The Bottoms (Paperback)

In the days when the law didn't look upon a rash of murders as being committed by the same person - a serial killer was in fact murdering women in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Northern Texas. Now this killer has arrived in East Texas and young Harry Crane discovers the killer's first victim as he comes upon a dead black woman tied to a tree. Since his father Jacob is the town constable, the task will fall to him to solve the crime. But no one else will be interested in finding the killer since the dead woman is black, so, in a nutshell, who cares? Well, Harry's father does care and he will find himself fighting a losing battle as he tries to right this wrong. Instead of the town coming together, they will band against Harry's father as he tries to find justice for the innocent blacks in Texas in the 1930's.

Now it is seventy years later and the once young Harry Crane is sitting in his nursing home reliving those events of long ago. And, as Harry is reliving those days, I'm reliving those moments spent reading Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. I know there are only so many stories that can ever be told but there were just too many similarities in this book for me to thoroughly enjoy it. From the young brother and sister team, to the father in an official position of law, to the Goat Man so reminiscent of the reclusive Boo Radley and finally to the lynch mob showing up at the Crane house -- I could have been reading To Kill A Mockingbird all over again. Not only did this take away from my overall enjoyment of the story, it also made me quite irritated as well. I guess I just feel very protective of a "classic" that holds such a special place in my heart. In this rendition, however, the killer is so obvious throughout the entire book...no surprises here. So the "bottom" line is if you haven't read the original by Harper Lee, you'll probably enjoy this much more than I did. There's no doubt that Joe R. Lansdale is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading some of his more "original" works.

This is the tale of Harry, a boy grappling with bridging that difficult gap between childhood and manhood. Along the way he confronts the search for a serial killer, race relations and his love for his parents with all their faults that we are loath to accept in our parents.

The story takes place in Eastern Texas during the Depression. Although this is not a time and place I am familiar with, I found myself meandering through the woods, creeks and rural roads without feeling like a stranger to this part of the country. Mr. Lansdale made it so real to me that I could feel the heat, smell the air and want to swat at flies or scratch imaginary mosquito bites. It was as if I were hiding in the woods, in the barn or behind a chair in the farmhouse watching the story enfold before my eyes. Mr Lansdale has a wonderful talent for bringing you into the pictures he creates. His ability to do this reminds me of Stephen Booth's writing in "Black Dog."

Although I figured out who the murderer was early in the book, that didn't detract one iota from my pleasure in reading this book. I was so caught up in lives of a family that I had come to love that catching a serial killer became superfluous to their story.

Of all the characters in the book, I was most drawn to Jacob, Harry's father. Aside from the fact that I wished I had grown up with a father like Jacob, I suffered with him during his crisis of faith in his core moral beliefs and the very purpose for his existence.

This book will hold you in its grip until the very last page. The last chapter lulled me into a sense of complacency only to find myself in tears when reading the last few paragraphs.

I would urge you to read "The Bottoms" and experience your own personal trip.