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kbogdano80 's review for:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
by Tom Franklin
Growing up in rural Mississippi, Larry Ott and Silas Jones are about as different as two boys can be. Larry is shy, uncoordinated, an outcast. Silas is confident, sure of himself, a sports star. Larry likes to read; Silas likes to play baseball. Larry is white; Silas is black. Despite these circumstances, for a few months the boys become friends, until events tear them apart. When the boys were 16, Larry took a girl out on a date to the drive-in and the girl was never heard from again. No body was ever found and Larry never confessed, but everyone believed he was the culprit. The boys' already weakening bond broke and shortly after Silas left town.
Twenty-some years later, Silas has returned as the local constable and Larry still lives in his childhood home, solitary and ostracized. He's called "Scary Larry." He frequently has late night intruders, a beaten up mailbox, and bashed in car headlights. No one gets their car fixed at his mechanic's shop. The two men have no reason to cross paths until another local girl goes missing and Larry is accused again.
This was partly a mystery, a coming-of-age novel, and a look at an unlikely friendship in a time and place strife with racial discrepencies and prejudices. Franklin captures the atmosphere, feel, and dialect of the South very well. This was a very sad novel, but I was pleasantly suprised to find it sprinkled with a bit of compassion, kindness and hope as well.
Twenty-some years later, Silas has returned as the local constable and Larry still lives in his childhood home, solitary and ostracized. He's called "Scary Larry." He frequently has late night intruders, a beaten up mailbox, and bashed in car headlights. No one gets their car fixed at his mechanic's shop. The two men have no reason to cross paths until another local girl goes missing and Larry is accused again.
This was partly a mystery, a coming-of-age novel, and a look at an unlikely friendship in a time and place strife with racial discrepencies and prejudices. Franklin captures the atmosphere, feel, and dialect of the South very well. This was a very sad novel, but I was pleasantly suprised to find it sprinkled with a bit of compassion, kindness and hope as well.