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A review by matthewcpeck
The Bayou Trilogy: Under the Bright Lights, Muscle for the Wing, and the Ones You Do by Daniel Woodrell
4.0
I don't often read 'crime novels' - not out of disdain, but because of personal taste. I've read and been engrossed by a few Denis Lehane books, but I probably wouldn't have opened them at all if they weren't set in Boston, with landmarks I know so well. I decided to try Daniel Woodrell after watching the film of 'Winter's Bone' and reading some not-so-faint critical praise. And now this fanboy wants to read everything he's published.
UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS (1982) - Woodrell's body of work is set mostly within the Ozarks (his home), but his first novel and its 2 follow-ups are set in the fictional Louisiana town of St. Bruno, which is more akin to True Blood's Bontemps than New Orleans (I imagine). It's a sultry riverside burg teeming with gambling, alcoholism, and the general seediness that spawns noir stories. The marvelously-named protagonist is Detective Rene Shade, a local boy from the French neighborhood (Frogtown) who yearns to transcend the corruption in his department. These elements are familiar, of course, but Woodrell's prose is like a nimble electric piano solo and the sense of place is so vivid you can smell it. The character names and physical descriptions are the most memorable I've read outside of Annie Proulx "[he] had the complete barnyard of personal characteristics: ox-sized, goose-necked, cow-eyed, a hog gut, probably mule-headed, and clearly goaty of appetite." This story details the events stemming from the murder of an African-American councilman and ends with a mythic showdown in a dark swamp.
MUSCLE FOR THE WING (1988) - The sequel is quick and vicious, telling the story of a prison gang's run of poker-game robberies in the region, some of said poker games involving the movers and shakers of St. Bruno. Woodrell's words continue to compel, even though this installment gets a bit TOO bleak and depraved at times.
THE ONES YOU DO (1992) - The conclusion to the trilogy is the best, a near-masterpiece centering on the sudden return of Rene Shade's long-absent father John X.- a former poolroom hustler and ladies man - along with a 10-year-old daughter. This is less of a crime potboiler and more of a serio-comic rural drama with some surprising and grotesque elements (again, like acknowledged Woodrell fan Annie Proulx). The characters are lively and unforgettable, and the set pieces grand. One chapter involving a psychopath, a couple from Iowa, and a day out together in Natchez, Mississippi could stand on its own as a great short story.
I never though I'd complete a gritty crime trilogy and immediately miss the characters and their lives. How about a cable TV series? (The Shades?)
UNDER THE BRIGHT LIGHTS (1982) - Woodrell's body of work is set mostly within the Ozarks (his home), but his first novel and its 2 follow-ups are set in the fictional Louisiana town of St. Bruno, which is more akin to True Blood's Bontemps than New Orleans (I imagine). It's a sultry riverside burg teeming with gambling, alcoholism, and the general seediness that spawns noir stories. The marvelously-named protagonist is Detective Rene Shade, a local boy from the French neighborhood (Frogtown) who yearns to transcend the corruption in his department. These elements are familiar, of course, but Woodrell's prose is like a nimble electric piano solo and the sense of place is so vivid you can smell it. The character names and physical descriptions are the most memorable I've read outside of Annie Proulx "[he] had the complete barnyard of personal characteristics: ox-sized, goose-necked, cow-eyed, a hog gut, probably mule-headed, and clearly goaty of appetite." This story details the events stemming from the murder of an African-American councilman and ends with a mythic showdown in a dark swamp.
MUSCLE FOR THE WING (1988) - The sequel is quick and vicious, telling the story of a prison gang's run of poker-game robberies in the region, some of said poker games involving the movers and shakers of St. Bruno. Woodrell's words continue to compel, even though this installment gets a bit TOO bleak and depraved at times.
THE ONES YOU DO (1992) - The conclusion to the trilogy is the best, a near-masterpiece centering on the sudden return of Rene Shade's long-absent father John X.- a former poolroom hustler and ladies man - along with a 10-year-old daughter. This is less of a crime potboiler and more of a serio-comic rural drama with some surprising and grotesque elements (again, like acknowledged Woodrell fan Annie Proulx). The characters are lively and unforgettable, and the set pieces grand. One chapter involving a psychopath, a couple from Iowa, and a day out together in Natchez, Mississippi could stand on its own as a great short story.
I never though I'd complete a gritty crime trilogy and immediately miss the characters and their lives. How about a cable TV series? (The Shades?)