Customer Reviews

Joe

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

If you are a fan of Larry Brown, or Southern Literature in general, you will be spellbound with "Joe". As usual, Brown's characters are believable in their flaws. You will want to talk about this novel with someone after you read it..so recommend it to a friend and then be reinspired when you discuss the possibilities of what "really happened". What a terrible loss when Larry Brown died! Read anything you can get of his previous novels, especially "Fay" and the unfinished last novel "Miracle of Catfish"

This novel is a whiskey soaked Faulkner-esque book of life in a rural Southern community. Quality American literature. A modern classic. I don't want to give anything away. I kid you not when i suggest you read it if you even sorta like American literature. Larry Brown seems to have mastered the form. Really, trust me and all these other reviews on here.

I've too often read reviews that start with "I really wanted to like this book but..." Unfortunately, this was my experience with Joe. First, my positive impressions...The writing is excellent and the story moves along at a good clip. It should keep those who need a good story line to keep their interest satisfied. The writing is deceptively simple. Larry Brown's use of language and local dialect is right on target. I can understand why he has won awards.

My problem with Joe is the way in that Brown characters are portrayed. They all seem almost cartoonish. They fit the stereotypes of poor southerners in a way that is probably satisfying to those not from this region. All the men drink non-stop whenever they are awake. All the women are only interested in sex - either for its own sake or for the sake of controlling men. All arguments are settled with either with guns or with physical violence that seriously injures the loser. Even the countryside is old and played out, basically unsuitable for human inhabitation.

If you want to read a well crafted book, Joe is worth reading, but if you want to get an honest picture of what the modern south is all about, I would steer away from this book.

Simple, spare prose. Richly drawn characters. Atmosphere and texture that make you almost feel you're standing in that place. The end left me convinced that the author intended to someday continue Joe and Gary's stories. Alas, with his premature demise, we can only play out their future in our wildest imaginations. I finished this fine piece of literature yesterday and countless possibilities have danced in my head. Larry Brown and Gina Berriault are among my favorite writers because they understood the importance of nuance like no others I've come across. Do I dare say they are writers' writers? For sure.

I just finished "Joe," which I read because of how much I enjoyed Brown's "Father and Son." Larry Brown creates gritty, independent, sometimes heartbreaking characters that seem real. It's definitely character-driven story telling about the poor-but-not-beholden south. If you like Daniel Woodrell, you'll most likely like Larry Brown. I plan on reading "Dirty Work" next.

I actually wanted to give this book three stars but didn't have the heart to do so. I undrestand what Brown was trying to do, but the entire book just didn't work for me. I thought the two plots and two characters took too much time to come together, and I had to start the book twice before I could really get into it and accept these people. The characters were not likable and the dialogue, while right on cue and perfect, put me off a bit. I'm not a prude, but one too many f--ks and s--ts gets a bit old.

There's not question that Brown is a talented author who found his voice and has/had something to say; his themes are big and bold and he doesn't pull any punches. He's raw and real, and gets to the meat of human existence. But I just didn't want to spend that much time with these people, rounded though they were. Brown's writing reminded me of Faulkner without the lengthy descriptions, or Steinbeck ("Grapes or Wrath") without the writing that told you to expect something big. There is something "Big" in this book, but as I said, it took the author too long to bring it together. Still, if you like all kinds of books, and you're not familiar with Brown, might I suggest "Big Bad Love" which for my money, is a little more accesible. Don't be put off by my review--see for yourself. As I said, it's not that I hated this book, but that it just wasn't for me at this time.

One of the finest Southern writers of the late 20th Century and this tome is one of the finest books ever written in the post-modern era. It's honest. It's brutal. It's beautiful. While Oxford's favorite adopted son, John Grisham, got all the glory (and the wealth), Oxford native Larry Brown toiled unnoticed, writing gritty tales of poverty, violence and redemption. Some of Brown's critics have mocked his unadorned language as if that has any bearing on a story's power. As Papa Hemmingway retorted to a similar snide remark by William Faulkner concerning his use of simple words: "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
I strongly encourage you to add this book to your permanent collection.