This review is long-over due, and since I lent the book to a friend, I will be going off of memory! First and foremost, I am happy that this was the first book for the new year of book club, and its because of such selections that I was able to delve into a very moving, thought-provoking, and utterly enjoyable piece. I would have never chosen this novel, and that's one of the major pluses of being in a book club because you become exposed to works you wouldn't normally read.
Throughout the entire work, I just wanted to reach through the pages, and give Larry Ott the biggest and warmest embrace I could offer because my heart broke for him every second. I was never popular in school, and so I could truly empathize with loneliness and ostracism this character faced. He was never well-known for being anything, but the strange kid who was obsessed with horror novels, as well as the by-product of a mother who never really spoke out, and knew her place, and a father who was loud, opinionated, and enjoyed the sauce a little too much. Enter Silas "32" Jones, a young, black man who becomes Larry's only friend, and is hiding out with his mother in a shack on the Ott family farm. Then, there's the girl next door who is basically a walking, talking time bomb, and after brief encounters with Larry, she and he go out on what is supposed to be the best night of Larry's life, and a proud moment for his parents--taking a girl to a drive-in movie. The night doesn't go as planned because the girl had ulterior motives, and was seeing Silas the whole time, unbeknownst to Larry, and everyone else in town. When the girl turns up missing, Larry, and his family become the subject of speculation in that small, Mississippi town, and although it can never be proven, Larry is labeled as a "murderer."
Silas, his best friend, who turns out to be his half-brother, could have turned all this around if he came forward, and revealed the relationship. A part of me understands the trepidation to do so, seeing as it was a mixed couple, and racial tensions were very high in the seventy's, but no one ever said the right thing was easy. The sad reality is the Ott family become frozen in time after the accusation, and are never again the same. Their local automotive business slowly diminishes, but Larry carries on... finding his only comfort in the mundane routine he has created, as well as his beloved books by authors such as Stephen King.
One of my favorite moments was when Silas, who is now a local policemen, has to get a rattlesnake out of a mailbox, which really made Mississippi feel like a character in its own right... the lavish descriptions really made the reader feel like they were a part of this world. The poor economy, and the giant that is Wal-Mart all are mentioned, and that makes me respect Mr. Franklin because in spite of his success, he really understands the basic slice of life. Another favorite scene of mine was when Larry received the Halloween mask from his horror magazine, and the thrill he got just wearing it, scaring people in the church during the haunted house festivities. The moment when he leaves, and sees the girl next door, and Silas talking with their friends, could have been the turning point for Larry. Perhaps if they had included him, his life would've been different.
All and all, an amazing and enjoyable read that is anything but boring, especially since it kept me up 'til 4am to finish it!
3/100
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