Ah, Joe Lansdale. This guy sort of creeped on me to become one of my favourite authors. His Hap & Leonard series is a lot of fun, but he also gets serious on amazing novels like The Bottoms.

This novel falls somewhere in between. I think every review up to now name-checks Huckleberry Finn and it's easy to see why, when the protagonists are floating down a river, but this is a much different story. Borrowing some elements of both the H&L series and The Bottoms, adding a touch of both Stephen King and Shakespeare, Lansdale once again weaves a gripping story full of horror and laughter.

If you haven't read Lansdale, then you're missing out. ( )

Dopo un inizio faticoso (proprio non riuscivo ad andare avanti), questo libro ha catturato la mia attenzione. Le atmosfere sono cupe e sconsolate, come anche in altri romanzi di Lansdale.
Sue Ellen, la protagonista, è una ragazza di sedici anni cresciuta nel Texas degli anni '30, tra povertà, violenze e discriminazioni. Si imbarca in un'avventura ai limiti dell'impossibile per provare a realizzare il sogno della sua amica, morta tragicamente. Si tratta di un viaggio reale e metaforico nello stesso tempo, un percorso di crescita e di maturazione per i protagonisti, un giallo e un racconto di avventura nello stesso tempo, con frequenti riflessioni sulla differenza tra ciò che è giusto e ciò che non lo è.
Mi restano alcune perplessità sulla ricostruzione storica (negli anni '30 si usavano le torce a pile?), ma alla fine non sono così importanti. ( )

This is a good story all on it's own. What made it a bit diluted for me is that it feels like a "light" version of Lansdale's "The Bottoms", which I have already read. It is not the same, but it feels similar. This story has "the Skunk" man/spook/legend, and the other had the Goat Man. And it's the same river, area, and nasty-ass briar/vine thicket. It definitely has it's own voice and tale, and it was an enjoyable read. Maybe I'll just consider both books to be a "Sabine River Series" and enjoy them for their own. And maybe root for a third installment? Hmm... ( )

While any book by Joe Lansdale is better than any book by most other authors, logic dictates that some of his books will be better than others and visa versa. So it is with this standalone thriller. The narrator and characters are well constructed and entertaining but the plot is often disjointed and some what happens seems to be thrown in.
Bottom line: I still enjoyed the book but there are several of Lansdale's books that are far better.
My thanks to the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books. ( )

How did Sue Ellen, the novel's determined adolescent protagonist, find herself on a raft in the middle of the Sabine River in East Texas with two friends, her mother, the ashes of a deceased friend and a tin can filled with stolen money hoping to get to California?

The impetus of this journey occurred when Sue Ellen's friend, May Lynn, was found dead after being pulled from the Sabine River. May Lynn's dream was always to travel to Hollywood to become a movie star. Sue Ellen convinces her friends to dig May Lynn body's up, cremate her, and spread her ashes in Los Angeles. The trip will funded with stolen money taken from a couple of nefarious characters. After launching their raft, the crooks hire a evil man named Skunk to get their money back.

I found the Odyssian journey a suspenseful thriller for about half the novel but found it a bore for the final half. I did enjoy references to Ulysses, including the lotus-eater's metaphor and the maelstrom event; however, not enough to rank it better than an okay read. ( )