Specify Books Supposing The Bottoms
| Original Title: | The Bottoms |
| ISBN: | 0446677922 (ISBN13: 9780446677929) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Harry Collins, Harry Crane, Thomasina Crane |
| Literary Awards: | Macavity Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel (2001), Anthony Award Nominee for Best Novel (2001), Hammett Prize Nominee (2000), Edgar Award for Best Novel (2001) |
Chronicle As Books The Bottoms
The narrator of The Bottoms is Harry Collins, an old man obsessively reflecting on certain key experiences of his childhood. In 1933, the year that forms the centerpiece of the narrative, Harry is 11 years old and living with his mother, father, and younger sister on a farm outside of Marvel Creek, Texas, near the Sabine River bottoms. Harry's world changes forever when he discovers the corpse of a young black woman tied to a tree in the forest near his home. The woman, who is eventually identified as a local prostitute, has been murdered, molested, and sexually mutilated. She is also, as Harry will soon discover, the first in a series of similar corpses, all of them the victims of a new, unprecedented sort of monster: a traveling serial killer.From his privileged position as the son of constable (and farmer and part-time barber) Jacob Collins, Harry watches as the distinctly amateur investigation unfolds. As more bodies -- not all of them "colored" -- surface, the mood of the local residents darkens. Racial tensions -- never far from the surface, even in the best of times -- gradually kindle. When circumstantial evidence implicates an ancient, innocent black man named Mose, the Ku Klux Klan mobilizes, initiating a chilling, graphically described lynching that will occupy a permanent place in Harry Collins's memories. With Mose dead and the threat to local white women presumably put to rest, the residents of Marvel Creek resume their normal lives, only to find that the actual killer remains at large and continues to threaten the safety and stability of the town.
Lansdale uses this protracted murder investigation to open up a window on an insular, poverty-stricken, racially divided community. With humor, precision, and great narrative economy, he evokes the society of Marvel Creek in all its alternating tawdriness and nobility, offering us a varied, absolutely convincing portrait of a world that has receded into history. At the same time, he offers us a richly detailed re-creation of the vibrant, dangerous physical landscapes that were part of that world and have since been buried under the concrete and cement of the industrialized juggernaut of the late 20th century. In Lansdale's hands, the gritty realities of Depression-era Texas are as authentic -- and memorable -- as anything in recent American fiction.
List Epithetical Books The Bottoms
| Title | : | The Bottoms |
| Author | : | Joe R. Lansdale |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 328 pages |
| Published | : | September 1st 2001 by Mysterious Press (first published 2000) |
| Categories | : | Mystery. Fiction. Horror. Historical. Historical Fiction. Crime. Thriller. Mystery Thriller |
Rating Epithetical Books The Bottoms
Ratings: 4.17 From 6322 Users | 765 ReviewsCriticize Epithetical Books The Bottoms
Joe R. Lansdale is predominantly known as a horror writer, but lookie here: The Bottoms won the Edgar Award (Mystery) for best novel. Now, despite being a mystery, there weren't any big surprises for me, but where the novel truly shines is as the coming of age story of a 13 year-old boy in the early 1930s.I was surprised at what a quick read this was. For some reason I was under the impression that this was a denser read, but in no way was I disappointed at that. I'm a big fan of less is more.As seen through the eyes of an eleven year old boy and his nine year old sister between the years of 1933 and 1934 in the small East Texas town of Marvel Creek. Just a boy and his sister going squirrel hunting with their dog Toby. Then they discovered the tortured body of a dead black woman. Enter "The Goat Man" stalking the kids.This is copy 309 of 400 signed and numbered.
4-5 Read this a long while ago, and I remember really liking it. I would never have guessed that this is the same author that writes Hap and Leonard.
[9/10]We have no Halloween traditions in Eastern Europe, but since I read so many books published in the US I got into the habit of picking up in October some titles that don't usually migrate to the top of my reading stack. I don't mind horror: it's not my favorite genre, but I have found some real gems in the past. 2014 is the year I tried my very first Joe R Lansdale story, and I have chosen The Bottoms both because I noticed it received some literary prizes and because it is a standalone,
Joe R. Lansdale is predominantly known as a horror writer, but lookie here: The Bottoms won the Edgar Award (Mystery) for best novel. Now, despite being a mystery, there weren't any big surprises for me, but where the novel truly shines is as the coming of age story of a 13 year-old boy in the early 1930s.I was surprised at what a quick read this was. For some reason I was under the impression that this was a denser read, but in no way was I disappointed at that. I'm a big fan of less is more.
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/ Only the past seems to matter now; only it seems to be alive; only it can support my soul. I finally got around to reading this over the weekend and have been debating ever since about how to write a review. This is one of those books that if too much is given away, then everything might as well be given away. It also has a blurb that is about 112 pages long so go read that if you want way too much information. As for me? Im going to
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.