True Cross

Rating:
Summary: Hannibal in reverse?
Review: An odd shaggy dog story, often laugh outloud funny in the usual Pearson manner. And then it occurred to me the ending, if not the whole thing, was a sort of banal Hannibal Lector spoof, with the victim the yokel and the perpetrators both the langourous female and the yokels' romantic and peckerish imaginations. Try the ending with that in mind.

Rating:
Summary: A fine read.
Review: T. R. Pearson is the absolute master of the rhythms and speech of
the small-town south. A Short History of a Small Place is his best
work, and ranks among the greatest American fiction of the 20th
century. There are other great Southern writers such as Faulkner
and Eudora Welty, but Pearson is the only one I know of who is able
to capture the folksy gossip that takes place at the small-town
general store. His writing is whimsical and lyrical, and the turns
of phrase will keep you smiling: "Kenny, his name was, and he sort
of worked at a local muffler shop, a shabby unfranchised enterprise
on the rise behind the Sinclair where they never stocked your
muffler exactly but carried one they could make fit. They knew
inordinate need for mallets and main force, bent tailpipes with
their knees..." Which sounds like many places I know, but I
couldn't phrase it that well.

The novel is a narrative from Paul Tatum, who works as an
accountant, helping people with taxes and the like. He offers
reflections about various townspeople he knows, their oddities
and eccentricities. These are small-town peculiarities, the kinds
of things that you'd actually see in a small town--no axe murders
and such that too many novelists seem to feel are essential to
make a story interesting.

Pearson is always at his best in the southern small town. In this
novel Tatum visits Venice: in Pearson's novel Blue Ridge, some
of the story took place in New York. Such visits to urban sites
don't seem to work as well for Pearson--a bit like Michael Jordan
trying his hand at baseball, although Pearson in an urban setting
is vastly superior to Jordan on a baseball field. The ending is
rather downbeat: Pearson has worked murders into several novels:
Cry Me a River, Blue Ridge, and Off for the Sweet Hereafter, but
it doesn't work quite as well here. Still--Pearson is always
worth reading, and it's a fine novel.

Rating:
Summary: Backwater Gem
Review: T.R. Pearson deals with vile individuals and their haphazard lives through laugh-out-loud humor and lengthy description. I partially related to each character, but would not cop to being remotely similar to most. On the other hand, I would like to share Stoney's saintly disposition. Paul Tatum is the middle man and narrator of the story; he tries to manipulate and plan any conflicts within his existence, which often backfire. He is a circumventing, isolated individual who dabbles in accounting.

Paul and Stoney are each others' lone companions. Although Paul seemingly has a girlfriend, he and Stoney admire comely Maud Hooper from afar. Stoney and Paul dwell over the heroics of saving a damsel in distress, Maud, while supporting their Samaritan cognition with Stoney's striking features which mimic Saint George.

Stoney is everyone's random fact spouting, packrat uncle or brother or cousin. He is the most fun character and does what he wants. On the other end of the spectrum is Paul, who can't break up with his girlfriend by contemporary means, but tries to influence her to do the deed.

Although all of Pearson's characters are equally intriguing backwater gems, they drag the plot so slowly, that Stoney has signaled and passed them. I believe Maud Hooper, the most influential wounded damsel on Paul and Stoney, but is merely brushed upon, leaving her a hopeless mystery, and another woman to add to Paul's primarily clinical psychotics.

The book is both humorous and didactic. I keep a dictionary within grasp. Truths about human behavior are gilded with precise dollar words. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys highly descriptive, satirical, well-thought fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Backwater Gem
Review: T.R. Pearson deals with vile individuals and their haphazard lives through laugh-out-loud humor and lengthy description. I partially related to each character, but would not cop to being remotely similar to most. On the other hand, I would like to share Stoney's saintly disposition. Paul Tatum is the middle man and narrator of the story; he tries to manipulate and plan any conflicts within his existence, which often backfire. He is a circumventing, isolated individual who dabbles in accounting.

Paul and Stoney are each others' lone companions. Although Paul seemingly has a girlfriend, he and Stoney admire comely Maud Hooper from afar. Stoney and Paul dwell over the heroics of saving a damsel in distress, Maud, while supporting their Samaritan cognition with Stoney's striking features which mimic Saint George.

Stoney is everyone's random fact spouting, packrat uncle or brother or cousin. He is the most fun character and does what he wants. On the other end of the spectrum is Paul, who can't break up with his girlfriend by contemporary means, but tries to influence her to do the deed.

Although all of Pearson's characters are equally intriguing backwater gems, they drag the plot so slowly, that Stoney has signaled and passed them. I believe Maud Hooper, the most influential wounded damsel on Paul and Stoney, but is merely brushed upon, leaving her a hopeless mystery, and another woman to add to Paul's primarily clinical psychotics.

The book is both humorous and didactic. I keep a dictionary within grasp. Truths about human behavior are gilded with precise dollar words. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys highly descriptive, satirical, well-thought fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Is This Book Worth Reading?
Review: The story of Paul Tatum, an income tax preparer, is told through the
use of high-level vocabulary that perfectly describes what he sees and
feels. I discovered that on every page that I read I needed to look up
words that I have never seen before. Words such as "poleaxed" (Pearson
8), "gusseted" (104), "jodhpurs" (216) kept me reaching for my
dictionary. From the specific words that Pearson chose for the story,
I felt that he knew from experience about every subject he wrote about.

As a whole, the story confused me especially at the end. For instance,
three quarters of the story mainly described the lives of Paul and
Stoney, his neighbor. I was also able to visualize their lives in
Virginia and Italy. Pearson has the ability to describe in detail the
most unnecessary element of a topic that he focuses on in a section of
the book. When the most dramatic storyline comes up instead of setting
up the scence Pearson goes into his own world and begins describing
Stoney's van which is carting around "ten years' worth of receipts and
a lifetime supply of Dairy-O burger wrappers" and other useless
information (242). So instead of fully explaining whether Maud Hooper
actually had been abused, Pearson leaves the reader in the dark.

Overall, I think that this story would suit anyone who likes a book
filled with quirky lines that promotes laughter. However, this book
will not satisfy a reader who is looking for a great dramatic story and
ending.

Rating:
Summary: Is This Book Worth Reading?
Review: The story of Paul Tatum, an income tax preparer, is told through the
use of high-level vocabulary that perfectly describes what he sees and
feels. I discovered that on every page that I read I needed to look up
words that I have never seen before. Words such as "poleaxed" (Pearson
8), "gusseted" (104), "jodhpurs" (216) kept me reaching for my
dictionary. From the specific words that Pearson chose for the story,
I felt that he knew from experience about every subject he wrote about.

As a whole, the story confused me especially at the end. For instance,
three quarters of the story mainly described the lives of Paul and
Stoney, his neighbor. I was also able to visualize their lives in
Virginia and Italy. Pearson has the ability to describe in detail the
most unnecessary element of a topic that he focuses on in a section of
the book. When the most dramatic storyline comes up instead of setting
up the scence Pearson goes into his own world and begins describing
Stoney's van which is carting around "ten years' worth of receipts and
a lifetime supply of Dairy-O burger wrappers" and other useless
information (242). So instead of fully explaining whether Maud Hooper
actually had been abused, Pearson leaves the reader in the dark.

Overall, I think that this story would suit anyone who likes a book
filled with quirky lines that promotes laughter. However, this book
will not satisfy a reader who is looking for a great dramatic story and
ending.

Rating:
Summary: evermore
Review: What can you say about a book where nothing really happens but you laugh all the same and when you reach the last page you wish it wasn't over. I can't think of another author quite like T. R. Pearson. My late mother suggested I read A SHORT HISTORY... many years ago and after reading that saga of monkey water and hidden cigerettes I've bought every novel. I'm not quite sure how to phrase this. Even though Pearson mocks and ridicules somehow his affection for his characters always comes through. He doesn't seem mean spirited unless the character really deserves it. TRUE CROSS moves at a slower pace than his last three novels but not as slowly as his early work. I hope that someday and evermore Pearson will find the respect he deserves. Our two dogs, Queenie and Monroe, are named for canine characters in earlier Pearson works, and I can't think of any stronger evidence for the quality of his writing unless I made mention of something even remotely having to do with literary critisism. Trust me, read the book, if it doesn't make you laugh or if something doesn't remind you of your own life, just where do you live?!

Rating:
Summary: Pearson in transition
Review: While this is not my favorite Pearson, there are gems aplenty here. Yes, there are neck noises. Yes, people are having "relations" all over the place. And I laughed my head off.
However, what we're seeing here is an author in transition. If you've read his last few books in order, it is apparent that Pearson is reaching for something new, and True Cross is the natural step in that progression. I have a feeling the he's going to hit us soon with something that will astound his fans. And I can't wait!

Rating:
Summary: Pearson in transition
Review: While this is not my favorite Pearson, there are gems aplenty here. Yes, there are neck noises. Yes, people are having "relations" all over the place. And I laughed my head off.
However, what we're seeing here is an author in transition. If you've read his last few books in order, it is apparent that Pearson is reaching for something new, and True Cross is the natural step in that progression. I have a feeling the he's going to hit us soon with something that will astound his fans. And I can't wait!