Memphis Reads Archive

Fiction

Philip Williams reviews GONE FISHIN': An Easy Rawlins Novel by Walter Mosley (Black Classic Press, 1997)

19-year-old Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins agrees to drive his friend, Raymond Alexander, better known as "Mouse," to Pariah, Texas. Mouse is seeking money from his stepfather so that he can marry his fiancée EttaMae. Along the way, Easy and Mouse pick up two teenagers, Clifton and Ernestine, who are running away from the law. The swamp witch, Momma Jo, and her hunchbacked son Domaque, also play important parts in the story.

Basically a coming-of-age story about Easy and Mouse, Gone Fishin' is not a mystery per se. Still it contains much that will interest readers, regardless of whether they are Easy Rawlins fans. Learning how Reese Corn, Mouse's cruel stepfather, influenced Mouse and his often violent behavior, forces Easy to confront his own past and his own father, who deserted his family with Easy was still a child. The journey (which includes violence, voodoo and murder) teaches Easy much about life and influences the rest of his life.


Philip Williams, Cordova Branch Library

Labels: Reviews by Philip Williams