Facing the Music

<p><em>Facing the Music</em> Larry Brown’s first book was originally published in 1988 to wide critical acclaim. As the <em>St. Petersburg Times</em> review pointed out the central theme of these ten stories “is the ageless collision of man with woman woman with man--with the frequent introduction of that other familiar couple drinking and violence. Most often ugly love is nevertheless graceful however desperate the situation.”<br /><br />There’s some glare from the brutally bright light Larry Brown shines on his subjects. This is the work of a writer unafraid to gaze directly at characters challenged by crisis and pathology. But for readers who are willing to look unblinkingly along with the writer there are unusual rewards.</p>