I’m a big fan of Jan Karon’s Mitford novels. As you probably know, these novels take place in the fictional pretty little North Carolina town of Mitford. The characters are eccentric but sweet. Happiness and joy abound.
Contrast this with Franklin’s story that takes place in rural Mississippi. Dark and mean. Many of the characters are angry and violent. Poverty abounds.
I wonder if one author’s south is more accurate than the other’s. Probably not. Probably snapshots of different lives.
I LOVED this book, and will be very interested to see if others felt the same. I can’t remember the last time I cared so much about a character in a book as I did about Larry – poor Larry who carried such a difficult burden for such a long time.
The story, while very dark, was absolutely compelling. I never believed that Larry was guilty of the original crime, but Silas’ role in the whole event took me by surprise. I liked Silas, but am not sure I can ever forgive him for making Larry carry this burden for so long.
Having said that, I will say that it’s also been a long time since I’ve wept over a book, and the ending of this novel made me cry like a baby. What Silas gave to Larry was so simple, and so absolutely dear and heartfelt.
I have never read anything by Tom Franklin, but I think he is one of the best writer’s I’ve ever read. His descriptions were magnificent. When he would describe food, I could taste it. When he would describe a scene, I could smell the dust in the air and see the sun coming through the trees. His writing was astounding.
Obviously Wallace Stringfellow was a terrible fellow. But Larry’s father and Cindy’s father were evil, plain and simple. Three very despicable characters.
Such a picture Franklin drew about the poverty and the prejudice that Larry and Silas grew up with! I was horrified at the scene where Larry’s dad made Larry and Silas fight over the gun, and then mocked Larry over his stuttering. I was angry at Silas for holding Larry on the ground, resulting in Larry calling him a nigger, and then holding a grudge for so many years. But what a picture Franklin painted of the anger of youth, especially when that anger is fueled by evilness and poverty.
Was the book too dark for you?
Who did you think was the most evil character?
Did Silas’ role take you by surprise?
And most importantly, what in the hell does the title Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter mean?
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I have not read the book yet - although Kris your review just made me check the library to see if it was available. (it is not - I might buy it for my ipad.) I did want to say that I read on NPR an interview with the author and he said "crooked letter, crooked letter" is from a song they sing in Mississippi where all the s's are replaced by the phrase "crooked letter". The interview stuck out in my mind all this time, so that says something... not sure what. :) Lauren
ReplyDeleteI have been traveling a lot this summer and my husband and I have been in the car quite a bit. Since I thought that this book sounded like something he would like as well, I decided to get the audio book version. Htwrtssqqw1e and I both liked to the book very much and were anxious to get back in the car to hear more of it. We listened to it over a two day drive.
ReplyDeleteI should say that the person who read this book did a VERY good job. You could always tell who was speaking because of his consistency with voices and accents.
I felt so bad for Larry through the whole story. His life was so unfair, yet he continued to try to find the good in life rather than lash out against those who wronged him as well as other innocent bystanders. I found that I cared about him more than I usually care about a character. I found his mother's wish so sad, but I kept wishing he'd make a friend as the story progressed.
At the end, I would have liked to to have learned more about the response of the community after learning about Larry's innocence. For example, did his business pick up? Did people befriend him? It was left to our imagination and we can figure that it probably did happen, but I would have liked the story to continue a little.
I disliked the girl's stepfather the most. I did not like Larry's father, but every now and then he seemed a little bit nice to someone. The other guy was horrible all the time. Plus, he was a murderer and let a kid take the blame.
While I did understand the decision Silas made in terms of keeping quiet to protect himself, I did dislike it. He should have seen how it was destroying another person's life and found a way to come forward.
I simply thought Crooked Letter Crooked Letter was just part of that children's way of spelling Missippi...... but perhaps there was a double meaning that I missed.
The story was not too dark for me. Every now and then Iike stories that have that kind of heaviness. The good things that happen seem even better. I can't remember who suggested this book, but I am very glad you did. I am going to read more of this author's books.
I'll start out by saying that I liked this book quite a lot. I enjoyed the writing style, and I thought the characters were well done. One thing that bothered me at the beginning was that I wasn't sure if this was a contemporary book. I kept thinking that it must have been set in the 1950s or 1960s because of the racism element. I have never spent much time in the South, so I don't know if the description of racial issues there was accurate or not.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about the first mystery in the book. It seemed like the mystery was an excuse for the plot. Cindy ran home after her meeting with Silas, and presumably was killed by her stepfather. (He's my vote for most evil, by the way). What did her mother do? We never saw her mother helping her at all. I guess I like my fiction mysteries to be wrapped up a bit more.
Does the author have trouble developing female characters?
I wish there had been a "twenty years later" chapter at the end of the book. Clearly, Larry forgave Silas, but did he end up having a good life? I imagine that he became part of Silas' life, his prayer for a friend was answered at last, but it would be nice if he had some happiness apart from tending his chickens.
Did anyone else think that Cindy's baby might have been the result of her stepfather raping her? If there was a baby -- I guess we were never really clear on that either.
I wasn't surprised that Larry and Silas were brothers, although it took me a while to be sure. Early on I thought they were but then when we read about Chicago, I thought that Larry's dad wasn't Silas' dad.
I really disliked the part where their dad had them duke it out over the rifle. But I do understand the boys' anger -- teenage anger is there quite often and needs an outlet.
Given that Silas had let Larry take the blame -- shouldn't he have been at least a little bit better about returning Larry's phone calls?
I read the same thing about the S's in Mississippi being the Crooked Letter -- notice that Silas has two crooked letter's?
Despite my earlier comment about female characters, I liked Silas' mom. Although she hooked up with some bad men, she did what it took to provide for her son. The part where she was frustrated with Silas was really interesting too, and a reflection a lot of parents feel!
Was calling Silas "32" just a set up for the joke about him being upset because the paper called him the wrong number?
I apologize for taking a while to post. I haven’t had access to a computer until today.
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, and I agree with a lot of comments everyone has made. I thought the author did a great job of capturing the dark side of the south. The heat, humidity, racial tension, etc., are all part of the culture. Having lived in the Deep South for four years, I thought his descriptions were dead-on and I really could feel the atmosphere.
I also thought his writing ability came through in the creation of his characters. Even Cindy’s dad, who was awful, occasionally had a flicker of humanity. Silas was clearly flawed, but he eventually took responsibility, and he had the good grace to feel guilty about what he’d done. I thought early on that he might have been Cindy’s boyfriend, because she was so secretive about him, even to Larry. I also figured out pretty early that he and Larry were siblings. What he did to Larry was terrible, but I could see how it happened. There’s a great paragraph near the end of the book in which Silas compares youth to the inner rings of a tree. What you do when you’re young gets covered over by later actions, but when you cut into the tree, those early rings/actions become visible. I liked that description.
My favorite lines of the book were in the part when Larry was in the hospital, talking to the sheriff about his relationship with Wallace. Larry explains that Wallace was sort of a friend and the sheriff says something like, “You have an odd taste in friends.” Larry says, “In case you hadn’t noticed, I ain’t had a lot of options.”
Unlike some of you, I was satisfied with the ending. The feeling of hope at the end was enough to convince me that things would get better for Larry. I don’t think it will all be a bed of roses, because small towns everywhere are tough, but I think Larry’s sense of self will be enough to get him through.
About the title: I also read somewhere about the connection to the spelling of Mississippi, and I wonder if the author uses this title to emphasize the importance of the setting. In a way, much of this would never have happened in a different time and place.
Last but now least, I loved that the chickens were all named after First Ladies!
I am really so simple when it comes to reading. I seriously never realized Silas and Larry were brothers until they told me. I had figured out that Larry's dad had an affair with Silas mom, but I guess I don't really know where babies come from.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about whether or not I wish the book had an epilogue. I really liked the ending. I thought that the gift that Silas gave Larry was so beautiful, really the gift of a friend that he never had. But I must say I agree with Andrea that I would love to know if Larry's business picked up! Isn't that funny? I actually did think about that.
I want to disagree with my dear friend Margaret about Franklin's development of female characters. Obviously, females played a less important role in this book (though it's hard to argue that Larry's mom and Cindy weren't important). But I really felt as though I got to know his mother, and Silas's girlfriend (whose name I can't remember and I have returned the library book). I feel like I have a true understanding of their personalities. As a mother, I know how much you wish for your children. I know that it hurt Larry's mom as much (if not more than) as Larry that he had no friends.
Oh, and I also loved that Larry so loved to read -- especially Stephen King novels. We all can relate to having friendships with books.
And, like Bec, I LOVED that he gave the chickens such funny names. My stepdaughter Heather has chickens, and they all have old lady names as well, though I can't remember them (forgive me Lauren). In fact, I loved the whole story line around the chickens. I just so thoroughly demonstrated Larry's sheer unadulterated kindness.
This is how my book started:
ReplyDeleteM, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I crooked letter, crooked letter, I, humpback, humpback, I.
------How southern children are taught to spell Mississippi.
I loved the book. Kris read it before me and warned me that is was dark but compelling. I don't typically read dark books but I was hooked from the beginning.
I disliked Larry's dad and I wondered why Larry's mom didn't seem to notice or remark about his abuse to Larry.
I wasn't surprised that Silas had not confessed about his relationship with Cindy. I think he would have been murdered too if he had admitted that he had been with her. The book was filled with prejudice and darkness so I bought into that without a question.
And I too, loved the ending. Silas was never going to be able to speak words to convince Larry to move forward and forgive him. But actions truly do speak louder than words. I believe the way the author wrote of the loving things Silas had done for Larry showed us that his life would be filled with goodness and some happiness going forward.
I loved the chicken storyline, I loved that Larry didn't just end up with a friend, but a brother. The author did it in a way that made it believable. Larry's life had been so sad and lonely that the readers were just rooting for a better ending for Larry.
Comments to other's thoughts:
I thought the women characters were developed well enough but they were such whimps. I get it - apparently these southern women didn't stand up to their men - but blah to that!
Also, just for the record, I don't believe Cindy was pregnant. I think she made that up to get Silas to run away with her.
There's not many books we choose that we all enjoy. Great read!
M I CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, I CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, I HUMP BACK, HUMP BACK, I.....how to learn to spell Mississippi....
ReplyDeleteI loved this book. I felt so sad for Larry, but the relationship he had with books and the chickens warmed my heart. I loved that he named his chickens because I would do that!!!
I did not figure out early on that Silas was his brother, but I did decide that Larry's dad had a relationship with Silas' mom, Larry's dad was a total creep, he was such a racist...
Cindy's father was an all time low life and abused her, where was the mother??? Working to support them, of course...Not sure if Cindy was pregnant, but I could see why Silas did not come forward, he was black in the South and he probably would have been blamed by Cindy's stepfather.
I liked Silas' girlfriend, she questioned Silas' actions and what they did for him in the end was great and I am glad they became friends. Good to see Silas actually felt guilty.
I liked the way the book ended and did not need anything else and I agree with Jennie, weak women, UGH!!! BLAH, BLAH
This was a good book and a great choice for us...