Sanctified and Chicken-Fried: The Portable Lansdale [Hardcover]

Anyone who knows anything about Joe R. Lansdale knows that his very best is included here. And if you're new, well, you're going to find out. Years ago, when I didn't even know who Joe was, I came across the free story "Fat Man and the Elephant" on Joe's site (after having been referred to him by Andrew Vachss's site). I don't want to ruin the story for people who don't know the details of it, but suffice it to say: It's the very best of the kind of stories that mix elephant poo, racial tension and overcoming racial divides, and downhome Southern entrepreneurism. Come to think of it, this brings up an issue that is very often true with Lansdale: this is the only story of its kind. There's nothing else out there like "Fat Man and the Elephant"; its cast of characters, its plot, and its overarching theme are so unique that it deserves to be called on of Joe's "best-of"s. I could talk about all these, but I'll merely mention a couple more. "Mister Weed Eater" is a wicked tale about evil existing in the guise of the helpless; and, though events are sickening and sad, you'll laugh at least once every page in spite of yourself and in spite of the woe that's the major element of this story. Joe's magnum opus is "Bubba Ho-Tep," a scatological masterpiece (I'm serious, here, folks) that is one of the most tightly written, word-for-word thought out story that I honestly think I've ever read. It is undoubtedly one of the few popular genre fiction (I'm assuming that since we've graduated to admitting a Zombie Genre, that there's a Mummy Genre now) pieces that have ever made me realize that it's writer is for real. Again, it's word-for-word mastery. "The Big Blow," "Tight Little Stitches in a Dead Man's Back," "Night They Missed the Horror Show," and "The Magic Wagon" are all Lansdale classics: the big ones. "The Pit" has been anthologized several times and selected by fine writers in the modern realistic, horror, and mystery fields. "A Fine Dark Line" and "The Big Blow" are pieces that, honestly, I have to say I would have traded for others. Joe has stories that, in my opinion, beat these at every turn. That's not to say that they're not worth reading. Fans who are new to Joe are likely to be impressed with these. "White Mule, Spotted Pig" is the truly Southern fried piece here. It is a hilarious rampage through crazy south of the Mason-Dixon line hilarity and inanity. Although I know I'm risking sounding like a blabbering fan boy, it is one of the best of his newest pieces. All in all, this book is a great look into Joe Lansdale's world. Granted it is an introduction to it, but I promise that, for those of you who are new, it would lead on to the rest of his works. This book is also introduced by the inestimable Bill Crider, rather famous for his own yarns. I don't see how new or old fans alike could go wrong with this collection. I think it'll be the best of Lansdale's best-of anthologies since Electric Gumbo: A Lansdale Reader, which, is undoubtedly the one that Sanctified and Chicken Fried has to beat. But it's title alone is already upping the ante for this University of Texas Press release. And, hey, it's supposedly portable. Great for taking to the bathroom, sneaking under the pillow when you're supposed to pleasing your better half, or sitting in a hot, closed tent breathing in elephant crap. In other words, based on the stories that's included alone, it's great stuff.

What's in here is excellent; "Bubba Ho Tep" and other stories show why Lansdale has become such a cult favorite. Wry sensibilities mixed with an amazing imagination. Lansdale isn't for the faint of heart, as his long story about the Galveston hurricane and Jack Johnson make clear. My only complaint is that a couple of novel excerpts are included instead of, perhaps, any excluded short stories or a short novel (or novella) in its entirety. Very much worth your while, though.

Unless you're already a fan of Joe R. Lansdale you've probably never read short stories like this before.

Although not for the squeamish, and about as politically incorrect as they come, none of that keeps "Sanctified and Chicken Fried" from being the fantastic East Texas storytelling and great literature that it is.

"Bubba Ho-Tep" is included here, as well as the "Night They Missed The Horror Show", but my favorite was "White Mule, Spotted Pig".

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