Bonney's Place

My reading tastes are quite eclectic -- everything from Stephen King to Charles Dickens to Kinky Friedman to Ken Follett -- and Bonney's Place is one of my all-time favorite books. I have read it several times over the years; each time I do, it's like going home to visit beloved relatives I haven't seen in a long time.Leon Hale has spent a lifetime travelling the roads and backroads of Texas, observing and setting down in words the very essence of very real people. Do yourself a favor and read this book. If you've ever been in a Texas ice house or beer joint, you'll recognize Bonney's Place. And if you haven't ever been in one, drop into this one for a good time and a great read.

My husband found this book at an Aunt's house and decided to read it just for some way to pass the time. He rarely finds a book that holds his attention and that he enjoys; but Bonney's Place did just that. He recommended it to me and I too found it enjoyable and fun. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read. We are now in the process of finding other books by Hale to read. Let's hope they are as good as this one!

No writer "hears" Texas the way Leon Hale does. While his columns in the Houston Chronicle are like reading a page in his diary, reading Bonney's Place is like living a page in his diary. No one develops a character better than Mr. Hale. No writer has an ear for dialect like Leon Hale. No one can create that front porch and rocker atmosphere like Leon Hale.

I first read this while in Texas, the authors home state- my husband spent a lot of time at a bar like the one in the book. What I liked was the Hale had the son go incognito before he jumped to conclusions. The book is a lesson in forgiveness and learning to see people for what they are not what they take. Hale has a real feel for rural Texas and it shows in this book.