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Lay Down My Sword And Shield
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Product Description
Book Description
A powerful novel of conflict, history and shadows from the past ... by the bestselling, acclaimed author of THE TIN ROOF BLOWDOWN.
Product Description
'As I stood there on my front porch that hot, breathless July day, leaning against the column with the six bullet holes, now worn and smooth, I could see Hack's whitewashed marker under the pin oaks in the Holland family cemetery ... Four generations of my family were buried there.' Hack Holland is a product of the South, both old and new. Hard-drinking ex-POW and wealthy, progressive Democrat, he stands in the long shadow cast by his ancestors. When Holland's candidacy for a congressional seat brings him increasingly into conflict with those around him, his almost unwitting involvement with a violent civil rights conflict forces him to reassess his future - and his past...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of Burke's earlier novels (1971), and it shows. The author is at his best in his Robicheaux novels, where his lyrical prose is married to stark, brutal narratives and the pace the crime form demands. Many of his his non-Robicheaux books are marked by an unfortunate air of self-righteousness and florid pretensiousness. Burke's avowed liberalism can occasionally get in the way of his tales, never more so than here, where he labours his point with all the sophistication of a strident teenager.
Also be aware this is NOT a crime novel. I'm not sure what it is. There are a few briefly glimpsed episodes from the protagonist's wartime experiences in Korea, all evoked with chilling brutality. These suggest a war story, while the machinations of the protagonist's senatorial campaign promise a political thriller. His representation of an old comrade beaten up and jailed by red-neck cops for his association with a local union, the 'hero's' alcoholism, all lead nowehere. After much promise it all evaporates and all we have is a lame romance, and a horrible 'happy ending'.
Largely well written, with flashes of the writer Burke would become, but otherwise this deeply flawed work is for completists only.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The marketing of `Lay Down My Sword and Shield' is unfortunate. This book was written four decades ago and it reflects the politic and social conflicts of the time. It's also an early work of relatively young writer.
Yet this book is presented as if it's a recent addition to JLB's impressive catalogue, in the same imprint as the current Robicheaux and Holland series, and all the cover quotes do in fact refer to those books which are inevitably more polished and more relevant to the modern world. It doesn't help that the central character of `Lay Down...' is also the protagonist of JLB's 2009 novel, `Rain Gods'. You can forgive anyone for picking up `Lay Down...' and being a little disappointed to discover that it's quite different to JLB's later writing.
However it is still a powerful novel in its own right, which captures the bitter skirmishes of the civil rights movement in the American south at the end of the 1960s. `Lay Down' uses the personal journey of an ambitious, alcohol-addicted lawyer to explore many of the issues which JLB returns to in his later writing. The experiences of the Korean war are examined in stark brutality on an individual level; one veteran returns to become a successful advocate and a potential congressional candidate while another is spat upon while campaigning for fair wages for manual workers - and the chief difference between them is the colour of their skin.
At the core of `Lay Down' is a mid-life crisis and the quest for personal redemption. It touches upon political corruption and the power of the oil industry in Texas and beyond; the fragmentation of society into opposing special interest groups which barely recognise their opponents as members of the same species... all topics with powerful resonance today. The story is told with visceral forcefulness and at times it is far from pleasant. Hack Holland is no hero and at times it's hard to find any sympathy for his self-indulgent, self-destructive behaviour. But it feels like it could be an accurate representation of its times and the people who struggled through them.
JLB may well have refined his writing style as the years have gone by, but I found `Lay Down...' to be as gripping and involving as his later work. It's raw and colourful; unflinchingly horrible at times and yet not without moments of sheer beauty.
8/10
Yet this book is presented as if it's a recent addition to JLB's impressive catalogue, in the same imprint as the current Robicheaux and Holland series, and all the cover quotes do in fact refer to those books which are inevitably more polished and more relevant to the modern world. It doesn't help that the central character of `Lay Down...' is also the protagonist of JLB's 2009 novel, `Rain Gods'. You can forgive anyone for picking up `Lay Down...' and being a little disappointed to discover that it's quite different to JLB's later writing.
However it is still a powerful novel in its own right, which captures the bitter skirmishes of the civil rights movement in the American south at the end of the 1960s. `Lay Down' uses the personal journey of an ambitious, alcohol-addicted lawyer to explore many of the issues which JLB returns to in his later writing. The experiences of the Korean war are examined in stark brutality on an individual level; one veteran returns to become a successful advocate and a potential congressional candidate while another is spat upon while campaigning for fair wages for manual workers - and the chief difference between them is the colour of their skin.
At the core of `Lay Down' is a mid-life crisis and the quest for personal redemption. It touches upon political corruption and the power of the oil industry in Texas and beyond; the fragmentation of society into opposing special interest groups which barely recognise their opponents as members of the same species... all topics with powerful resonance today. The story is told with visceral forcefulness and at times it is far from pleasant. Hack Holland is no hero and at times it's hard to find any sympathy for his self-indulgent, self-destructive behaviour. But it feels like it could be an accurate representation of its times and the people who struggled through them.
JLB may well have refined his writing style as the years have gone by, but I found `Lay Down...' to be as gripping and involving as his later work. It's raw and colourful; unflinchingly horrible at times and yet not without moments of sheer beauty.
8/10
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
24 reviews
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful
A most welcome reprint
12 Feb 2010
Format:Paperback
Hackberry Holland came on the literary landscape in 1971, talking about the bullet holes in his porch left by John Wesley Hardin when the outlaw confronted Hack's grandfather before relating how an up-and-coming politician ended up far from the corridors of power.
In 2009, Hack was seen again in Burke's brilliant RAIN GODS. Now, Hack's introduction, LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD, has been reprinted.
Son of a congressman, Hack is on the verge of becoming one himself. All he has to do is live through endless cocktail parties, meetings with donors and pretending to be happily married to his ice queen wife. Anyone who survived being a Korean prisoner of war should be able to put up with a few wealthy Texas housewives and a senator, right? Instead, Hack is drinking himself into oblivion.
When an Army buddy calls from jail after being arrested walking a picket line with Mexican workers near the border, Hack hightails it to help. It's the end of his old life and the beginning of his new one.
This isn't just Hack's story. Burke uses his questing, honest hero not only to show Hack's personal journey to make his life meaningful. He also shows what it meant when the song would soon be "The Times They Are A'Changin' ". Whether it's non-white people trying to make the American dream come true, whites who brutally try to stop time's progress or an opportunistic politician and someone who scares even him, Hack crosses their paths.
Their combined stories provide a fascinating and important glimpse into what life was like for some people during the 60s. LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD is a stirring remembrance of a time when people's actions made profound impacts. That Burke brought Hack back in RAIN GODS only makes the original story more powerful.
Those who have read RAIN GODS will want to see where Hack came from, while those who are introduced to him through this first novel will want to pick up the later book right away. Even though they are set decades apart, they are connected by a character who remained true to himself throughout the years. That's the kind of power James Lee Burke brings to his stories.
In 2009, Hack was seen again in Burke's brilliant RAIN GODS. Now, Hack's introduction, LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD, has been reprinted.
Son of a congressman, Hack is on the verge of becoming one himself. All he has to do is live through endless cocktail parties, meetings with donors and pretending to be happily married to his ice queen wife. Anyone who survived being a Korean prisoner of war should be able to put up with a few wealthy Texas housewives and a senator, right? Instead, Hack is drinking himself into oblivion.
When an Army buddy calls from jail after being arrested walking a picket line with Mexican workers near the border, Hack hightails it to help. It's the end of his old life and the beginning of his new one.
This isn't just Hack's story. Burke uses his questing, honest hero not only to show Hack's personal journey to make his life meaningful. He also shows what it meant when the song would soon be "The Times They Are A'Changin' ". Whether it's non-white people trying to make the American dream come true, whites who brutally try to stop time's progress or an opportunistic politician and someone who scares even him, Hack crosses their paths.
Their combined stories provide a fascinating and important glimpse into what life was like for some people during the 60s. LAY DOWN MY SWORD AND SHIELD is a stirring remembrance of a time when people's actions made profound impacts. That Burke brought Hack back in RAIN GODS only makes the original story more powerful.
Those who have read RAIN GODS will want to see where Hack came from, while those who are introduced to him through this first novel will want to pick up the later book right away. Even though they are set decades apart, they are connected by a character who remained true to himself throughout the years. That's the kind of power James Lee Burke brings to his stories.
81 of 90 people found the following review helpful
To this day, my favorite of all the Burke books
31 July 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This will be a departure in some way for people that have read the series about Dave, but for those of us that simply love his written word, this is a stunning piece of work by Burke. I have read this book twice, something I don't do too often because there are just too many things stacked up in my "to read" pile. Hack is a good man plagued by demons of his own making, something that is NOT a departure in a Burke novel and is what makes this book one that is not easily forgotten. I think that the struggle we all make in our lives to do what is "right" is just rife with areas of grey. This is what makes reading this (and any) Burke novel an experience rather than several hours to kill time with a story. Just my opinion, I've been wrong before, as someone much wiser than me once said.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
No Dave Robicheaux, but not bad
10 Feb 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Hank Holland. The JLB style remains the same with the tough, rough main character, plagued by his own demons,but ultimately righteous in the end. It was enjoyable (and available in Mexico in Paperback, so not thoroughly out of print...) I'd read another book about the same character and I've read all but the most recent one of the Dave Robicheaux collection.
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