The Death of Sweet Mister
Books | Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
3.7
Daniel Woodrell
The author of Winter's Bone delivers “a terrifying journey into the heart of darkness” with this suspenseful coming of age tale set in the Ozarks (The New York Times Book Review).Shug Akins is a lonely, overweight thirteen-year-old boy. His mother, Glenda, is the one person who loves him—she calls him Sweet Mister and attempts to boost his confidence and give him hope for his future. Shuggie's purported father, Red, is a brutal man with a short fuse who mocks and despises the boy. Into this small-town Ozarks mix comes Jimmy Vin Pearce, with his shiny green T-bird and his smart city clothes. When he and Glenda begin a torrid affair, a series of violent events is inevitably set in motion. The outcome will break your heart.“This is Daniel Woodrell's third book set in the Ozarks and, like the other two, Give Us a Kiss and Tomato Red, it peels back the layers from lives already made bare by poverty and petty crime” —Otto Penzler, Penzler Pick, 2001
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Author
Daniel Woodrell
Pages
191
Publisher
Hachette+ORM
Published Date
2012-04-24
ISBN
0316206156 9780316206150
Community ReviewsSee all
"Summertime always puts me in the mood to read Southern Gothic and grit lit. This did not disappoint. In fact, I’m left with a lingering icky feeling that will probably keep me up tonight way past my bedtime. The narrator is a 13-year-old boy whose voice is unique, honest, and downright haunting. You can’t help but feel sympathy for him, and yet you know there is nothing you can do to help him. He’s almost too far gone at the beginning, and by the end, he has experienced something so sinister that it kills off whatever smidgen of childlike innocence he had left. There were times I squirmed in my chair. I didn’t want to go any further, but I just had to know what was coming. Isn’t that the best kind of story, though? I cannot wait to read more from this author. Was anyone else reminded of the movie Sling Blade while reading this??"
A W
Addison Wills
