Smoke

by John Ed Bradley

When fledgling novelist Pace Burnette heads home to Smoke, a quiet hamlet in Louisiana, he finds that the mom-and-pop businesses that gave the place its character and charm have been put out of operation by an enormous Monster Mart on the outskirts of town. His best friend, Jay Carnihan, is struggling to keep his family's general store from going under and blames Rayford Holly, the founder of Monster Mart, for his economic woes. When Jay carries out a harebrained scheme to kidnap Holly and make him apologize for the damage he's done, Smoke and its residents are changed forever. High comedy, high jinx, unrequited love, and small town eccentrics confronting big business come together in this engaging tale.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published April 1, 1994

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having spent most of my life in small towns, I found an affinity for this novel that I am hard-pressed to describe to people who haven't "been there and done that."

The plot is simple: Small town misfit kidnaps the big corporate owner of the WalMart-like complex on the edge of the town, drives him around to all the small towns destroyed by his shady business practices, and forces him to apologize.

A surprisingly good novel about a small town and its secrets. I'd love to make a movie of this.