Tag: Daniel Woodrell

Day 104: The Death of Sweet Mister

~ whatmeread ~ Leave a comment

Cover for The Death of Sweet MisterAnother of Daniel Woodrell’s Ozark mysteries, The Death of Sweet Mister is grittier and more pessimistic than the previous Woodrell mystery I read, Winter’s Bone, and that is saying something.

The novel is set in the 1960’s. Shug Atkins is a lonely, overweight 13-year-old boy. His mother, Glenda, is a beautiful, promiscuous drunk who is married to Red, a brutal drug dealer who beats both of them and forces Shug to help steal drugs from sick people. Only Shug’s mother loves him and calls him Sweet Mister.

Glenda meets Jimmy Vin Pearce, a city man with a bright green Thunderbird who works as a cook in an upscale restaurant. The two begin sneaking around together with only Shug as witness. Eventually, Glenda decides to run away with him.

The novel is about the death of innocence, as Shug tries to cope with the demands of covering up his mother’s misdeeds and trying to reconcile his feelings about stealing from the helpless. As always with Woodrell, the book is beautifully and sparingly written. Your heart sinks as you follow Shug’s story.

Day 52: Winter’s Bone

~ whatmeread ~ 2 Comments

Cover for Winter's BoneI became interested in reading Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell after seeing the powerful, gritty movie. If anything, the book is grittier and more compelling.

Winter’s Bone is a grim, yet touching, sparsely written tale of a young girl’s attempt to save her home. Ree Dolly is a high school student who has been supporting her mentally ill mother and two younger brothers in an area of the Ozarks that except for some modern-day conveniences doesn’t seem like it could be much different from it was a hundred years ago or more. One day the sheriff arrives to tell her that her father put their house and property up as collateral for his bail, and that if he doesn’t make his court date in a week, the family will lose their home. To Ree, this would mean a loss of all hope.

Ree sets out to find her father, whom she hasn’t seen in several months. Although almost everyone she visits is related to her in some way, most of the men are meth cookers, and her quest among the Ozark hollows is fraught with danger. Some of the women are even scarier than the men. Ree begins to feel that there is some greater mystery–that others know where her father is and aren’t telling. Initially resistant to her efforts, her terrifying Uncle Teardrop finally decides out of family loyalty to help her.

Woodrell’s prose is both lyrical and spare. You are rooting for Ree, her honest, uncorrupted spirit in stark contrast to the endemic criminality of the community.