Father and Son

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mike draper, April 18, 2009 (view all comments by mike draper)
This story is the anthisis of The Prodical Son. In this tale, it isn't a repetent son who comes home and is welcomed by his father but a rebellious son, fresh from prison and angry with the world.

Bobby Blanchard is the sheriff who caught Glen Davis after he hit and killed a young boy while Davis was driving drunk. Bobby is a man of integrity and in love with Jewel, Glen's old girlfriend and mother of Glen's illegitimate son. Think of Gary Cooper walking down the street at High Noon and you have the image of Blanchard.

Glen is a vicious drunk who treats everyone with hatred, this includes his father, Vernon, who survived the Death March to Batan in WWII but came back injured.

Glen isn't home for more than a day when he takes his rifle and robs and kills a local bar owner with whom he had a grudge.

Brown has written a compelling novel describing an aspect of rural life in the area of Oxford, Mississippi in the 1960's. He has similarities with fellow Oxford, Mississippian William Faulkner. Also influenced by John Steinbeck in his desceiptions of the poor, the numerous misfortunes that befall them and their acceptence of tragedy as a way of life. It was almost as if some of the characters were descendents of those Oaklahomans in "The Grapes of Wrath."

The history leading up to the events of this novel reveal that Vernon had an affair with Bobby's mother, Mary, but couldn't marry her when she became pregnant because he was drafted into the army. Mary had to marry anothe man but he was killed in the war. Vernon only married Emma, his wife who has died at the start of the novel, when she became preganat with Glen. It was Emma who poisoned Glen with tales of Mary having secret affairs with Vernon. This causes Glen's hatred for Mary and of his father.


The novel is suburbly written with tragic and heroic figures at the crossroads. Once finished, the story of Glen and his half brother Bobby will stay with the reader for a long time.

Highly recommended.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780805053036

Author:

Brown, Larry

Publisher:

Owl Publishing Company

Location:

New York :

Subject:

General

Subject:

Fiction

Subject:

Fathers and sons

Subject:

Psychological fiction

Subject:

Mississippi

Subject:

Ex-convicts

Subject:

Mississippi Fiction.

Subject:

Ex-convicts -- Mississippi -- Fiction.

Subject:

General Fiction

Subject:

Literary

Subject:

Fathers and sons -- Fiction.

Subject:

Literature-A to Z

Copyright:

1997

Edition Number:

1st Owl Book ed.

Edition Description:

Trade Paperback

Series Volume:

v 6

Publication Date:

19970931

Binding:

TRADE PAPER

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Illustrations:

Yes

Pages:

368

Dimensions:

8.38x5.44x.89 in. .72 lbs.