Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

I just finished reading the novel Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. It was recommended to me by a fellow runner/reader.

It's hard for me to know what to write about this book. Let me start by saying I thought it was excellent, and I hope to read more by Franklin. That said, I think the culture of rural Mississippi was what stuck out to me more than the plot. There are flashbacks in the story to the late '70s and early '80s. I literally kept forgetting the time period, and picturing it as pre-Civil Rights with the race relations. Maybe my head is still a bit in the sand about how backward some parts of the country really are.

I liked the Stephen King references, particularly the recurrance of the collection Night Shift, and even the short story "The Mangler," which I thought was one of King's best. Scary Larry and I could have been pals! Which leads me to another point. Why would someone obsessed with Stephen King be thought of as dangerous? King's books are at times gruesome and graphic...but they are about humanity, and more about the heart-wrenching internal struggles of people, good and bad. I think this appeals to people like me...the thoughtful, sensitive and introverted. I make no claim to be a nice guy, but I am certainly not violent, and feel a certain kinship with Larry.

I am reminded of a true news story of a young man who was indeed violent. I forget precisely who this was, but I remember it being compared to the school shootings that took place when I was a teenager (Columbine and Paducah). In the story, I was bothered by the fact that some of the books in his room were mentioned, as if they were evidence of a violent nature. It mentioned Wolves of the Calla and The Path of Daggers, without specifying the authors. The first is part of Stephen King's Dark Tower series...which is not really horror. The second is part of Robert Jordan's epic Wheel of Time series, which is purely fantasy. How can these possibly indicate that a person is violent? The writer of the article clearly did believe it was an indication. I have no qualm about calling out the author as an ignorant moron, but the fact that it came up at all makes me wonder. Suppose one of my neighbors goes missing? Are the cops going to see my shelf of Stephen king books and put me on the hot seat?

If so, they will get an eloquent education on the place of horror in literature :p

Back to the novel itself, I thought the plot was well done, and everything tied up nicely. I was surprised by a couple of the turns, which is always nice. I highly recommend this book for mystery lovers, Stephen King lovers, and anyone looking for a great read in the vast realm of fiction.