The time is the summer of 1958. The place is Dewmont, Texas, a town that the great American postwar boom has somehow passed by. A sad, hollow beat trails the kids who tune into rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like thin molasses. For blissfully ignorant thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchell, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of an old trove of passionate yet troubled love letters that lead him to a long-ago ...
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The time is the summer of 1958. The place is Dewmont, Texas, a town that the great American postwar boom has somehow passed by. A sad, hollow beat trails the kids who tune into rockabilly on the radio and waste their weekends at the Dairy Queen. And an undetected menace simmers under the heat that clings to the skin like thin molasses. For blissfully ignorant thirteen-year-old Stanley Mitchell, the end of innocence comes with his discovery of an old trove of passionate yet troubled love letters that lead him to a long-ago house fire and the tragic deaths of two very different young women. Obsessed with investigating their fates, Stanley finds a guide and mentor in black, elderly Buster Lighthouse Smith, a retired Indian Reservation policeman who now runs the projector at the drive-in theater owned by Stanley's parents. The laconic Buster tutors Stanley on the finer points of Sherlock Holmes, the blues, and life's lost dreams. But not every buried thing stays dead. And in one terrifying night of rushing creek water and thundering rain, an arcane, murderous force will suddenly rise from the past to threaten the boy - and test the limits of Buster's strength and wisdom. In the end the old man teaches Stanley a lesson that will haunt him always, about the forever short distance between living flesh and the dust from which it came.
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Add this copy of A Fine Dark Line to cart. $40.20, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Brilliance Audio.
I found this to be one of the more insightful stories I've read. The period that this story was placed is a time of great changes in the U S . I felt as if I was there; almost could feel the warm Texas air. I've loaned this book to several people and always got a "wow".
pamela1717
May 24, 2009
4.25 stars! A nice surprise!
4.25 stars! A nice suprise! I really enjoyed this novel of Lansdale's (much more than The Bottoms). I found it to be a very entertaining and nostalgic coming of age/mystery story told in the folksy style of a 13 year old in the 1950s. The 1950s seem to be a great time of which to write due to it's innocence and it's conflicting darkness (in this case, racism, child abuse, spouse abuse) and this one has it all...it sounds dark, but it made me laugh on several occassions. I was sold on this story early for two reasons: first Lansdale's dedication, "In memory of Cooter. Brave, True, and Nobel Protector. Friend. Family dog." (as those who know me are aware, I'm a big believer of dogs being part of the family); and second, after reading this passage, "Like Huckleberry Finn, Richard wasn't the sort that would make a great adult, but he was one hell of a kid. He could ride a bike faster than the wind, could toss a pocketknife between his toes and not stick himself, knew the woods, could climb a tree like a gibbon, and juggle four rubber balls at a time." This is just one example of the Lansdale's simple prose you will find in this story--and the tale "ain't" bad either!
