Shug Atkins tiene trece años y vive en una casa junto a un cementerio. Su comida favorita son los huevos fritos con pan. Su padre, que quizá no lo sea, lo mira con «esa mirada suya que me amenazaba con una muerte rápida que se hace eterna»; y, aunque es obvio que lo detesta, se sirve de él para entrar en casas de médicos y enfermos y robar barbitúricos. Glenda, la madre, es una belleza que ha conocido mejores días y cuya sabiduría se concreta en consejos como «Shug, la gente que ha estado en la cárcel no puede ni ver a los chivatos». Un día irrumpe en la vida de estos tres seres un hombre amable, cortés, con un coche elegante. Despierta sueños dormidos, aviva pasiones prohibidas.

This is one of the bleakest, saddest, most hopeless stories I have ever read. It tore at my heart. What amazes me the most is how well Daniel Woodrell presents the complicated dynamics between Red, Glenda and Shug and how clearly we see that the good heart in Shug is never going to be allowed to exist in this sordid world he occupies. I began to mourn him on page one.

Woodrell employs exactly the right sharp, staccato, unvarnished writing style that his subject demands. He puts his words in the mouths of the characters in dialogue that rings true. I could hear the syrup in Glenda’s voice and the cruelty in Red’s. I could hear the sorrow below the surface in Shug.

There are many ways to die and two of the worst are suicide and murder. Shug Akins is murdered and in response, he commits suicide.
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So well-written, such horror. ( )

Listened to the audiobook this time. Nicholas Tecosky, the narrator, did very well on Shug's voice.

Still a five even though knowing the ending takes away the punch.

A favorite. Will probably read again a few years. ( )

More great writing from Daniel Woodrell. I didn't like it quite as much as Winter's Bone and Tomato Red - two books that would be hard to top in any case. But the more I think about this book, the more I appreciate it. Maybe it's the lack of any truly sympathetic character that makes it a little harder to 'like', as opposed to appreciate. ( )