Castle Freeman

This was a fun, well-written tale about a woman looking for help to deal with the town bully/kingpin who's stalking her. The town sheriff is no help, but points her to the local rowdy boys. She hooks up with one of the old boys there, and a young tough, who agree to solve her problem. The rest of their day is mostly taken up on a Homeresque journey trying to locate the bad guy in one of his gritty haunts. The writing is punchy and colored with a strong feel for small town Northeast.

3 bones!!!… (mais)

Round Mountain by Castle Freeman Junior is a collection of twelve short stories all set in the backwoods of Round Mountain, Vermont and connected to each other by the reoccurring character, Homer Patch. Homer is a local boy, born and raised in Round Mountain, grows up to become the second county constable and eventually retires and is a genial, helpful good ol’ boy who hangs out with his cronies.

The stories are spread over decades, and each one covers an incident in Homer’s life. In this small rural community, the stories become significant as we learn about the people of the area, their fears, disappointments and hopes for the future. The author writes beautifully and even the most mundane moments come alive. Like fading snapshots the author has captured Homer and many other characters as they live their sometimes difficult lives. This is an author that knows his territory and captures the ebb and flow effortlessly.

Round Mountain is a wonderful collection and while I first fell in love with this author’s writing when I read “All That I Have”, this set of stories only adds to my admiration. His prose is sparse, but each word is chosen perfectly and captures the feeling of rural New England.… (mais)