The Second Coming of Curly Red

by Jody Seay

Overview

This candid, compelling, compassionate novel could have been torn out of today's newspaper headings. One minute Texan Jimmy Heron is sitting next to his beloved wife of 50 years eating pie, the next minute she is dead in his arms; killed by a racist, woman-hating, semiautomatic gun-toting maniac. Shattered by Lou's senseless death, Jimmy Heron hits the road - can't sit still; can hardly breathe. He roams the western landscape looking for solace until he lands in the tiny pioneer town of Reliance, Oregon. Here he settles, figuring it is as good a place as any to wait until he dies. His new neighbors, however, delicately jump into his life. They are a lesbian couple eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child and their Native American ranch hand. Together they gently encourage Jimmy to deal with loss and death and kindness, perseverance and love. Jimmy Heron starts the healing process. That's when his new friends become the targets of a vicious campaign. Fueled by lies and bigotry couched as "family values", the hatred begins to poison the soul of their little community. Each character caught in the conflagration must decide what they believe. It is in this heat, a community is forged and a town remembers how it got its name. The Second Coming of Curly Red will grab you by the heart and not let go.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781938282102
Publisher:	Koho Pono, LLC
Publication date:	02/21/2014
Pages:	374
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.83(d)

Editorial Reviews

In this remarkably confident debut novel of heartache and redemption, Seay addresses the timely issue of hate crimes. Written with a firm command of vernacular speech and down-home metaphors, the narrative holds attention with charmingly quirky characters and a good sense of place. When a virulently racist, misogynist gunman shouting, "All women are vipers!" kills septuagenarian Texan Jimmy Heron's beloved wife of 50 years, desolate Jimmy takes to the highway, hoping for a new life beyond grief and pain. Eventually, he lands in Reliance, Ore., where he is befriended by, among others, a lesbian couple who are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. All is not bliss in Reliance, however, where gay residents are subjected to increasingly horrifying acts of harassment and the local church is headed by the nefarious Rev. Darryl Dimmer, a fire-and-brimstone preacher who aspires to become a televangelist and to rid the world of homosexuality. As neighbors and friends turn against each other, and religious beliefs are tested and reconsidered, Reliance moves toward a passionate, galvanizing climax. Boldly taking on the Christian Right and considering issues of free speech, hate crimes and equal rights for gays, Seay demonstrates the connections between violent bigotries of all kinds. Her message of empowerment and hope for change is a call for tolerance, mixed with a pragmatic understanding of how persistent the politics of hate can be. Characters plow through emotional, intellectual and biblical arguments to discover that freedom to live and love are basic human rights, and that the journey is by turns high-spirited and painful. Agent, Sheree Bykofsky. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In a small town in Oregon, the populace is divided into three factions: bible-thumpers out to thwart "the radical homosexual agenda," lesbian and gay male couples unaware of any agenda they are supposed to be advancing, and the majority of people, who want to continue to live peacefully with their neighbors. What with the recent spate of horrific murders of gay men, there is an urgency to the question: What drives the hatred of the Christian right for gays and lesbians? It would be intriguing, if not entirely pleasant, to get into the minds of these people. First-time author Seay has an obvious affection for her down-home characters but fails to portray either them or their nemeses as any more than one-dimensional cartoons. However, the novel's brisk narrative pace almost compensates. An optional purchase for large popular fiction collections.--Ina Rimpau, Newark P.L., NJ Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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