CURED BY FIRE

by TIM MC LAURIN

Two men on opposite ends of the social scale are united among the homeless in Seattle after losing what they hold most dear and find support and redemption in each other, a journey through America, and their own hearts. By the author of The Acorn Plan.

Unknown Binding

First published January 25, 1995

Reviews

[Jessica Freedman · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the stories of Elbridge and Lewis are moving, I felt they lacked some power. I wanted the book to really pull at my emotional strings and at best I got a tug at times. The first-person narrative of Lewis versus the third-person for Elbridge made it a bit of a disjointed read for me.

[Glenn C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim McLaurin, who passed away the other year, had a very sad streak in him. An interesting blend of hard-core redneck -vs- intellectual. He admitted himself that sometimes the redneck lifestyle (with all its destructive potential...) called to him. Anyone who grew up around here knows the path that some of the harder-core rednecks take. My cousin-by-marraige, who 'partied' himself to death at 24...The brother of a friend from school who died behind the wheel fleeing the law from a store he had robbed.

The song goes 'Dont know what you got till its gone'
and Louis/Lewis...the main character...has to find out the hard way, and along the way he discovers that you can always 'discover' yourself, and its never too late to change what you dont like about yourself...
but that sometimes that knowledge comes too late to help you with those closest to you.

[Stan Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with every other Tim McLaurin book I’ve read, time somehow passes by the hours unbeknownst to me while I turn page after page. His books draw me in and keep me there. “Cured by Fire” was a little slow at the beginning but the hooks were set early nonetheless. By the end of the book I looked at my clock and saw it was past midnight and I felt fulfilled in following the story to its completion. This story is about two men living very different lives somewhat in parallel to one another and by the end you untangle where they intersect. It’s about going through the fire of life and coming out the other side scarred but thankful. It’s beautiful. It reminded me in a small way of “Dirty Work” by the authors friend and contemporary, Larry Brown. I have one book left to read from Tim McLaurin, his last one that came out after his passing. I both dread reading it and can’t wait to crack it open. Finding an author you relate to posthumously sucks because after you’ve read it all, that’s all there is. I guess it’s why I really treasure each of these books.

[Brennan Donnellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my very favorites that I read in the 90s. Poetic and personal.

[Charles White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uneven at first, but especially strong and affecting in the second half.