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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Distinctive and Dark, December 17, 2006
I'd never come across Franklin before, but this Southern Gothic retelling of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is so distinctive that I'm curious to see what the rest of his writing is like. Although ostensibly set in 1911 somewhere in southern Alabama, it has a very hazy quality to it that suggests it could be anywhere in the deep south or southwest, any time between 1870-1900. The story proceeds along two tracks: one follows a terrifying man called Smonk, and the other follows a 15 year old prostitute named Evavangeline.
We meet Smonk at a trial convened by the men of Old Texas, where he is accused of murder after his yearlong terrorizing of their town. Unfortunately for them, the dirty, limping, deformed, consumptive, syphilitic, hellraiser smells a setup, and the scene quite literally explodes in an orgy of bloodletting which manage to evoke both the brutality and realism of Peckinpah and the bizarre cartoonishness of Tarantino all at the same time. Smonk makes his escape and begins a long game of cat-and-mouse with the town's only two male survivors. Meanwhile, we meet Evavangeline as she flees in flagrante from a strange roving vigilante group who is chasing her for being a sodomite (her young form was apparently mistaken for that of a boy's). Her journey takes her through the drought-ridden Gulf Coast and toward Old Texas. Along the way, she proves just as deadly as Smonk, leaving a trail of gruesomely dispatched corpses behind her.
As we learn about both characters' pasts, we also learn about their pursuers. William McKissick is Smonk's former partner, now turned semi-honest lawman. Under the belief Smonk killed his boy, McKissick conducts his hunt with blood oozing out of an untended belly wound and Smonk's glass eye between his cheek and gum. Evavangeline is chased by a posse of "Christian Deputies" led by a northern fop with no control whatsoever over his band of rascals. The action takes place across a surreal barren landscape of dead sugarcane and rabies-infected dogs and rats. Ultimately, everything leads back to Old Texas, a town which mysteriously has no children. As with many a horror movie, the town's long-held horrifying secret is finally revealed as the karmic justification for all the killings, eviscerations, rapes, and ultraviolence over the preceding pages.
This is an impossible book to pigeonhole. Franklin's Old Testament update is incredibly dark, gruesome, and violent (a note of warning, incest crops up more than once). And at the same time, it's so over-the-top that it can be awfully funny at times. Franklin's crafted a richly distinctive dialect and cadence for his characters' dialogue that helps in creating a unique sense of place. The one downside is that it's not set off like normal dialogue, which can make it a little hard to follow at times. I've definitely not read another book like this all year, but one like this is probably all I can handle. Highly recommended, but only for those with strong stomachs.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Over The Top, October 31, 2006
A quick and enjoyable read, "Smonk" is vintage Tom Franklin -- unsavory characters, hilarious dialogue, sudden violence, & moral ambiguity. This is his homage to Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian," complete with adolescent protagonist, gory & senseless slaughter, descriptive chapter subheadings, and even the use of McCarthy's made-up word 'swapt' (as in "the knife swapt off his head..."). I had a grand ol' time reading this and I suspect others will, too; it will provide you a rollicking good time if you can stomach the violent imagery and lack of any redeeming character (I suppose Smonk's elderly sidekick/father figure Ike comes closest to being "good," and he ain't even that close!). Though it intends to find a niche as a 'southern,' Franklin's novel, for all intents and purposes, is a 'western.' It has definite connections with Grand Guignol and Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch," but I think the term "over the top" is the best description I can give this book. Everything is exagerrated: the bloodshed, the physical deformities & diseases of various characters, their secrets, the extreme settings replete with epidemics of drought, rabies, etc. For me personally, I still think Franklin's book of short stories, "Poachers," is his greatest achievement to date, but "Smonk" gave me a couple of solid gut-laughs, lots of head-shaking at the absurd situations he imagines, several breath-taking instances of incredible dialogue and characterization, and moments of genuine awe at some of his dead-on descriptive details. A very gifted writer spinning an enthralling & entertaining yarn. Thanks, Tom!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ferociously brutal and graphic, May 3, 2011
Readers who enjoy large-canvas western classics such as Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove, but felt that that author shied away from too much graphic detail, or who are intrigued by Cormac McCarthy's use of brutal realism, yet also think the descriptive passages of books like Blood Meridian tedious or pretentious, may find the perfect marriage of blatant violence and compelling storytelling techniques in Tom Franklin's 'Smonk'. But no matter what expectations one brings to it, there is no doubt that 'Smonk' requires a stronger constitution to digest than traditional westerns, say in the vein of Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey - think instead of Joe R. Lansdale and you will hit closer to the mark. Still, despite the objections many will have to the gut-wrenching situations, Mr. Franklin did keep this reader turning the pages - with somewhat of a morbid interest, I have to admit.
The story is a bit hard to summarize - there are a lot of things going on in this relatively short book. Eugene Oregon Smonk, a truly demonic man, has been terrorizing the citizens of Old Texas, a bizarre, isolated town deep in Alabama. To rid themselves of his menace, they plan an ambush by luring him to a trial. Smonk escapes and takes his revenge on the town. Meanwhile, a young vagabond prostitute named Evavangeline is also making a slow journey toward the town, and when she meets up with Smonk in Old Texas, all the secrets that the town has been holding onto will spill out in one terrific night of fire and violence.
To say much more might spoil the hooks that Mr. Franklin uses to keep the reader pinned. Overall, he is effective at moving the story forward, yet there are still some weak points. Most of the primary characters are well-drawn, although those of Phail Walton and his Christian Deputies - on the trail of the young Evavangeline - seem added more for comedy relief than as an integral part of the story, and I thought Mr. Franklin much better at his serious characterizations. But the biggest drawback to the story is the end, which I found improbable at best, and out of line with the author's previous realism.
Realism may not be the right word - there is so much earthy grittiness to 'Smonk' that it's difficult to know how many situations were exploited for maximum storytelling potential and how many were based on probable events. While I certainly have no way of knowing for sure, I suppose it is like most things of its kind - it's a little of both. Much of it rings true though, when considering the lack of amenities and law enforcement at the turn of the century - safeguards that we take for granted in our time. Regardless, 'Smonk' is a powerful example of extreme escapist literature, if you can accept - or are eager to involve yourself with - some ferocious brutality and graphic sexual content. Unfortunately, the ending it too improbable to rate this among the classics of its genre. Three stars.
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