2009-05-04

Larry Brown: about as bleak as it gets

Larry Brown’s South is the type of place country singers don’t mention because it’s too depressing. The setting: grime. The tone: grim. Saying a Larry Brown character has a drinking problem is redundant (beer is almost a character in itself), as is saying that his characters are poverty-stricken or unexpressive.

This probably doesn’t sound like a positive review, but it is. You just need to know what you’re getting into.

I didn’t know it when I picked up Father and Son, a gothic story of generational sins, justice, and redemption. It left me wiped out for several days.

And any author who affects me that strongly is worth another try.

Dirty Work, an anti-war tale based mostly on the conversation between two dying vets, didn’t affect me as strongly as Father and Son, but his masterful collection of short stories, Facing the Music hit me again and again.

“Hitting” is a decent metaphor for how it feels to read him. I don’t always agree with his theology, and I wouldn’t care to meet many of his characters, and I absolutely think there are better ways to live—but you don’t read Larry Brown to find someone who can wrap you in cozy phrases you think are true. You read him because he can beat you to the verge of despair.

I think it makes you stronger.

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