Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter: A Novel

Tom Franklin

Oct 2010 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

“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 powerful and resonant novel from the 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.

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.

Ratings and reviews

A read for my book club at One More Page bookstore, it is definitely not one I would have picked off the shelf myself, but that is why I belong to book clubs. So on to my review. I am writing this review a full week after finishing the book and a few days after book club, why you say? Because I still have no clue as to what I make of it. Confession - the story is about a black boy and a white boy and their relationship as it evolves over time. WELP this girl got the characters mixed up and had to back it up a few (50) pages and re read to get myself on track. So read closely and make sure you know who is talking! Maybe because of my character mix up or because I just wasn't connecting with the story - I thought the characters were endearing and the story believable and interesting, but I just wasn't drawn to find out what was going to happen next. Some people at book club empathazied with Larry, while I saw him as meek and a boy/man with very low self confidence. There were several times where I was trying to play therapist and give Larry some pep talks to buck up and confront the townspeople, but alas he just kept keeping on. I guess don't upset the apple cart! Now without using too many more cliches, I am going to say that it was enjoyable, the writing was very descriptive, but not overbearing and it was worth picking up.

If it weren't for the first 150 pages, I would have given this book 4 stars. There were many moments where I found myself deciding whether or not I should put the book down. Hard to follow and get into the plot or the characters until towards the end of the book.

I stumbled across this book after I received a Nook reader and thought I would give it a read. I couldn't put it down. Franklin does simply an amazing job with character development and his voice and tone are pristine. I will admit that part of my love of this book was the fact that I was raised in a small Southern town that had elements of the landscape that Franklin created. His imagery made it possible for me to literally walk into the pages. For fans of Southern literary fiction this is a must read. If your looking for page turning action and want a book that you can figure out from the get go this is probably not the book for you. However if you want to see characters, some of them with flaws, come alive as you turn the page, this is a book for you.

About the author

Tom Franklin is the New York Times bestselling author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger Award. His previous works include Poachers, Hell at the Breech, and Smonk. He teaches in the University of Mississippi's MFA program.