It started with a botched robbery in which Sonny Daniels was shot. All that his family wanted was for the robbers to get put in jail, but they were in Los Angeles and things work a little differently there than in the country. When cultures collide, the potential for misunderstanding is huge.
Size: 473 KB (92,456 words)
Genre: Drama
Sex Contents: No Sex
Tags: Slow, Violent
Review by burka_oz [other reviews by burka_oz]
Reviewed:
For the many years that I have been visiting this site (20+?) I have found that the stories by Lazlo would move you in ways that were subtle but move you just the same.
Lazlo was a prolific author but unlike many storytellers on here. his tales were always the best in storytelling and in characterisation. He was just such a good author that I often wondered why he didn't go down the path of selling his works.
This is another of his great stories and yes, it moved me as I read it. Here we have a story about dichotomy. The country folk find the sordid underbelly of Los Angeles. The city dweller finds the peace within that is a part of living in the country. They both need to look at themselves and ask some serious questions about what their core beliefs were.
Scoring:
It is so hard to score a Lazlo tale. He was meticulous in his characterisations, his plotting and his wordsmithing.
A score of 10 means that it was perfect but giving any less than that would be being mean to a really great tale. 10 all-around sounds fair to me, what do you think?
Review by Finbar_Saunders [other reviews by Finbar_Saunders]
Reviewed:
Although I am fairly sure that Lazlo would agree that this was a modern day parable with some fairly intense sermonizing, it has enough charm to really merit a read.
Some of the 'get back to basics' eulogizing was a little heavy-handed but, given the situations that were presented, it worked very well; if only to provide some sort of wistful longing for the uncomplicated life.
The core of the story is concerned with how exposure to the realities of life as lived outside of a city can alter a city-dweller's conception of life.
If everyone who lived in a conurbation like L.A. was able to get away to the countryside to work the land for a month or so, the world would apparently be a much more charming place. (Unfortunately, in reality, the ranches and unspoiled vistas would be full of city-dwellers trying to 'find themselves.')
Lazlo is building on a solid base of works that investigate the effects of modern society's loss of humanity. He's presented good arguments for looking back to a time and place where people helped each other to progress in spite of the hands that are dealt them.
Some of the dialogue construction is quirky and I would have to say that he's becoming readily identifiable by the way he has characters interact.
I heartily recommend this story, it has left me feeling that longing for big skies, faithful friends and the success of one's own endeavors.
I think you'll enjoy it!
