[9/10]We have no Halloween traditions in Eastern Europe, but since I read so many books published in the US I got into the habit of picking up in October some titles that don't usually migrate to the top of my reading stack. I don't mind horror: it's not my favorite genre, but I have found some real gems in the past. 2014 is the year I tried my very first Joe R Lansdale story, and I have chosen The Bottoms both because I noticed it received some literary prizes and because it is a standalone, no...

As seen through the eyes of an eleven year old boy and his nine year old sister between the years of 1933 and 1934 in the small East Texas town of Marvel Creek. Just a boy and his sister going squirrel hunting with their dog Toby. Then they discovered the tortured body of a dead black woman. Enter "The Goat Man" stalking the kids.This is copy 309 of 400 signed and numbered.

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/ “Only the past seems to matter now; only it seems to be alive; only it can support my soul.” I finally got around to reading this over the weekend and have been debating ever since about how to write a review. This is one of those books that if too much is given away, then everything might as well be given away. It also has a blurb that is about 112 pages long so go read that if you want way too much information. As for me? I’m goin...

Once again I find myself sitting here scratching my head wondering how in the world can this be the first time I have read Joe R. Lansdale.  In truth I think I may have come across a short story or two in one anthology or another, but this is my first novel.  It will not be my last.The story unfolds on a farm, set deep in the woods by the Sabine River in East Texas during the depression era of the 1930’s.   Our narrator is Harry Collins, an eleven year old boy who lives on the farm with his pare...

Remember, Chilluns, It's Always A Sin To Rip Off A Mocking Bird!All right, I loved BUBBA HOTEP. The movie, not the book. And I did enjoy a couple of Joe R. Lansdale stories that I read in the collection HIGH COTTON. ("Godzilla's 12 Step Program" was a special favorite.) But when he tries to turn all "lit'rary" and create a poignant coming of age novel . . . well, that hound dog don't hunt. Everything here is something you've seen before . . . many, many times before. Sensitive boy narrator? Chec...

Well, this was a very engaging read.I have never heard of this author.This book was recommended by a member of Goodreads (thanks David Putnam!).It won the 2001 Edgar best mystery and a couple of others literary prizes.Although I did not find the story very original (I have read others or watched a TV movie with same type of characters, and this book also reminded me of “How To Kill A Mockingbird”), I thought that the book was very well written (even if a bit repetitive) and I was captivated from...

‘“Only our memories allow that some people ever existed. That they mattered, or mattered too much.’Imagine, if you will, a “great American classic”--like the Ivory Tower flying starched banners of canonization Classic-with-a-capital-C--adapted as a muder mystery novel. We’ve seen this before in Law and Order and such, and like, cool, the nerds get some fun. Okay, now imagine it being bad. The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale sounded like something that would be different, fun, and good discussion for a b...

I probably need to file Joe R. Lansdale in the "Southern Authors I need to keep an eye on" file (if I may be so bold as to lump someone from East Texas into the "South"). I was consistently delighted by my first encounter with his work, the creepy cool 1930's-era Texas Gothic thriller The Bottoms. Much as I found Wiley Cash (another Southern author I've discovered recently) a straightforward, no-nonsense storyteller, Lansdale's style doesn't make room for ornate prose. It's all about establishin...

I first discovered Joe Lansdale when I found a discounted hardcover copy of THE BOTTOMS at Half Price Books. This excellent book started my love affair with the works of CHAMPION JOE! If you've never read him, give Hisownself a try ;)

Every time I finish a Joe R. Lansdale book I swear that I need to read more of his books. Often life gets in the way, though, and a good deal of time goes by before I pick up another. Having just finished The Bottoms, I am really, really, really determined to make Joe Lansdale one of my best friends. This standalone novel, written in the guise of an old man’s reminiscence, is an exceptional combination of murder mystery and coming-of-age tale set in East Texas during the Great Depression. Harry

4-5 Read this a long while ago, and I remember really liking it. I would never have guessed that this is the same author that writes Hap and Leonard.

The Bottoms: Joe R. Lansdale's Edgar Award Winning Mystery The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale was chosen as a group read for February, 2016, by members of On the Southern Literary Trail. Special thanks to Jane for nominating this novel. Joe R. LansdaleJust a few weeks ago my neighbor handed me a copy of By Bizarre Hands, the first anthology of short stories by Joe R. Lansdale. My neighbor is a professor of literature. I take his recommendations seriously. It was my first exposure to Landsdale....

A mix of nostalgia for the lost world of his childhood and the toxic racism that was the norm for the time and place. Nobody is going to miss the similarity with To Kill a Mockingbird, but strong enough to stand on its own.Harry and his family farmed in the Piney Woods of East Texas. The story is in 1933 and 1934. Daddy had a barbershop as well, and he ran it most days except Sunday and Monday, and was a community constable because nobody else wanted the job. For a time he had been justice of

The main protagonist Harry Crane takes us back to his youth to the time of the 1930's. He tells of his growing up in the family farm in the Bottoms, of their struggles during the great Depression and the grizzly murdered women that they discover in the Bottoms. He tells of his wonders of his youth and his delight in learning of those around him during his coming of age, of his quest and mystery in search of the identity of The Goat Man. His poor Dog Toby a limp but courageous dog that you'll nev...

Set in the 1930's this book is told from the viewpoint of an elderly man looking back at a time in his life. Harry grew up in East Texas along the Sabine River area. An area where more is picked up at the local store than groceries. Harry and his sister Tom find the body of a black woman who had been mutilated and tied up with barbed wire. His father Jacob is the constable/barber/farmer in the town and he takes the body to the black section to have a black doctor have a look to see what happ...

The works of Joe R. Lansdale have been recommended to me so much in the last 3-4 years. I have a strong affinity for coming-of-age tales so I was told very convincingly by several people that THE BOTTOMS was a must read. (Thanks to Steve and Chad!)I buddy read this with my friend Tracy and I'm not exaggerating when I say we devoured this book. I started Thursday night, Tracy on Friday afternoon and here we are on Sunday morning fangirling over Lansdale.I am in utter and complete awe of his story...

East Texas, 1930s, Racial tensions, add in a serial killer and the legend of the "Goat Man"...Harry is just a little boy growing up in Texas where racial tensions still run thick. His daddy is the town constable and has done his best to raise his children without racial bias. Harry and his sister Thomasina "Tom" are playing around when harry discovers a dead black woman washed up on shore by the river that runs through their town. The woman has been severely beaten, raped, and decidedly murdered...

The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale is a rousing atmospheric murder mystery with an abundance and it has to said, more than its fair share of tension and thought provoking issue. The Bottoms won the Edgar award in 2000 and is definitely a book that will stay resolutely in your thoughts long after you've finished. The story is an unforgiving coming of age tale for eleven year old Harry Crane set in the 1930's who along with his younger sister discover the tortured body of a...

This was a good read, but I can't go higher than 3 stars with it. I knew who the killer was about halfway through, and also guessed the identity of the Goatman fairly early as well. It was well-written with realistic dialogue for the time (1933) and was a good depiction of the morals and opinions of people in the south for the time as well. But there were too many inconsistencies in the plot, and it seemed to me he was retelling "To Kill a Mockingbird" with an East Texas setting. I know Lansdale...

Joe R. Lansdale is predominantly known as a horror writer, but lookie here: The Bottoms won the Edgar Award (Mystery) for best novel. Now, despite being a mystery, there weren't any big surprises for me, but where the novel truly shines is as the coming of age story of a 13 year-old boy in the early 1930s.I was surprised at what a quick read this was. For some reason I was under the impression that this was a denser read, but in no way was I disappointed at that. I'm a big fan of less is more. L...