This territory is my home; the author is right on target. There is no question that the writing is excellent. The blending of music and misery is well done. I really wanted to like this book, and I did-- to a point. Sometimes, however, I just couldn't make the stretch that the author demanded. Too many coincidences of all the necessary people showing up at the necessary time. And, too, must everyone be a from "central casting"-- the overweight sheriff with a bad knee from football, the stripper just trying to take care of her child, the older brother selling the land with all those memories for a resort, the militia guys from the bait shop, the arrogant football players who are "headed for state" guzzling beer and harassing the town "mute" who has a talent for carving and remembers his mama's words to "let no kindness pass without me giving thanks." And, then there was Margaret searching for her daughter after putting her children at such risk that her son dies later seeing her daughter in a fancy house with granddaddy in a tie passing out Halloween candy, a scene right out of Norman Rockwell. But maybe, that was the point. There is an entire culture living beneath what we might call the "normal." It is from that culture that authentic folk/country/hillbilly music grew.

For another look at the same culture: Winter's Bone: A NovelWhere Stephens provides a lyrical and imaginative read; Woodrell's writing is sparse and direct. ( )

An indie-folk musician returns to care for his mother and gets involved with the discovery of what happened who his sister who went missing decades earlier. Very differently written and loaded with 21st century "social" atmosphere. ( )