The Bottoms

I did say earlier in the week that I was going to talk about Joe. R. Lansdale and pacing. Recently I read, no "tore" through his novel, "The Bottoms". I have read a few of his books now. I first heard of him through a friend (and reader of woofreakinhoo) who commented on my style being similar to Lansdale's.

The only thing I had heard about Lansdale was that he had wrote the story which became the movie, "Bubba HoTep". I wondered what I might have in common with a guy that wrote stories about Elvis and a black JFK battling an Egyptian demon who is sucking souls at a seniors home. Just look at that sentence and imagine that hitting an editors desk in the form of a query letter. "Say... that's different."

Now having read Lansdale, I do see some of the similarities - and I could only hope to come close to his amazing storytelling ability. That was what I was going to mention about pace. His plots move, sometimes they rocket! He has created, for me, some of those "I can't put the damn thing down" moments. But I have felt that sometimes the books and the characters have lacked a bit of depth or resonance. It is there, you might have to read a few of his Hap and Leonard books to see how that relationship is about a lot more than the crazy adventures, shotguns and dwarves. And his book Sunset and Sawdust was a rollicking dark tale. But again, missed some of the resonance that I like to see.

Don't get me wrong, I love this guy's work, but something has been missing. That was until I read The Bottoms. This, I believe, was his most critically acclaimed book, winning The Edgar Award and being named a New York Times Notable among other awards. It is rightly compared to "To Kill a Mockingbird" book, both in the child narrator, views on racism and southern setting. They also say it is like Faulkner - that's a bit of a stretch. Maybe Faulkner if he made more sense. Some Faulkner has blown me away, but only when I have had time and the mental energy to sift through the dense language.

Within the Bottoms is a tale of mystery through a child's eyes. It is about a serial killer but so much more. It is about racism in Texas during the depression. And at its deepest level it is about familial relationships, most notable between a father and son. It's a book that resonates deep with me, and visits some of the themes that I ponder. Themes of redemption and how you pass on your beliefs and morals to your children.
If you find this book in the mystery section and you don't read mysteries... buy it and read it. Go now.

Lastly, I don't know of anyone in my circle of friends that reads Lansdale, in my city I mean. I get talking about him and eyes glaze over. But a while back I went into one of those mystery book stores that specialize in whodunits and such. I don't go there much as I don't read in that genre. I went looking for Lansdale (very hard to find around here). When I asked the store owner about Lansdale, her eyes lit up. It was like she had finally found someone else who knew this secret.

Spread the word, this guy needs to sell more books. But maybe he is selling a ton and I don't know about it. He is getting a huge award this year - I need to look that up and recall what it is.

More next time.