A FEAST OF SNAKES: A NOVEL

"A Feast Of Snakes" is more than an angry book; it boils over with rage. Joe Lon Mackey isnt just a Southern redneck stereotype, he is the embodiment of the frustration and desperation of Americas rural poor. "Deliverance" reads like a fairy tale in comparison to this novel.

The tone of "A Feast Of Snakes" is vile and hateful. It feels like Crews most personal work, perhaps written at a time when Crews was going through a living hell of his own. Like Joe Lon Mackey, Crews comes from a poor, rural area of Georgia. Unlike Joe Lon, Crews skills afforded him the opportunity to break away from the endless cycle of violence, ignorance, hatred and self destruction that is Joe Lons life. But Crews hasnt forgotten. As detestable as Joe Lon is, it is obvious that Crews has a certain respect for - or at least feels a kinship with - the character.

You will likely feel unsettled after reading this novel. You may feel angry. You will certainly feel something and you will feel it intensely. This book grabs you by the throat and bangs your head against the wall for seemingly no reason. But maybe there is a reason. Maybe someone finally realized that in order to properly convey the impotent fury of the Joe Lons of the world, the story must be written with cold, hard, unflinching honesty. Love it or hate it, you simply cant deny the truth that Crews has the guts to tell with a defiant pride.