The Sharpshooter Blues

This was my first Nordan book. I found his quirky story both funny and heart-wrenching. The writing is everything the previous reviewers say it is--very very good. I look forward to readindg more Nordan soon.

Imagine being in a world filled with humidity, drooping moss, parrots flying, sounds of Robert Johnson singing to the wind and motoring the swampy delta in a boat powered by an evinrude motor. This is the world of Hydro Raney a young man stunted mentally by hydro-encephalitis. Lewis Nordan draws us into this strange and magical world in his book Sharp-Shooter Blues. Every character is deftly created and a pleasure to meet. Hydro Raney is a gentle and innocent young man who readers will easily takes into their heart. He is a person of simple wants and needs who takes people he meets at face value. His father loves him dearly and sings him to sleep at night. Hydro willingly places a cantaloupe on his head for his sharpshooter friend Morgan to shoot off. While this turns out successfully, Hydro in his innocence is not prepared to deal with everyone who comes his way. Prepare to meet as well: the Lovely children who are beautiful to look at, but hide behind their looks and beauty; Louis, the young comic book geek who is witness to the darkest moments of the book; the Prince of Darkness the mortician that rose from the dead. The Sharp Shooter Blues is awash with wonderful southern characters that, leave a lasting impression on the reader.Lewis Nordan is a gifted story teller who has crafted a book of extreme pain and beauty. There is so much life, sadness and depth to the book that I dog eared numerous pages to go back and read again. It is beautifully written and leave the reader with much to think about.If you have not yet discovered Lewis Nordan do pick up a copy of the Sharp Shooter Blues. It is a story that reads swiftly but that will stay with you long after.

I have read everything Lewis Nordan has published, and Sharpshooter Blues is probably the best work he has done. "Sugar Among the Freaks" rivals, and is perhaps a close second, but this book manifests everything I enjoy about Buddy's work. Witty, touching, and always weird, Sharpshooter Blues is your best bet to buy if you are scanning the titles of this southern writer you've heard some things about. His characters, like Hydro and his father, Mr. Raney, and all the folks around this fantastic place have stayed with me as I develop my own "Arrow Catcher." It is a great, quick read that is hard to put down. Just try it--it's good stuff.

I was initally wary of Lewis Nordan. He struck me as the patron saint of writers; it seemed like every writer I knew was blabbering about this guy. I finally succumbed to the peer pressure and picked up "Sharpshooter Blues." And, if you'll excuse the hyperbole, I have never been the same. The book still illicits tears and laughter after a third and fourth reading...and I am proud to have done my part in passing along this novel to several friends who have, in turn, recruited more Nordan fans. Still, I live in dread of the day some movie producer realizes what a wonderful array of characters is here for the stealing and destroys this novel in much the same way Hollywood has ruined other personal favorites.

I carry two things with me in my briefcase at all times, just so that I can always have them at hand. One is the poem "Night Song" by Louise Gluck which I tore out of a New Yorker magazine in 1983. The second is the book "Sharpshooter Blues" by Lewis Nordan. I finished this book on a flight to Los Angeles, flipped back to the beginning to look something up, and proceded to read it straight through a second time. I have since read it completely twice more, read isolated sections countless times, and given it as a gift to everyone I know who relishes a great book. The characters and settings are so beautifully drawn as to take your breath away in places. Please, do yourself a favor and read this book. Be warned though, Chapter 7 will change your life forever.