Tom Williams
In One Note, Gabriel Blackwell asks writers to talk about the book they are currently reading and why. One Note 014: Tom Williams, Elmore Leonard, Rum Punch.
In One Note, I ask writers for just that: one note, a single paragraph, on what they’re reading right now.
Today’s note comes courtesy of Tom Williams.
My wife and I just got back from a Gulf Coast vacation with our sixteen month old. Because it was a week at the beach, I’d brought very little to read, but discovered our condo stacked with techno-thrillers, spy sagas, cookbooks, biblical concordances—you know, typical poolside fare. But among the mildewy hardbacks I found Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, the basis for Quentin Tarantino’s third film, “Jackie Brown.” I’ve always resisted reading Elmore Leonard, though I’ve heard from such good friends and great writers as Tom Franklin and Lee K. Abbott that Leonard is not just entertaining but a pretty good craftsman, too. So when I wasn’t drinking Lone Star and gorging on shrimp, I found some down time in Port Aransas, and finally gave in to Rum Punch. I’m glad I did. Having seen the film adaptation cast a slight shadow over the goings-on (and over the years, that movie’s really started to annoy me), but for the most part, I was utterly taken in by Leonard’s superior version. He really is something to see—able to set scenes and present characters in mere sentences and his dialogue is nearly pitch perfect. What’s most impressive to me is his plotting, which I’ve always struggled with in my own fiction. Leonard makes it seem easy: rather than a complex set of feints and red herrings, he just makes sure that everybody wants something and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it. The complexity occurs when those desires start to mesh and bring the characters together in surprising and unsettling ways. I wasn’t thrilled by the ending (again, I think the movie was too prominent in my mind) but I was definitely glad I picked up Rum Punch instead of some of the other offerings at Rm 125 in the SandCastle Condominiums.
Tom Williams is the author of The Mimic’s Own Voice (Main Street Rag Publishing Company). An associate editor of American Book Review, he has published fiction, reviews and essays in such journals as The Collagist, Barrelhouse, Boulevard, Night Train, and Booth.
