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annevoi's review against another edition
3.0
The writing is virtuosic (at times annoyingly so), the characters definitely flawed, the story, such as it is, rather pointless. In the end, I didn't much care for any of the characters. There's no overcoming circumstances here. I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, but I'm just not sure I did "like" the book.
sandin954's review against another edition
4.0
Dark, gritty story set in a small Ozark town featuring the kind losers whose lot in life seems preordained no matter what they do. I can see why this book was so highly praised as lyrical, authentic, and the like but for some reason the story and the characters just did not engage me like I thought they would considering that I have really enjoyed the author's previous work.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
Unreal.
Just finished reading this aloud to my wife - we are both sitting here stunned by the book, especially the ending.
GritLit hardcore. More thoughts after I wipe the tears from my cheeks and drink a 40.
Just finished reading this aloud to my wife - we are both sitting here stunned by the book, especially the ending.
GritLit hardcore. More thoughts after I wipe the tears from my cheeks and drink a 40.
jamesdanielhorn's review against another edition
4.0
A low down dirty romp in the grit lit sack. I enjoyed the hell out of Tomato Red, and I’m not totally sure why. The characters felt very real to me. Maybe I’ve just been around enough people like this to know them, or maybe I see myself in them, but regardless, I really felt immersed in their world. This is where Woodrell truly succeeds here.
The book does have a couple of minor flaws keeping it from reaching classic status, particularly the descriptions of sex, which felt goofy to me, and a few sentences made me cringe, but I chalked them up to the narrator’s personality, and moved right along.
The book has been described as tragicomic by other reviewers, but I did not find much humor about it; it’s mostly bleak with some touching moments, and a sprinkle of brutality. Ultimately this mix made me want to read other books in Daniel Woodrell’s oeuvre, in hopes of finding more of what I had here. Read it if the above sounds appealing and you’ve got the stomach some depravity.
The book does have a couple of minor flaws keeping it from reaching classic status, particularly the descriptions of sex, which felt goofy to me, and a few sentences made me cringe, but I chalked them up to the narrator’s personality, and moved right along.
The book has been described as tragicomic by other reviewers, but I did not find much humor about it; it’s mostly bleak with some touching moments, and a sprinkle of brutality. Ultimately this mix made me want to read other books in Daniel Woodrell’s oeuvre, in hopes of finding more of what I had here. Read it if the above sounds appealing and you’ve got the stomach some depravity.
rocketiza's review against another edition
4.0
Southern noir is the only noir aside from Chandler that I enjoy.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
3.0
Still working my way through a stack of Daniel Woodrell. This one didn't hit me as powerfully as The Death Of Sweet Mister, in part because it seemed less focused on one fascinating character with a unique inner life and a really ugly dilemma, and in part because the narrator's very stylized voice was distancing and distracting for me. Looking at any one paragraph on its own, I loved it: This is extremely creative and colorful writing where no simple statements are made, and the narrator never approaches anything directly and head-on, though he's a direct, head-on kind of guy. (This collection of quotes gives some hints about the writing style.) It's beautifully crafted—but trying to read it for the what-comes-next of the story was a slow, deliberate, not entirely compelling process, and the story itself feels like it could stand to be expanded. It still keeps striking me, though, how well Woodrell creates different voices and makes every book feel radically different even when he's fundamentally writing about the same things: back-woods, poverty-stricken, proud young people trying to get by.
liznc's review against another edition
2.0
Country noir with beautiful and colorful writing but I just couldn’t get invested in the characters.
dave37's review against another edition
5.0
Second favorite Woodrell after The Death of Sweet Mister. Again, not an uplifting book, but dark, rich, quirky, and beautifully written.
katmackie's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to read Woodrell for a while, but I wanted to start somewhere besides Winter's Bone since I've seen the film adaptation a few times. I wanted to jump into his work without already knowing the plot. But, now that I've read Tomato Red I want to read as much of his work as possible.
Woodrell does an amazing job at conveying the in struggle defeating "where you're born is what you are". He adds to the hopelessness of this by showing many failing routes of escape: beauty, sex, scheming, crime... these said routes being attempted by the unfortunate criminal protagonist, Sammy, and a family of three he happens to meet at the start of the short novel. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, though he continued to make some frustrating (and sometimes hilarious) choices. Woodrell was really successful in conveying an optimistic endurance in Sammy, even when his darker side took hold of him, as he was always happy to go along with others aspirations for lack of his own. It's all this, and the sad compromises that have to be made to survive, that make this novel one to be read.
Recommended!
Woodrell does an amazing job at conveying the in struggle defeating "where you're born is what you are". He adds to the hopelessness of this by showing many failing routes of escape: beauty, sex, scheming, crime... these said routes being attempted by the unfortunate criminal protagonist, Sammy, and a family of three he happens to meet at the start of the short novel. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, though he continued to make some frustrating (and sometimes hilarious) choices. Woodrell was really successful in conveying an optimistic endurance in Sammy, even when his darker side took hold of him, as he was always happy to go along with others aspirations for lack of his own. It's all this, and the sad compromises that have to be made to survive, that make this novel one to be read.
Recommended!
madiroo91's review against another edition
3.0
"A head is just a pumpkin with ears when it smashes."
Not a bad little book. I had never heard of this book or even this author until I came across the movie they made, called Tomato Red: Blood Money. So obviously I had to read it so I could watch the film. It stars Julia Garner, who I think is perfect for the role of Jamalee. Oddly enough, the book is set in a small run down town outside of the Ozarks.
Not a bad little book. I had never heard of this book or even this author until I came across the movie they made, called Tomato Red: Blood Money. So obviously I had to read it so I could watch the film. It stars Julia Garner, who I think is perfect for the role of Jamalee. Oddly enough, the book is set in a small run down town outside of the Ozarks.