SET LIST by Raymond L. Atkins
Raymond L Atkins is an amazing writer and he proves it over and over in his latest novel SET LIST. He has a voracious appetite for the written word and can draw on his vast collection of descriptive phrases to enhance any scene or setting he creates. In this book he once again creates ordinary characters and gives us the breath and feel of their lives.
The book tells the story of Blanchard Shankles, the lead guitar player for a rock and roll band named “Skyye”. In telling his story Atkins flashes back and forth to the 70’s when the band was first forming and then to the present where Shankles is having some health issues.
In the past we learn Shankles is the product of a dissolute father and a crazy mother. This is not a casual observation of Mrs. Shankles. She is one of those people who are Grab the wheel, Stop the truck, Get out and run, crazy. She has a penchant for body art and nailing small animals to the walls of the house. Shankles and his sister learn early on to tread lightly around their mama.
In the present we learn of Shankles problems with his heart. It seems his life of smoking, drinking , etc are finally catching up with him. He makes it to the hospital for treatment but he fights the heart doctor every step of the way. It isn’t that he has a death wish, it is that he has an I don’t care wish.
Atkins tells the story at both levels with intelligence and skill. His description of places and people are right on point. Reading them is like taking a graduate course in Literary Composition. The most ordinary events becomes something unique and special in the way Atkins describes it. There are portions of th is book you want to read over and over just for the beauty and flow of the words.
The only problem with this book is the characters who inhabit the story, I didn’t like Blanchard Shankles, his friend John, his mama, daddy or sister, his sweet girlfriend or the woman he meets who sells bibles. I didn’t even like the motley crew that makes up his band. For some reason I had an aversion to every character who was introduced. So on that front I can’t recommend this book.
Still I urge you to read SET LIST. There are some laugh out loud funny moments in the dialogue of the characters. Atkins knows how to find the humor in even the darkest spots. Then there is that beauty of the writing. It is unique and impressive.
So I end with a strange recommendation for this novel. Don’t read it for the story or the characters. Read it for the writing.
SET LIST is published by Mercer University Press. It contains 320 pages and sells for $27.00.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
