The Little Brothers of St. Mortimer

by John Fergus Ryan

All the trouble starts when the outrageous but well-meaning Brother Edgar and his Mexican ex-convict assistant stop at Slovis Plumrod's cafe, where they run into the White River Kid (on the run from the law) and a sex-crazed waitress, Apple Lisa Weed. By the author of "The Redneck Bride".

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

John Fergus Ryan is the author of three novels, The Redneck Bride, The Little Brothers of St. Mortimer, and Watching. Billy Bob Thorton (Slingblade) recently finished production of a film version of his book The Redneck Bride, starring Antonio Banderas. Ryan has lived in Memphis, Tennessee for over 40 years.

Reviews

[🐴 🍖]

a hoot. the missing link b/w flannery o'connor & jack pendarvis. mysteriously also a movie with antonio banderas??

[Jeff Buddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here we have a con-man who runs a fake Catholic Brotherhood, swindling old women out of jewelry, running a fake poetry contest and selling socks by the bundle as he travels through the deep South meets up with dim-witted murderer, the White River Kid, a desperado who's killed "six or eight" and his even dimmer girlfriend, Apple Lisa.

Brother Edgar, as he calls himself, tells the story of their odyssey as they pass through hick towns where the countryside is beset by hillbilly crooks, sex fiends, and wild man-eating hogs. At first Edgar laments this accidental meeting with the pair, fearing that the Kid might kill him and add another notch to his belt; but as they drive deeper into the backwoods, he loses his fear for an emotion that might even be called love.

Before that there's a couple of murders, hints of good ol' boy buggery, and an old lady who dresses like Elvis in the hopes that the King will cure her cancer from the great beyond.

For all his faults, Brother Edgar is a sensitive soul, capable of great grace and depth of feeling. Ryan depicts him as a man with great sadness in his past, and as such capable of seeing his fellow man with immense sympathy. This is a funny, dark, remarkable book.

John Fergus Ryan should be put back in print immediately, until then you'll need to search for his books. They're all out of print. Find them and read them all.

[James W. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece of humorous writing and humorous writing about the South. Breathtaking cynical black humor and satire, brilliantly written, hilarious, horrifying. A cast of con-men, dim-witted murderers, morons, hillbillies, perverts, and man-eating hogs, set in the deep and lost rural areas of Arkansas. Told in a wonderful first-person voice that is a pleasure and joy to read. One of my favorite books of all time by one of my favorite authors.

[Mimi Wolske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FB Friend recommended this on his blog, so I found a copy and bought it. I'm glad I did. I love being able to laugh when I'm reading...not all of the time, but a good, well-written, humorous story just set the pace for the days you spend reading it.

[Jordan West · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5; if instead of working with Lynch, Barry Gifford had instead teamed up with Jared Hess for a southern gothic comedy extravaganza, this could've ended up as the result, although less perhaps the Hess of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre than the more contemporary one who made Masterminds (which is about 75% glorious silliness and 25% cringeinducing); it smacks at times of too-hardism, the striking of a false note - it is surprisingly easy to envision Jon Heder in the role of the White River Kid, however. In the end the 300 pound, casually omnisexual, cheerfully amoral, and supremely imperturbable conman narrator is such an entertaining creation that it helps dampen the other flaws, and any book that might be the source for the So-crates gag popularized by Bill & Ted shouldn't be dismissed out of hand.