Customer Reviews

Smonk or Widow Town

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

The pages of Tom Franklin's novella, Smonk, gallop past like a horse whose tail is on fire and his butt is catching. Franklin dismisses any lingering romantic notions we might have had about the Old South, and in their stead delivers a Southern Gothic adventure more grotesque than any you've ever read.

Compared to Franklin's first novel, Hell at the Breech, Smonk's characters are more quirky, and the tale is more far fetched--with its elements of witchcraft and traces of the supernatural. However, these elements of fancy are just enough to balance the gruesome depiction of gory violence and grim existence resulting from Franklin's hyper-realistic story telling style.

Who is Smonk? He is "pure evil turned into God's right hand." And in Smonk's south there is no black and white when it comes to morality. Only shades of gray . . . . . . . and rivers of crimson.

When I first saw this book;I immediately thought it was a western.However,even with a cursory look ,it is evident that it is in no way an Old West Western.The illustration on the dust jacket ,would do honor as a scene from the Old West.Somehow we have been conditioned to think of the Old West when we see these hardscrabble ,dilapidated ,town storefronts and a sinister character holding a rifle in such a menancing manner.It is a great piece of artwork.
But what we get here, is a deep south Gothic story that takes place at the same time as the stories and events of Tombstone,Dodge City or Deadwood.
If you were a fan of that super series,"Deadwood",or that other series "Carnival";you are in for a surprise ,and that puts it mildly.
David Milch,creator of "Deadwood" has written this for the back of the dust jacket; "Tom Franklin has created a character the likes of which the Old West has never seen. E.O.Smonk is a rougher,tougher, version of Jesse James.An edgy,quirky,bawdy,look at the days of cowboys and shootouts.Smonk is the read deal." The big difference is that this novel is set in the Deep South,in a small town of Old Texas,Alabama;but at the turn of the 20th Century.
Franklin's novel is so earthy,hard,vicious,and unbelievable it even makes Milch's "Deadwood" look like peaceful and gentle by comparison.
Sometimes the story gets a little difficult to comprehend ,much as we saw with "Carnival". This is not a problem because the actions and thought processes of many of the characters are also beyond comprehension.
If you like a real brutal,savage,ruthless,sadistic,heartless,cold-blooded,remorseless,barbarous western,and I don't mean one of those riding the range and singing as the sunsets westerns,this is a novel you will love.If somehow Al Capone found himself in this town;or if Al Swearengen from "Deadwood" found himself there;they would have made fast tracks for the hills,and wouldn't bother looking back.
A great read;and an author I'll be looking for more from. Hey,wouldn't this make a great Series!!!

grabbed me when I was shelving in the fiction section of the bookstore where I work. Read the jacket and just knew I had to have it. This was a VERY violent, gritty, and deviant book!! It was a little hard to read because it's pretty much all prose with no quotations at all and that made it a little tough to follow.

I kept reading it because it's such a good book and that is my only "fault". E.O. Smonk was just... well... wrong!!! Everything about him said devil's child and his story will send chills up and down your spine. The violence is over the top, the sex is illegal and rough, and the lives of these characters are... insane!

I will admit upfront that I am a big, big Tom Franklin fan. Hugh! And I would probably read (and enjoy) just about anything this guy would write right down to and including filler in men's magazines. Point is, I am not necessarily an unbiased reader/reviewer. So with the caveat, here goes. I really like "Smonk," although perhaps not quite as much as his first novel "Hell..." Mr. Franklin truly writes for those that tend more towards testosterone than progesterone. In any case, I am beginning to think that he is something of a cross between Stephen King and Zane Grey, except that the scenery is distinctly Southern. And fortunately for the rest of the world this cross-poilinization as it were seems to have an awful lot of hybrid vigor. The writing is impeccable and both the scenery and the cadences of the dialogue are distinctly Southern. This is truly Southern Fiction at its best from, moreover, one of the best and most promising practitioners of the craft in business today.

It seems that Mr. Franklin has taken considerable heat for the level of violence etc. in this book. I believe this is in part unfair because as is often the case with these sorts of things the violence is intended more as a metaphor than anything else--unless, of course, you are really simple minded, and want to take everything literally, in which case you probably don't read books in the first place. Indeed, the whole story is really something of a dark tragicomedy. So don't bother with this book if you are an overly serious person. Upshot: if you're squeamish if you're a very serious person, look elsewhere. If not, I predict you will really, truly enjoy "Smonk."

This book is very violent and graphically so. It's interesting and well-written. The characters are memorable, but the killings, etc, become almost too much.

Reading Smonk made me think of Sam Peckinpaugh's fabulous movie
"The Wild Bunch". In Wild Bunch, things would be going along
quite peacefully, and then there would be a terrible flurry of
violence ("terrible" in the sense of Yeats' "a terrible beauty
was born" about the Easter uprising) done in a semi-slow-motion
to accentuate the violence. The Wild Bunch is also like the
oft-heard comment about war to the effect of "two days of
boredom and one minute of sheer terror". Or think of Lonesome
Dove, which has many very violent scenes--but these scenes are
not continuous.

In Smonk, it's rather like seeing Wild Bunch or Lonesome Dove
with almost all of the quieter times deleted. The murders,
shootings, disembowelings, throat-slashings, rapes, castrations,
etc, are almost non-stop. After a while it gets rather numbing.
Franklin's other novel, Hell at the Breech, has some violent
scenes, but the pace is much more measured, and Hell at the
Breech is a fine novel--well worth reading.

Franklin writes well, and Smonk starts off in a promising
manner, but I found myself not liking or having emphathy with
any of the characters. Tony Soprano is not a nice person, but
you can have empathy for him, and he has some good qualities
to go with the bad ones--you could enjoy having dinner with
him. But I didn't think I'd enjoy having dinner with any of the people
in Smonk.

I am usually the type of reader that will "power through" even the worst of books. I just couldn't do it this time. The story seemed to go in every direction and no direction at the same time. It really felt like this book was just an excuse to write down every depraved idea that Franklin could come up with.

The characters were extreme to the point of being ludicrous. The violence was extreme and pointless. To make it worse the character's reaction to the violence was hokey and unbelievable to the point of being irritating. After fifty pages I still could not find a reason to care for the main characters or empathize with them. All of the secondary characters were flatter than a cardboard window display. They seemed to be nothing more than placeholders.

After reading the short story Poachers I was ecstatic to find this book in my local library. I snatched it off of the shelf and rushed home to crack it open. After nearly one hundred pages, I closed it for good. This story has none of the dark and enthralling attributes that made Poachers a great story. It honestly has very little in the way of redeeming value.