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(also reviewed)
Order FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER here
I was born in a small, isolated mining town, somewhere in the north. It's a place that has its own ways, secrets and folklore, like every other small, isolated places. I love reading crime stories about the American South and Midwest, because they remind me of how it was when I grew up: the inescapable proximity, the wild nights fueled by boredom, the local legends, these are things I know well. Matthew McBride's latest A SWOLLEN RED SUN (to be published on June 17th) captures the essence of what it is to live and die in the same exact place, entangled in too many complicated neighborhood grudges for your own good. The novel is intimate in its tone, yet has a powerful sense of scope that illustrates the idiosyncratic, broken beauty of forgotten places.
Deputy Sheriff Dale Banks is the lawman of Gasconade County. He's no Serpico, but he's trying to do his job the best he can and go home to his wife and kids every night. Dale stumbles upon 52,000$ in the trailer of local hoodlum Jerry Dean Skaggs and gives in to temptation. Jerry Dean is a volatile and dangerous man and he can't afford to lose that money. In Gasconade Country, everybody knows everyone, so it's a matter of time before he gets his hands on the culprit and serve him some poetic justice. This money belongs to a couple investors, including a crooked cop that's been undermining law enforcement efforts in the county. Most important, Jerry Dean cannot afford to disappoint Reverend Butch Pogue, who's involved at the other end of this investment. He's supposed to make every party involved rich with his next batch of meth.
I mentioned local legends earlier, when I told you what made small places special. Exaggerated stories that create larger-than-life characters. These things only happen when a small group of people are heavily involved with one another. Matthew McBride understands this very well, so he created Reverend Butch Pogue, a walking nightmare worthy of bonfire stories and scaring young children into obedience. The suspended reality and common sense of Butch Pogue's compound places A SWOLLEN RED SUN on the tipping point between gritty reality an local folklore. He's not just a boogeyman to Jerry Dean and the other characters, he's a latent threat people are trying to manage. His presence, the fact Matthew McBride dedicated him entire chapters gave A SWOLLEN RED SUN that special aura of local legends. It reads like a story that's being past around and exaggerated a little every time. McBride captures the magic of isolated places much better than most.
A couple of years ago, I went bonkers over Matthew McBride's first novel FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER. It was an original, uproarious novel that had a cult movie feeling to it. It had the desired effect on readers and created a small, but very dedicated fanbase of Matthew McBride fans, which I am a part of. A SWOLLEN RED SUN couldn't be any moe different from FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER, you have to understand that going in. It's a novel that belongs to the country noir tradition of Frank Bill and Donald Ray Pollock *. In fact, A SWOLLEN RED SUN is admirably different from its predecessor and if anything, announces that Matthew McBride has a ''Joe Lansdalesque'' gift for scope. If McBride can switch drastically from pulp fiction to literary crime, there is nothing he can't do with a blank page. Few authors have such a range.
A SWOLLEN RED SUN was one of the highlights of my reading year, so far. Halfway between country noir and the dark magical realism of southern gothic, its powerful identity lies in its crafty sense of place and the keen understanding of what binds people together in a place where they can't escape one another. Matthew McBride has shown something special with FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER, yet A SWOLLEN RED SUN is the promise of an unlimited potential. Matthew McBride doesn't only have a sense of humour and a twisted imagination in his registry, he can flat out write. He has the understanding of the human condition great writers have. A SWOLLEN RED SUN is more than just another country noir novel, it's a window to a forgotten America. It's hitting bookstores soon, be ready.
BADASS
* A SWOLLEN RED SUN won't escape the comparison game if you've read both authors.
A SWOLLEN RED SUN was one of the highlights of my reading year, so far. Halfway between country noir and the dark magical realism of southern gothic, its powerful identity lies in its crafty sense of place and the keen understanding of what binds people together in a place where they can't escape one another. Matthew McBride has shown something special with FRANK SINATRA IN A BLENDER, yet A SWOLLEN RED SUN is the promise of an unlimited potential. Matthew McBride doesn't only have a sense of humour and a twisted imagination in his registry, he can flat out write. He has the understanding of the human condition great writers have. A SWOLLEN RED SUN is more than just another country noir novel, it's a window to a forgotten America. It's hitting bookstores soon, be ready.
BADASS
* A SWOLLEN RED SUN won't escape the comparison game if you've read both authors.