👶👶👶 The Pecan Man, by Cassie Dandridge Selleck

This novella, was, for the most part, an engaging and entertaining quick read. I really enjoyed the descriptions of small-town southern living, and it had great potential. However, in all honesty, it was a bit disjointed, and often confusing with regard to time-frame, etc... In addition, the entire story needed to be further fleshed out. All of the characters should've been more developed, as we knew little about them and their background, other than a few crumbs doled out here and there. Although some of the mystery was by design, it still left the reader hoping for more. The twists, although unpredictable, were anti-climactic and emotionless. The unfortunate part of this is that these moments had the possibility for riveting drama, had they been less hastily rendered. By the time any truths were revealed, it was too late, and the emotional potential was lost.

There are very few literary subtleties in this short novel... everything was very black and white, leading to a dry undertone. The scenes are summed up, not shown in rich detail, which doesn't bode well for any novel, no matter how short it is.

It seemed to me that the story should have been set in the late 60's. Although, sadly, there was still racial tension in the late 70's, I don't believe that it was so extreme, that such a crime would go unreported to the authorities for fear of retaliation. However, I hope that my naivety is not evident in such matters where it pertains to the south, having grown up in the west. I also found the title of the book curious; although Eddie plays one of the central roles, the story was about so much more than just him.

The author has a way to go before being rightly compared to Harper Lee, as has been done in some reviews, but her raw talent is certainly apparent. Clearly, she has gathered quite an audience... what she does in this public forum will be interesting to see.

Read 7/6/15