Review of This Dark Road to Mercy

This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wiley Cash has a strong voice. The writing is tight and Cash draws the reader in with the well-written characters.

A few reviewers have compared Cash to other Southern writers, such as Harper Lee. I don't see the resemblance beyond the setting being in the South, and young female characters and their fathers; there, Cash just sorta leaves Lee in the dust of an old dirt road and I for one could not see her when I looked backed--for all the dust, ya know!

There was also mention of Elmore Leonard and Cormac McCarthy. I would agree here, to a certain extent. But, the resemblance isn't because Cash sounds like an imitation of those writers, it's the rawness one senses behind the words, the darkness that is always there no matter how bright and hot the summer day is being described in the work. No, Cash has his own voice and it's strong and smooth like a shot of good Southern Whiskey: it hits you before you realize you've finished the drink. Yeah, that smooth. It's a voice telling powerful stories.

I think I have found another author to add to my favorites, another author that makes me glad I'm a reader and jealous that I ain't that writer! This book was on my to-read-again list before I even finished the first read. I caught the Icantputitdownitis right away, and only stopped reading when my eyes were no longer able to remain open.

One of the things that I enjoyed, apart from the voice, characters and diction, is the way the book is organized: e.g. chapters are told from different characters' POVs. There were no parts of this book that seemed out of place or unnecessary. It all fits.

I can't wait to devour more of Wiley Cash's work and will keep my eyes out for any new work.

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This Dark Road to Mercy: A Novel

Review of The William Faulkner Audio Collection

The William Faulkner Audio Collection by William Faulkner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Excellent readings of great stories. Just wanted to fill in some of the gaps in my Faulkner reading. Spotted Horses was the longest story here, and it was not disappointing. As it usually does, "A Rose for Emily" gave me the creeps. What a fantastic, creepy, weird story.

Faulkner is one of my favorite writers; that's not to say that I always like his content or his word choice, but that's neither here nor there, in my opinion. The man could write, stringing sentences together out of that not long ago time when things were not as pretty as they are now, making those sentences sing with repetition and other strategically placed rhetorical devices, causing those words to sing together in a wonderful dark beautiful sad Southern symphony.

Or something. If you like Faulkner, I recommend this audio collection, narrated by Debra Winger (remember her?), Keith Carradine, and Arliss Howard.

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