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monty_reads 's review for:
The Bright Lands
by John Fram
4.5 stars.
I have a desert heart.
I’ve always felt most at home in the panoramic desolation of the American Southwest. When I lived in California I constantly sought out ways to immerse myself in those sweeping expanses of nothingness. And there was a part of me that felt a deep, almost elemental attraction to the idea of simply disappearing, of packing up, cutting ties, & pulling a Chris McCandless.
It makes sense, then, that The Bright Lands – a book that flirts with trying to do too much & succeeds anyway – would speak to me powerfully. Never mind the fact that it also dabbles in nostalgia (which I have a weakness for), murder mysteries (which I love), & high school football (which I find oddly compelling despite not caring a bit about the game itself). But most importantly it’s the vast desert outside the small Texas town where the book is set that resonates the most. Named the Flats, it’s a place of secrets, where unspeakable crimes can & have happened, & where the book’s main characters must continually return to discover the truth of the sickness that plagues the town.
Joel Whitley fled Bentley, TX, shortly after high school. A gay man persecuted by peers & adults alike, he knew he’d have more of a life in New York City. Now, ten years later, he returns to help his younger brother Dylan, a high school football phenom, break out of Bentley’s confines, too.
And then Dylan disappears.
Aided by his former girlfriend Starsha Clark – now a Bentley police officer – Joel tries to locate his brother while simultaneously untangling the dark secret at Bentley’s core.
No one could accuse author John Fram of not being ambitious. It is, as I mentioned earlier, a book that does so much it could have belly flopped spectacularly. The meth trade, the twisted rituals of Bentley’s football team, a pastor with a secret, high school bullies, the necessity of leaving your hometown despite the hold it has on you, & a distinctly Lovecraftian finale – Fram tackles all these things & more. It’s a murder mystery, a meditation on home, & a cosmic horror story.
I’m not sure it should have worked.
But boy howdy did it.
I have a desert heart.
I’ve always felt most at home in the panoramic desolation of the American Southwest. When I lived in California I constantly sought out ways to immerse myself in those sweeping expanses of nothingness. And there was a part of me that felt a deep, almost elemental attraction to the idea of simply disappearing, of packing up, cutting ties, & pulling a Chris McCandless.
It makes sense, then, that The Bright Lands – a book that flirts with trying to do too much & succeeds anyway – would speak to me powerfully. Never mind the fact that it also dabbles in nostalgia (which I have a weakness for), murder mysteries (which I love), & high school football (which I find oddly compelling despite not caring a bit about the game itself). But most importantly it’s the vast desert outside the small Texas town where the book is set that resonates the most. Named the Flats, it’s a place of secrets, where unspeakable crimes can & have happened, & where the book’s main characters must continually return to discover the truth of the sickness that plagues the town.
Joel Whitley fled Bentley, TX, shortly after high school. A gay man persecuted by peers & adults alike, he knew he’d have more of a life in New York City. Now, ten years later, he returns to help his younger brother Dylan, a high school football phenom, break out of Bentley’s confines, too.
And then Dylan disappears.
Aided by his former girlfriend Starsha Clark – now a Bentley police officer – Joel tries to locate his brother while simultaneously untangling the dark secret at Bentley’s core.
No one could accuse author John Fram of not being ambitious. It is, as I mentioned earlier, a book that does so much it could have belly flopped spectacularly. The meth trade, the twisted rituals of Bentley’s football team, a pastor with a secret, high school bullies, the necessity of leaving your hometown despite the hold it has on you, & a distinctly Lovecraftian finale – Fram tackles all these things & more. It’s a murder mystery, a meditation on home, & a cosmic horror story.
I’m not sure it should have worked.
But boy howdy did it.