" that Joe Ransom takes under his wing. Every single thing about Gary Jones is believable, as well as the life his parents live along with his two sisters - who are smaller characters in the story, although there is one incident with the younger sister towards the end.
The "old man" or Wade Jones is also a very believable character, and LB wrote about him in such a way that I wished I could have reached into the pages at different points in time just to slap him for the way he treated his family. He was the epitome of a real loser.
The book was published about 20 years ago, but in my opinion it is a story that still resonates today. Don't expect sweet with this story. Expect to meet dirt poor, real people who are only trying to survive.
Show More
series of little vignettes, but if you keep going (and you can't help but turn the pages) you'll see how it all ties together. There are some incidents that I think could have been excluded - where Joe gets shot and operates on himself to remove the slugs. Um, now, I know he'd been drinking and all, but cutting into muscle? That required just a bit too much suspension of belief, but that's okay, I forgive LB anyway b/c I do love his writing. Gary Jones is "the boy" referenced sometimes as Gary, sometimes as "the boy" that Joe Ransom takes under his wing. Every single thing about Gary Jones is believable, as well as the life his parents live along with his two sisters - who are smaller characters in the story, although there is one incident with the younger sister towards the end.
The "old man" or Wade Jones is also a very believable character, and LB wrote about him in such a way that I wished I could have reached into the pages at different points in time just to slap him for the way he treated his family. He was the epitome of a real loser.
The book was published about 20 years ago, but in my opinion it is a story that still resonates today. Don't expect sweet with this story. Expect to meet dirt poor, real people who are only trying to survive.
Show Less
LibraryThing member abycats
The rare occasion when the book is even better than the movie -- even with Nicolas Cage as Joe. The grittiness of daily existence in this world is so perfectly portrayed. The closest comparison I can give is to "Winter's Bone" which was also made into a film starring Jennifer Lawrence. Both are
Show More
remarkable books describing grim circumstances and people with the strength to persevere. Show Less
LibraryThing member waldhaus1
I discovered Larry Brown a few weeks ago and I guess several years ago. I was cleaning out my bookshelves and found father and son. I had bought it several years ago. Perhaps because of the jacket blurbs, perhaps because of the sellers recommendation. I always buy more than I can read. Now age
What makes a book great or memorable? The ability of the author to express his or her insight into the world clearly and with great impact.
Larry Brown died of a heart attack while still very young. Perhaps the world was too much with him. Thankfully he left treasure behind.
There is no shining armor in this tale. But certainly armor is needed.
Joe has heart and Joe has character. He is deeply flawed as well. Perhaps that makes meeting him on paper more comfortable. Somehow he makes the world a much better place.
Show More
prompts me to begin setting my shelves in order. Fortunately the clutter of ebooks is easier to ignore. But from time to time I discovered old treasures. Larry Brown is one of those. I thank my younger self for the impulsive purchase. What makes a book great or memorable? The ability of the author to express his or her insight into the world clearly and with great impact.
Larry Brown died of a heart attack while still very young. Perhaps the world was too much with him. Thankfully he left treasure behind.
There is no shining armor in this tale. But certainly armor is needed.
Joe has heart and Joe has character. He is deeply flawed as well. Perhaps that makes meeting him on paper more comfortable. Somehow he makes the world a much better place.
Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
“In the countryside by nights without the moon, there sometimes roamed an indigent, a recycled reject with eyes sifting the darkness and sorting the scattered scents, walking beside deep hollows and ditches of stinking water. The hours he kept were usually reserved for the drunk and the sleeping.
“She don’t like to be around anybody drinkin, don’t even like to smell it. I drink and I like to drink. That’s it.”
Joe Ransom is not an easy character to like- he is a hard-drinking ex-con, pushing 50, who refuses to slow down, despite being a diligent worker, with a good business sense. He is also a lousy father. You
will end up rootin' for him anyway. Set in a hot summer in Mississippi, be prepared for an excessive amount of drinking, pick-ups on dusty roads, along with bursts of alarming violence. The writing is excellent throughout. Southern-lit at it's best. Faulkner would be proud.
I was first introduced to Brown, with his story collection Tiny Love, which was incredible. Now, with this novel, he has found a place as a favorite author.
Show More
““She don’t like to be around anybody drinkin, don’t even like to smell it. I drink and I like to drink. That’s it.”
Joe Ransom is not an easy character to like- he is a hard-drinking ex-con, pushing 50, who refuses to slow down, despite being a diligent worker, with a good business sense. He is also a lousy father. You
will end up rootin' for him anyway. Set in a hot summer in Mississippi, be prepared for an excessive amount of drinking, pick-ups on dusty roads, along with bursts of alarming violence. The writing is excellent throughout. Southern-lit at it's best. Faulkner would be proud.
I was first introduced to Brown, with his story collection Tiny Love, which was incredible. Now, with this novel, he has found a place as a favorite author.
Show Less
LibraryThing member datrappert
Another novel about driving in a truck drinking beer--but of course with Brown as the author, it is so much more. Joe makes more than enough money doing various jobs supervising work crews, but his life is basically drinking and pining to have his wife back. His pregnant daughter finds him with a
Show More
girl her own age at one point, but it isn't quite as bad as she thinks. Although she is sleeping with him, Joe took her in so she wouldn't be molested by her new stepfather. Meanwhile, the Jones family, led by despicable tyrant Wade Jones is living in an abandoned log cabin deep in the woods. Wade's son Gary is befriended by Joe. But Wade will have to learn to fend for himself against his father, who steal's Gary's money and buys beer, liquor, and cigarettes with it in scenes that are funny in the worst possible way. And lots of other things happen. People do awful stupid things. And they just keep on drinking. Or learn how to drink if they don't already know how. And in between sips they smoke. And drive around while drinking and smoking. And commit violent acts. Or have sex--I don't think there's an instance in this book where you could say anyone "made love". You just have to give yourself up to Brown's Mississippi world, which is mostly awful, but is so real that it hurts (at least if you're a Southerner). All these various threads interact and deliver a story that is powerful, complex, and has no neat conclusions. A perfect way to experience it is the audiobook read by Tom Stechschulte, who is beyond marvelous. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Notable Books List (1992)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1991
Physical description
368 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
1565124138 / 9781565124134
UPC
019628724137
Similar in this library
Body by Harry Crews