Gone South

It's not often that a book can make me laugh out loud while at the same time feeling so sad about the characters lives, but this one did. The fact that the characters needed so little to feel like they were actually getting ahead made me think twice about what is really important. I love the fact that McCammon can and does switch from one genre to another, losing nothing and always delivering what you want-a good story you're glad you read. This book is so evocative you can actually feel the heat and desperation of the men sitting day after day in an empty lot hoping for one day of work. The swamp and the people who call it home are unlike any I have known or even read about. Amazing. All in all a great book.

I dont want to give anything away here. . .but I can tell you that McCammon has created unbelievabe characters put in a believable story line that somehow gives credit to the characters realness. Without going into a realm of fantasy of fantasy horror how do you make a reader care about the flamboant characters right out of a bad b-movie (nothing against bad b-movies) you make them real . . . you flesh them out by giving them real emotional responces to a society that the reader can relate to or is familiar with. McCammon has done this in Gone South. Hey folks, lots of page turning action, romance, sexual tension, and bottom line its a great chase book. If you like your fiction a bit twisted, this is a great book, enjoy.

I read this all those years ago, and I have since referred it to a number of people in search of a good story and a great laugh. My brother (a non-reader) has always said that he finds it hard to believe that a bunch of words written on a page can make you emote to exaggerated degrees be they horror, sadness or laughter. No, he is by no means stupid, and yes his imagination is not what one would call extremely active...he's a stock broker. What I told him is...it's all about manipulation. Can an author manipulate your emotions effectively? Well, McCammon proved he could very effectively manipulate emtions in this book...all the way around. There were times in this book, where I was tearing up with fits of laughter, and there were a great many times I was intrigued with his manipulation of the age-old craft of physical description...Has Grisham ever described a swamp better than McCammon did in this book...I can hear the bubbling sounds of water ever now.

I've just heard that Robert R. McCammon has retired from writing. I am saddened by this because I feel that he was just beginning to find his own very unique voice with his last two books, Gone South and Boy's Life. However, like the characters in Gone South, he has his own path to follow and his own dreams to pursue. It would be wrong for any of his fans to demand he write another book, although we all hope he does (he's still a fairly young man). His latest novel Gone South ranks up there with Swan Song and Boy's Life in my opinion. What makes this one special is his ability to make even the most bizarre and unreal characters seem real. He gets into the hearts of Flint and Pelvis and makes you care for them dispite their absurdity. Dan and Arden are also fascinating and sympathetic characters. But in the midst of McCammon's excellent characterization the action never stops. The book is chock full of chases and shootouts and unexpected plot twists. Also the ending with the revelation of Bright Girl is a beautiful surprise that reaffirms McCammon's message of making the best of the hand you're dealt in life. One review wrote that the ending was Koontz-like in its positiveness. I disagree. In a Koontz book Dan and Arden would have fallen in love and become cured of their ailments and live happily ever after. McCammon is a much better writer than Koontz in my opinion, and leaves the fates of the main characters up in the air. All in all, this is a terrific book, so by all means check it out.

One of the funniest, and strangest, books I have ever read. It's full of bizarre characters and situations, the dialogue is hysterical (some of it begs to be read outloud), and the action never stops. When are they going to make this into a movie?