- Paperback: 345 pages
- Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; Reprint edition (30 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1565124138
- ISBN-13: 978-1565124134
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13.5 x 2.7 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 518,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Joe
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Product Description
Product Description
Set in a small town in Mississippi, this story focuses on the relationship between Joe Ransom, an aimless drunk and gambler whose job keeps him in whisky and cigarettes, and 15-year-old Gary Jones, the sole breadwinner in a family of intinerants. Both are soon drawn into a web of violent tragedy.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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14 reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Dark Places
26 Feb 2002
Format:Hardcover
This is one of those books that I have to re-read every couple of years or so. And every time, I am pleased to find that it's as good as I remember.
The first time I read "Joe," I had just discovered "Big Bad Love" and I could not wait to read more Larry Brown. But whereas the previous collection of stories had humor and pathos and sad comedy in heaping portions, this is a book about dark places. The first book written after Brown had achieved his much-sought-after degree of success did not seem to find him in a pleasant mood. Relocate James Ellroy in the South and lengthen his machinegun sentences into paragraphs. Contemporize Cormac McCarthy. That's kind of what this book is like.
The Joe of the title is a man of questionable morals and steeped in prejudices that seem like self-fulfilling prophecies. He posions trees for a lumber company for a living, and then when the seasons change he plants new ones. He has more money and can kick more (...) than anybody around him and those factors make him despise almost everyone, including himself. Following him as he tries to create some good in the world is heart-wrenching and by no means sentimental.
I hope they never adapt this novel into a film. The prose and characterizations are so rich that they produce a movie in your head that is crystal clear and downright flawless.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
An A** Pocket Full of Whiskey
12 Feb 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Listen folks. Hands down, Larry Brown is the best southern writer since Faulkner (though I do get tired of the comparisons because honestly, Brown and Faulkner share very little in common other than the location of their stories). Nevertheless, what is obvious when you pick up JOE is that Brown thoroughly understands the human condition. This novel brilliantly and deftly explores family ties, poverty, abandonment, and even a tad bit of racism. Nothing is overstated though. It's a slow rolling boil of a book that begs to be read patiently and lovingly.
I really do not want to give much plot away here. Instead, I'll simply say that if you do not feel empathy for these characters, if you do not long for Joe to rescue both himself and the young man who he takes under his wing, if you do not feel the horrors that the young girls and their mother experience at the hands of their father, and if you do not cringe at the brutal realism on display in this novel's pages, then you are either insane or dead.
If you only read one more book for as long as you live, pick up this masterpiece and savor every sentence, every beautiful (and occasionally horrible) image, and a vision of the south so pure and unfiltered, you'll find yourself shaking your head when you realize Brown died long before his time and deserves to be remembered and recognized for the humble literary god that he is.
I really do not want to give much plot away here. Instead, I'll simply say that if you do not feel empathy for these characters, if you do not long for Joe to rescue both himself and the young man who he takes under his wing, if you do not feel the horrors that the young girls and their mother experience at the hands of their father, and if you do not cringe at the brutal realism on display in this novel's pages, then you are either insane or dead.
If you only read one more book for as long as you live, pick up this masterpiece and savor every sentence, every beautiful (and occasionally horrible) image, and a vision of the south so pure and unfiltered, you'll find yourself shaking your head when you realize Brown died long before his time and deserves to be remembered and recognized for the humble literary god that he is.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Great Southern Fiction
25 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
"Joe" is the first book I'd read by talented author Larry Brown and I have to say I'm glad."Joe" held my attention in many ways-despite being a very large book to read. The main character is not perfect, some people might call him a straight up jerk. Somehow when I kept reading about this man, and all his flaws I couldn't help but to like him. Mr. Brown made him so real, so human and so imperfect, that I felt like I could know a JOE living next door or down the street even. However in realife-very rarely do you get to see and understand a person, like the author made me understand Joe and the reasoning behind his motives.
I highly recommend this book.
I highly recommend this book.
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