I've been on a Larry Brown kick since last October when I visited Square Books in Oxford MS and purchased LARRY BROWN, A WRITER'S LIFE. Larry Brown was born in Oxford, and his stories take place in small towns nearby, and throughout MS. After reading this biography by Jean Cash, I was so intrigued, I bought BIG BAD LOVE, FACING THE MUSIC, JOE, FAY, FATHER AND SON, BILLY RAY'S FARM, and A MIRACLE OF CATFISH. I think the only two books I don't have are DIRTY WORK and ON FIRE.Either way, this is my review of FATHER AND SON which I just finished a couple nights ago. I've loved all of LB's books thus far, but this one has been my favorite.FATHER AND SON was the sort of book I would think about during the day, anticipating the time when I could pick it and start reading where I left off. I usually only get to read at night and I found myself going to bed earlier and earlier, just so I could get back into the story.Glen Davis is one of the main characters, and the "son," and Virgil is his "father." It's a story about not only their relationship, which is tenuous at best, but also many others who are an integral part of their lives. His brother, nicknamed "Puppy," the sheriff, Bobby Blanchard, Jewel, the love interest of both Glen and Bobby, and Mary, Bobby's mother. Glen has just come out of prison, but not really. Because to me, he's imprisoned within his own mind. He is mad at the world, and especially his father. Actually, he's mad at many people, and prison hasn't helped him forget all the wrong's he believes have been heaped on him. As I read, I kept hoping Glen would have an epiphany of sorts, a come to Jesus awakening that would mellow him out, make him forgive. But Glen is a hard man, out to settle scores.The book is written from many different points of view so you get where each of the characters are coming from. I felt sorry for Virgil, who is an old man wishing his son would do right. I had empathy for Jewel's predicament, having a child by Glen, hoping and waiting for him to do the right thing, and Bobby Blanchard, LB's "good guy," was somebody we'd all want for Sheriff in our own hometowns. The interactions of these characters lays out a complex history with secrets that are slowly revealed as the story moves on. As with many of LB's books, the writing is tight, crisp and full of imagery and descriptions. If you've never been to MS, or anywhere in the deep south, reading his stories will make you feel like you've been there.
This story is the anthisis of "The Prodical Son." In this work it isn't the repentent son coming home to ask forgiveness but a rebellious malcontent fresh from prison after serving time for vehicular homicide.Bobby Blanchard is the sheriff. He had put Glen Davis into jail after Glen had run over and killed a young boy. To add to the drama, Bobby is in love with Glen's girlfriend, Jewel, who is the mother of Geln's illegitimate son.The action takes place in the few days after returning from prison. Glen is a vicious drunk who treats everyone with hatred including his father, Vernon, who survived the death march to Batan but was disabled in that historical disgrace. Glen is only back in town for a day when he takes his father's rifle and kills a local bar owner that he had a grudge with. Brown has written a compelling novel describing an aspect or rural Mississippi during the early days of the Viet Nam war. There are influences of John Steinbeck in the dscriptions of the poor, the numerous misfortunes that seem to befall them and the acceptance of tragedy as a way of life. It is almost as if some of the characters of "The Grapes of Wrath" settled in this small Mississippi town instead of traveling to California. Another influence is in Charles Dickens with the connections between characters. In this story, Vern had an affair with Bobby's mother before Vern was drafted and was unable to marry her when she became pregnant. Bobby's mother, Mary, married another man who was later killed in the war but Vern later married Emma when she became pregnant.That child was Glen and through his life, Emma poured hatred to her son in the belief that Vern was still having an affair with Mary. In short, this is a supurbly written story with tragic and heroic figures at a crossroad. Once finished, the story of Glen and his half brother Bobby will stay with the reader for a long time. Highly recommended.
What do You think about Father And Son (1997)?
I know it's very different setting, but I heard it all the time while reading Father and Son:I was driving up from TampaWhen the radiator burstI was three sheets to the windA civilian saw me firstAnd then there was the copAnd then the children standing on the cornerYour love is like a cyclone in a swampAnd the weather's getting warmerI was getting out of jailHeading to the GreyhoundYou said you'd hop on one yourselfAnd meet me on the way downI was shaking way too hard to thinkDead on my feet about to dropWent and got the case of vodka from a carAnd walked the two miles to the bus stopGot on the bus half drunk againThe driver glared at meMet up with you in InglisThumbed a ride to Cedar KeyIf we never make it back to CaliforniaI want you to know I love youBut my love is like a dark cloud full of rainThat's always right there up above youThe blurb says that it all about evil eating up man's soul. There's no good and there's no evil. The book of Larry Brown is beautiful and terrifying story. It's rough and heartwrenching at the same time, full of violence and yet I couldn't stop reading.Highly recommended.
—Yuki
I only discovered southern literature when I joined Goodreads and I've read some amazing books since then. When I saw all the great reviews for Father and Son I was sure this one would be added to the ever growing list. Not so.It took me nearly half the book to get interested. The characters were flat and bland, so much so that I had trouble keeping the who's who straight.The writing was choppy at times and rambling at others. I found myself re-reading sentences or paragraphs trying to clarify what the author was telling me.The story line was excellent; dark, disturbing and at times difficult. It ended up being a good read after all, just not a great one.
—Ruth Turner
Loved, loved, loved this...So good on so many levels. A fine piece of Southern Gothic, indeed.The title Father and Son(the perfect title) resonates throughout and serves the story on many levels. The language is simple and clean, even subtle and quiet, yet so many of the scenes were so well-constructed and vivid that I felt myself absorbed while reading in a way that doesn't always happen. Like many, I see the story unfolding on the big screen of my mind as I turn the pages, but unlike many stories where the characters and the scenes are fuzzy, ill-defined images, these were crystal clear.The weaving of the various characters, lives, and their stories was also flawless, and the grand finale?...one of the best I've read in a long time.Would recommend to fans of other Southern Gothic writers like William Gay, Tom Franklin, and Ron Rash.Good stuff, so good I will now have to read all his other works. Sadly, like a number of great writers before him, he passed away way too early. He died in 2004 (from a heart attack per wiki), still in his early fifties.
—Shaun
