Tishomingo Blues

by Elmore Leonard

[jamiereadthis]

After three of the last five books felt like they seriously wasted my time (Cold Mountain, Crooked Letter, John Updike, I’m looking at you), I decided to stack the deck. Elmore never wastes a second of my time.

And, hoo boy! This was terrific. Dixie Mafia, Delta blues! Between Chickasaw Charlie Hoke (he gets a story in When The Women Come Out To Dance), Robert Taylor (please tell me he gets more stories or books), and characters like Jerry, Arlen, and Loretta, this was one of my favorite assemblages of people yet, from the high-diver Dennis on down.

All set in the Mississippi heat against— so improbably, hilariously— reenactments of the Civil War. Detroit vs. Dixie, shootouts galore. Books, next time you start testing my patience: here’s how to do it right.

First read, June 2012

* * *

December 2012:

Here’s the second kick in the pants to my reading malaise. There’s not a character here, idiot, asshole, or otherwise, that’s not having the time of their life, just playing the game. God I love Robert Taylor, that blues-loving criminal mastermind.