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Author: Tom Franklin
ISBN : B003XDUCGS
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Format: PDF
Download for free books Epub Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel from mediafire, rapishare, and mirror link
“The classic trifecta of talent, heart, and a bone-deep sense of storytelling….A masterful performance, deftly rendered and deeply satisfying. For days on end, I woke with this story on my mind.”
— David Wroblewski
“A new Tom Franklin novel is always a reason to get excited, but Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is more—a cause for celebration. What a great novel by a great novelist.”
—Dennis Lehane
A powerful and resonant novel from Tom Franklin—critically acclaimed author of Smonk and Hell at the Breech—Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter tells the riveting story of two boyhood friends, torn apart by circumstance, who are brought together again by a terrible crime in a small Mississippi town. An extraordinary novel that seamlessly blends elements of crime and Southern literary fiction, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a must for readers of Larry Brown, Pete Dexter, Ron Rash, and Dennis Lehane.
Direct download links available for Epub Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel [Kindle Edition]
- File Size: 529 KB
- Print Length: 304 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 5, 2010)
- Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
- Language: English
- ASIN: B003XDUCGS
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,655 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
Epub Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel
I have been a fan of Tom Franklin's work since "Poachers," both the work of short fiction and the collection of short fiction that takes its title. Franklin is not a prolific writer, having forsaken quantity for quality, as evidenced by CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER, his third novel in a decade. By virtue of this book alone, it is Franklin who is worthy of newsmagazine cover treatment; Franklin for whom the bookstores should be opening at midnight, with the accompanying lines around the block; and Franklin whose work should be selected for high-profile book clubs. I am seeing some signs that I may not be alone in this opinion. A major bookseller, for example, has just selected CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER as its next "Main Selection." More honors, both critical and commercial, are sure to follow. And it's no wonder. His latest is a born classic.
The novel revolves around two men who were friends for a short but very pivotal time during their childhoods in the late 1970s in the rural South. Larry Ott was the son of white, working-class parents, while Silas "32" Jones was raised in a black, single-parent household, transplanted from urban Chicago to the backwoods of Chabot, Mississippi. Their brief friendship fractured, and Silas went on to become a high school baseball star while Larry was relegated to "weirdo" status as an odd duck. Larry's status went from harmless to dangerous when he picked up a girl for a drive-in movie date, and she was never seen again. While he was not arrested for any crime associated with the girl's disappearance, he was adjudged as guilty in everyone's mind and condemned to lead a solitary existence.
Silas left the area for college and returns after two decades to take a job as Chabot's constable.
Brief summary, no spoilers.
This is a story told in chapters that often alternate in time. Our two main protagonists are Larry Ott, a sweet oddball man who was always awkward with his peers and most comfortable reading a novel. Preferably a horror novel, and preferably one by Stephen King.
The other main character is Silas Jones, a black man who is now a policeman in the tiny Mississippi town of Chabot where they both grew up. They were friends as children, or as close as they could be in such a town during the racial tension of decades past.
One day, the incredibly shy and awkward Larry gets asked out on a date by a popular young attractive girl named Cindy. Only Cindy was never seen after their date and suspicion of her murder fell on Larry. There was never enough evidence to prosecute - but in the eye of the town he was guilty both because of the perceived facts of her disappearance and because of his peculiarities and he was ostricized.
The chapters that take place in the present time start off with the disappearance of a young girl named Tina Rutherford, and when Larry Ott is found shot - everyone thinks he killed the girl and then tried to kill himself out of guilt. The truth of course is a lot more twisted and complicated.
In support of the story, I did think the author did a good job of giving us a feel of a very small rural Mississippi town - both from the 1970s and in modern times. This is a moody evocative book, and I did enjoy it.
In critique - I thought the characters were way too stereotypical. Larry was just too good to be real - any injustices he may have suffered felt so manipulative.