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Smonk
Smonk
Author: Tom Franklin
It's 1911 and the townsfolk of Old Texas, Alabama, have had enough. Every Saturday night for a year, E. O. Smonk has been destroying property, killing livestock, seducing women, cheating and beating men, all from behind the twin barrels of his Winchester 45-70 caliber over-and-under rifle. Syphilitic, consumptive, gouty, and goitered -- an exper...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780739481462
ISBN-10: 0739481460
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 254
Rating:
  • Currently 1.5/5 Stars.
 5

1.5 stars, based on 5 ratings
Publisher: William Morrow
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 3
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Smonk on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Wal, if'n yer wantin' a rootin', tootin', shootin', whore-y, gory story, this'n the Western for you.

Seriously, it has an interesting plot but you have to wade through a lot of raunch to get there. I finished it just so I could say that I HAD read it, but the trash made it tiresome. I'm not inspired to read any of the author's other books.
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perryfran avatar reviewed Smonk on + 1168 more book reviews
Not sure how to classify this one...Western, although it doesn't take place in the West; horror; Southern gothic?? This was one weird book about a man named Smonk who terrorizes a small town in Alabama called Old Texas. Smonk has only one eye, a goiter, syphilis, and consumption, yet he is able to kill all the men in the small southern town. The book is also about Evavangelina, a young girl who is often mistaken for a boy who also makes her living as a hooker. The book is filled with vileness including myriad killings of men, women, children, and animals, and countless sex acts including child abuse and incest. And then the real weirdness kicks in. What is really happening in the small Alabama town and how does it relate to Smonk and Evavangelina?

I was very mixed on this one with its weird storyline. The prose also left me somewhat perplexed at times with run-on thoughts and phrases. I sometimes had to reread paragraphs for a better understanding. I think the novel was supposed to be humorous but I really didn't find it so. Overall, I would recommend reading with caution!


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