Fascinating Authors

Book Review
By
John H. Manhold

BRUIN’S WAKE ISBN 9781434381262, Author House, Paperback, 357 pages, $14.99 by Chris Casey.

Chris Casey has written a story that provides a large number of characters whose thought and action patterns quite believably portray those of the small southern town inhabitants about whom he writes.  There are the fraternity boys with their drinking, drug usage, and concurrent outlook that qualifies as chauvinistic under both definitions in Webster’s dictionary –  in their undue group attachment and their attitude toward members of the opposite sex. There also are the old school southern aristocrats, and the self-made people of money who maneuver to build a ‘bigger and better’ community, the scheming lawyer, sexually oriented women, a vindictive police officer who is gay, another prominently gay character, some druggies, a member of the Mafia, and a convicted killer.

The protagonist, Paul Bruin, is the son of a doting father who is one of the wealthy leaders of the community.  He exhibits both a chauvinism and complete faith in his own ability that leads him into numerous escapades, some worthwhile and some literally stupid. However, he does muddle through, even playing ‘long snapper’ on the FSU national champion football team. His attitude provides for his acquisition of a number of enemies along the way, however, that lead to a barely creditable climax.

To this point, I am sure the reader of this review is uncertain what to think. This is understandable. Some of the presentation by the author is a little confusing, e.g.   “Lou Lubiani, a heavy set man in his mid-seventies….. born 66 years earlier in the Borough of Brooklyn….” , and upon occasion one must stop to think about a portion one is reading to place it into context.

HOWEVER, Mr. Casey has put together a story that brings to mind a little of the feeling for the towns and the inhabitants of the area that Grisham provides in his stories. He also presents a quite notable characterization of the chauvinistic attitude that frequently seems to pervade some of the smaller (as well, occasionally, as parts of larger) southern towns.  I found Bruin’s Wake to be an enjoyable read.