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Ken Wells
Meely LaBauve
A Novel
Fifteen year old Meely
LaBauve is growing up on Catahoula Bayou and living by his wits.
His father is an alligator hunter, having never quite coped with the
death of his wife eight years earlier. He hides in hooch and
companionable women and disappears for days at a time. For Meely,
school is a long, dusty walk away in a place where truancy isn't a
top concern. "Up at Catahoula School, we've got all the
grades. I'm in ninth when I'm in anything," says Meely. But
the law has it out for Meely's dad, and Junior, the sheriff's nephew and
local bully, considers badgering Meely his favorite sport. When
the LaBauves find themselves in the sheriff's sight, it takes baseball
bats, fire ants, flying alligators, misidentified corpses, and a lot of
fast thing to set thinking to set things right.
Not since
Huck Finn rafted down the Mississippi has there been a coming-of-age
story like this, told in such an utterly authentic American voice.
From a charming encounter with first love in Cancienne's corn patch to a
startling look at race relations in the deep, deep South, Wells
has cooked up a zesty gumbo of a book--rich, poignant, and at times,
hilarious.
Ken Wells grew up in Bayou
Black, Louisiana. For more about the author, browse this site...
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Publicity:
Lelya Morrisey
212-572-2721
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