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homefreys's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
brandonadaniels's review against another edition
4.0
A great little book by Daniel Woodrell. I think I may have enjoyed this more than Winter’s Bone even. I loved the narrative voice. It reminded me some of Nick Cave’s And the Ass Saw and Angel, which I read recently.
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
The novel is about the death of innocence, as Shug tries to cope with the demands of covering up his mother’s misdeeds and trying to reconcile his feelings about stealing from the helpless. As always with Woodrell, the book is beautifully and sparingly written. Your heart sinks as you follow Shug’s story.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-death-of-sweet-mister/
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-death-of-sweet-mister/
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
Shug, whose mother affectionately calls her sweet little mister, has been dealt a tough hand in life. He's thirteen, overweight and friendless, with an alcoholic and promiscuous mother and an abusive father his mother hints isn't really his father. They live in a small house in a cemetery, the rent paid in exchange for keeping the cemetery grounds, which falls mainly on Shug to maintain. His father, Red, is a petty criminal with a record who starts including Shug in his activities in that Shug is told which houses to break into and Red and his friend keep the proceeds. Set in the early seventies, The Death of Sweet Mister is a grim and heartbreaking story which should be hard to read, but Daniel Woodrell has given Shug a sweet, clear voice that speaks in the cadences of a poor boy in a rural community. Shug really is a pleasure to spend time with, even if there's very little happiness in his life. He does love his mom, who loves him in return and he's curious about the world around him.
Woodrell writes about poverty-stricken rural communities like no one else. He captures relentlessly hard-scrabble lives with compassion for their narrowness of circumstance and lack of opportunity. He also writes people who, even in the limited choices offered, consistently make the wrong ones. There's an inevitability in what happens to Shug, but this doesn't make the ending of this short novel any less surprising.
Woodrell writes about poverty-stricken rural communities like no one else. He captures relentlessly hard-scrabble lives with compassion for their narrowness of circumstance and lack of opportunity. He also writes people who, even in the limited choices offered, consistently make the wrong ones. There's an inevitability in what happens to Shug, but this doesn't make the ending of this short novel any less surprising.
littletaiko's review against another edition
3.0
First off, Woodrell really has a way with words. He captures the dialect of an area so well and describes things simply and beautifully. Almost too beautifully as it becomes a bit jarring to have such lovely language used to describe such horrific events. Shuggie is a fat teenager with a beautiful alcoholic mother who attracts the wrong type of man, including Red who may or may not be Shuggie's father. Red's main interests are drugs and being abusive to pretty much everyone he meets. Needless to say things go very wrong. Having only read The Maid's Version by Woodrell before which didn't work for me overall, I can now see why people are a fan of Woodrell's writings. It was also a nice little bonus to see a brief mention of the dance hall explosion in Sweet Mister that is the focus of The Maid's Version.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Short and spare with a coming of age in the Ozarks plot, this was so well written and very powerful but also a hard and depressing listen. The audio was narrated by Nicholas Tecosky who handled the material well.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
This novel by the author of Winter's Bone is pretty nearly a perfect little book: It has a specific, distinctive voice, a strong sense of place, a huge pile of tension, and plenty of surprises in places I absolutely wasn't expecting. One of those books where I started out with a clear idea of what I was getting, and wound up in a completely different place I wasn't expecting. As good as Winter's Bone or better, and it'd make an equally memorable movie.
christiek's review against another edition
4.0
It is a remarkable author that can take you wherever he wants to go.
guardianang's review against another edition
4.0
A breathtaking tale of innocence lost, though some folks really never have much to lose. Beautiful nonetheless.