The Pyrenees---Southern France

The Pyrenees---Southern France

Friday, February 14, 2014

I'm a Sucker For a Pretty Line

      Many years ago, I heard Rick Bragg speak at a conference. This was right after he'd had his first memoir, All Over But the Shoutin', published. A Southern writer with countless tales to spin. The man had a way with words. I was hooked. And a little bit smitten...

    I continue to be wooed with words. Often, it's during a writing critique night. Sometimes it's a bit of song lyrics. (Anna Nalick's "Life is an hourglass glued to the table," or John Mayer's "Walkin' like a one-man army" are two I love.) And sometimes wonderful lines are found in whatever novel I'm currently reading.

     Recently, I read Radio Hope by Sean McLachlan. Any book that has a post-apocalyptic premise is a book I avoid...most of the time. But I follow Sean's posts--he travels all over the world--so I hoped his novel would be an enjoyable read.

     And it was. Right away, there were a couple of well-crafted lines begging to be jotted down.

       Roy's bar "a place for relaxation, inebriation and stupefaction."

               an aging man "with a hairline that hadn't crawled halfway to his butt." 

         Despite the fact that this kind of novel is worlds away from what is normally stacked next to my bed, I was interested in the plot, and almost inhaled the book...I had to finish it so I could find out what happened to the characters. Who survived? Who lost out?

     I appreciate that Sean trusts his readers. He trusts that they don't require a bunch of chunky background story. The story evolves naturally. There are things you wonder about. Where did the bar get its name from?  What are tweakers? What exactly is Radio Hope? And the answers come...all in good time.

     Personally, I survived my own version of Toxic Bay (a place in Radio Hope) today. It was Valentine's Day, and for elementary school teachers, it's a terrifying day. Will any of the adults perish due to self-mutilation? Can a third grader's sugar level get any higher? When is Spring Break? (Yes. No. Not soon enough.) 
    

  
If you're an Amazon Prime member,
you can borrow this book for free.

       Check out Radio Hope. Even if you're like me, and normally don't read this type of book, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised...