A Little Blood and Dancing
A Novel
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3.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
It’s a tale as old as time: doomed romance, bloody revenge, fast food, and the voice of God. Welcome to Tyler Parker’s Oklahoma, and one of the most anticipated debut novels of the year from one of our best, funniest new writers.
Check out Sylvia Table: he drives a seafoam-green 1968 Ranchero, owns a badass sword, and is one dead uncle away from an inheritance that should set him and the love of his life, Lady Sixkiller, on the road to easy living and the family she’s always wanted. Sure, he may not be cut out for any kind of conventional job, but as long as Lady can hold things down as a waitress until rich old Methuselah shuffles off this mortal coil, what’s the big deal? Yes, things are looking good for Sylvia Table, aka Big Noise, aka Grandest Poobah, aka Big Quiche.
But uncles don’t always die on schedule, maternal clocks keep ticking with increasing urgency, doing crimes beats working for a living, and the past refuses to stay buried. In this case, the past takes the form of Priscilla Blackwood, a woman locked in an eternal one-sided conversation with Jesus Christ Himself, and dead set on enacting vengeance for the murder of her father, which she witnessed as a little girl. Whether Table knows it or not, he’s on a collision course with an avenging angel who believes she’s got the Lord on her side.
Combining the linguistic punch of Elmore Leonard, the living landscapes of Cormac McCarthy, and the comic soul of Charles Portis, A Little Blood and Dancing announces Tyler Parker as one of our most extraordinary new voices.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ringer editor Parker's messy debut follows career criminal Sylvia Table as he awaits a life-changing inheritance and attempts to escape his past. The action kicks off in 1980s Oklahoma, where Sylvia is locked in a violent confrontation with narcotics dealer Solomon Blackwood after losing thousands of dollars in drug money. Rejecting Sylvia's offer to turn over his car and pay off the remaining debt in monthly installments, Blackwood tries to kill him instead, only to be fatally shot during their scuffle, which is witnessed by Blackwood's five-year-old daughter, Priscilla. The action then shifts forward 16 years and focuses on Sylvia and his tempestuous relationship with waitress Lady Sixkiller, which he hopes to smooth over once his uncle dies and leaves him a chunk of cash. Meanwhile—unbeknownst to Sylvia—Priscilla, now 21, is plotting revenge for her father's death. Despite some commendable stylistic flourishes and memorable imagery ("They were married at the courthouse in Ox, sun-bleached paintings of dead judges staring at them"), the plot eventually stalls out on its way to a foregone conclusion that fails to surprise or satisfy. Parker's a promising talent, but his ambition exceeds his execution in this one.
