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bobbo49's review against another edition
5.0
Although I saw the movie Winter's Bone, I didn't know anything about the author Daniel Woodrell until my friend Jim Heidelberger recommended this one to me. And what a read it is: a "coming of age" story taken to the highest level of intensity. Woodrell masterfully recreates the complex world of the Ozarks (as in Winter's Bone), and the characters are simply mesmerizing, with a page-turning plot. Will add other Woodrell to my "to read" list, for sure!
hoates's review against another edition
4.0
This Well-crafted book has powerful, rhythmic sentences which leave the reader as cold as a bare chested woman in the pouring rain. There is no redemption here, only a chronology of wounded power exchanges. There's a reason the little old lady librarians hate this book. Ultimately a lot more disturbing than Winter's Bone.
cmarie1665's review against another edition
3.0
super creepy. not really in a good way. great syntax
lisaliken's review against another edition
5.0
The prose is spectacular. Narrator’s voice and character so unique. Incredible character development in a rather short novel. A lot of hard topics here but a page turner.
matthewcpeck's review against another edition
4.0
4 1/2 stars. I'm running out of ways to say "Daniel Woodrell is really good at writing". 'Sweet Mister' is another remarkable step in his journey from very good crime writer to great American novelist. The protagonist is a chubby 13-year old named "Shug" living in a graveyard-adjacent house with his gorgeous, boozy mother and his thieving, doping, violent, all-around horrible maybe-father, "Red". Suffice it to say that Shug is considerably happier when it's just him and his mom. Shug's first-person narration is an incredible creation. His sheltered adolescent worldview doesn't allow for some of the rich, knowing jokes of Woodrell's earlier narrators, but it has a purity and an odd, wobbly poetry that's sustained perfectly throughout the novel's brief length.
The final three chapters are among the most perfectly honed pages of fiction I've ever read - haunting and mythic and moving as a great silent film. Or a Greek tragedy, to which Woodrell's stories have been compared. If you want a book to amuse, shock and haunt you, and you'd also prefer to be finished in 2-3 days, read 'The Death of Sweet Mister'.
The final three chapters are among the most perfectly honed pages of fiction I've ever read - haunting and mythic and moving as a great silent film. Or a Greek tragedy, to which Woodrell's stories have been compared. If you want a book to amuse, shock and haunt you, and you'd also prefer to be finished in 2-3 days, read 'The Death of Sweet Mister'.
cosmicvulture's review against another edition
3.0
Just finished last night, so my feelings might evolve, but right now I give it 3/5 stars for being well written and hard to put down (especially because it's so brief). A lot of the fewer-star reviews for this book seem to be motivated by how depressing the book is, but that element didn't really bother me, and I guess I never was struck by the sadness while reading.
Woodrell is clearly a skilled writer, but the story just didn't do it for me, and the writing didn't capture me enough to make up for what the story didn't give me. Nothing that happened seemed surprising, and none of it was really that compelling, perhaps because I never felt invested in any of the characters.
Part of me wants to read another Woodrell book (this is my first) because I can feel how he might be great, but I know I won't unless I find a free copy somewhere.
So, overall, my initial impression is that I'm not at all mad I spent my time on this, but so far I don't feel it left me with much.
Woodrell is clearly a skilled writer, but the story just didn't do it for me, and the writing didn't capture me enough to make up for what the story didn't give me. Nothing that happened seemed surprising, and none of it was really that compelling, perhaps because I never felt invested in any of the characters.
Part of me wants to read another Woodrell book (this is my first) because I can feel how he might be great, but I know I won't unless I find a free copy somewhere.
So, overall, my initial impression is that I'm not at all mad I spent my time on this, but so far I don't feel it left me with much.
jereco1962's review against another edition
4.0
Since I hail from the same neck of the woods as the author, I was a bit hesitant to pick up this book. I've worked long and hard to rid myself of my Ozarks accent, and gigging frogs with my brothers was not a highlight of my upbringing... But I needn't have worried. My accent remains buried (pretty much), and while the protagonist's life rivals mine in depression/depravity, his tale is told with a raw back-woods poetry and sly sense of humor that made it a joy to read. When this man spins a phrase, you get dizzy from it. This author also wrote Winter's Bone - and though I've only seen the excellent film, I am now excited to add it (and everything else this man has written) to my list.
jeffw's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to the audiobook this time. Nicholas Tecosky, the narrator, did very well on Shug's voice.
Still a five even though knowing the ending takes away the punch.
A favorite. Will probably read again a few years.
Still a five even though knowing the ending takes away the punch.
A favorite. Will probably read again a few years.