Review: Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Goodreads: In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the country - and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.

More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

Kritters Thoughts: A read for my book club at One More Page bookstore, it is definitely not one I would have picked off the shelf myself, but that is why I belong to book clubs. So on to my review. I am writing this review a full week after finishing the book and a few days after book club, why you say? Because I still have no clue as to what I make of it.

Confession - the story is about a black boy and a white boy and their relationship as it evolves over time. WELP this girl got the characters mixed up and had to back it up a few (50) pages and re read to get myself on track. So read closely and make sure you know who is talking!

Maybe because of my character mix up or because I just wasn't connecting with the story - I thought the characters were endearing and the story believable and interesting, but I just wasn't drawn to find out what was going to happen next.

Some people at book club empathazied with Larry, while I saw him as meek and a boy/man with very low self confidence. There were several times where I was trying to play therapist and give Larry some pep talks to buck up and confront the townspeople, but alas he just kept keeping on. I guess don't upset the apple cart!

Now without using too many more cliches, I am going to say that it was enjoyable, the writing was very descriptive, but not overbearing and it was worth picking up.

Rating:definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Pages: 274

July-Sept 2011 Challenge: Well Rounded (mystery)