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billymac1962 's review for:
The Bottoms
by Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is predominantly known as a horror writer, but lookie here: The Bottoms won the Edgar Award (Mystery) for best novel.
Now, despite being a mystery, there weren't any big surprises for me, but where the novel truly shines is as the coming of age story of a 13 year-old boy in the early 1930s.
I was surprised at what a quick read this was. For some reason I was under the impression that this was a denser read, but in no way was I disappointed at that. I'm a big fan of less is more. Lansdale writes in a very economical fashion, but I was totally drawn in to the sense of place and time in this story. The characters were well developed, and the description and feel of racial tensions are worthy of Harper Lee's classic.
The only thing that could have been better was maybe being rocked or
blindsided by a revelation at the end, and for this reason only, my rating will fall only a smidgen short of awesome.
On second thought, as I write this review, images from the story are still flashing through my mind, and there are feelings that I think will continue to linger for a while yet. I love books that will do that to me.
So, 5 stars it is. It's such a fast read, but it'll take a long while to shake the feeling of East Texas in the 1930s. Highly recommended.
Now, despite being a mystery, there weren't any big surprises for me, but where the novel truly shines is as the coming of age story of a 13 year-old boy in the early 1930s.
I was surprised at what a quick read this was. For some reason I was under the impression that this was a denser read, but in no way was I disappointed at that. I'm a big fan of less is more. Lansdale writes in a very economical fashion, but I was totally drawn in to the sense of place and time in this story. The characters were well developed, and the description and feel of racial tensions are worthy of Harper Lee's classic.
The only thing that could have been better was maybe being rocked or
blindsided by a revelation at the end, and for this reason only, my rating will fall only a smidgen short of awesome.
On second thought, as I write this review, images from the story are still flashing through my mind, and there are feelings that I think will continue to linger for a while yet. I love books that will do that to me.
So, 5 stars it is. It's such a fast read, but it'll take a long while to shake the feeling of East Texas in the 1930s. Highly recommended.