Everybody Knows

by David Wesley Williams

The rain-sodden, southern world of David Wesley Williams’ EVERYBODY KNOWS overflows with satiric fun as it churns up a rich detritus of Biblical allusions, political backstory, musical opinions, literary puns, and local anecdote. The story, set a decade hence, introduces a raft of characters, too, including musicians, an escaped felon, a tyrannical governor atop his state’s old electric chair, various and likable sidekicks and mistresses, and even a writer, the ironic double of the work’s author, whose enthusiasm for his subject matter spills over into strongly opinionated footnotes. And that’s all before the pirates arrive. Original, energetic, and obsessive, Everybody Knows recalls the worlds of Faulkner, Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Kurt Vonnegut, and John Kennedy Toole in its broad wit and sorrowful joy.

258 pages, Paperback

Published January 16, 2023

About the author

David Wesley Williams is the author of the novels COME AGAIN NO MORE (available now) and EVERYBODY KNOWS (2023), both from JackLeg Press, and LONG GONE DADDIES (John F. Blair, Publisher, 2013). His short fiction has appeared in the Oxford American, Kenyon Review Online, Akashic Books' MEMPHIS NOIR, Harper Perennial's FORTY STORIES, and such journals as The Common and The Pinch.

Reviews

[Dan Moses · Rating 5 out of 5]

A flood of Biblical proportions. A hope on the Memphis bluff. Musicians, writers, pirates, and convicts. Sneaky historical references. Cultural lessons disguised as satire. This book should be read no shirt no shoes on a riverbank or in AP English class. I'll take it either way.

[Richard J. Alley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading EVERYBODY KNOWS, appropriately, on a stormy day in Memphis and finished while looking out at the Gulf of Mexico — which will make sense when you read it. And you should! Doesn’t matter where you are, though you might want to have a drink at hand. Pure poetry and piracy.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Williams’ delightful, portmanteau romp is good medicine. It’s as funny as Memphis in a snowstorm, and as spicy as BBQ nachos. It’ll blow away your blues, except for the ones you hold dear (those Memphis blues). And O the language! What a wordsmith Williams is. Nabokov said that language is substance and here that’s true in spades. You may hear echoes of Charles Portis, Mark Twain and Lewis Nordan, or even homeboy scribblers, Steve Stern and John Pritchard, but this riotous novel is all Williams. There are few authors who can combine such rowdy action and playful prose so nimbly: the jokes are all germane to the storyline, and they come so fast and furious you will miss some on your first read. I had such a good time reading this; sometimes I paused and shook my head at the twists and turns of his finely-honed sentences. It also made me proud to be a son of the South, with its mythic, rich and eccentric literature. I raise my glass of Kickapoo Joy Juice to David Wesley Williams.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world of same-old, same-old, I promise you’ve never ever read a novel like Everybody Knows. David Wesley Williams takes you on a post-apocalyptic journey with folks who are nowhere near ready to give in or give up. In the beginning, you may think these people are a bit peculiar, but then you realize they're making all kinds of sense even as their stories become more and more fantastic. Don't fret about what is or isn't. David Wesley Williams knows the pros and cons of humanity. He knows we live on a fragile planet. But the way he shows and tells you about the shape we're in makes you happy to be a part of whatever might, or might not, happen.

In a world of way too much same-old, same-old, Everybody Knows is original in all the good ways. Read it.

[Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I read that Margaret Renkl described this novel as a post-apocalyptic satire. But I got was a beautifully written stories with some amazing characters, commentary on nearly every aspect of American life from politics to the country music scene. Williams is a clever writer, both in the narrative that he spins in these pages but also in his quit witted language. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

[Richard Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve been so jazzed by a book. It only took a handful of pages of Everbody Knows before I realized I was on-board in a big way.

The South has succumbed to an ecological tragedy that has left all but the highest ground covered in water. Several groups of people, independent of each other and connected only by circumstance, navigate the muddy byways enroute to new destinies.

Though there are plenty of entertaining things to drive the story forward, that’s pretty much it – people afloat talking and killing time while navigating a flood. But couple that story with a collection of bourbon-soaked oddballs and eccentrics that absolutely captivate the reader with their dialogue, their humor, the language they use, and you’ve got one outstanding read. Rare is the book where the verbal interaction between characters is so special and captivating that it adds extra layers of depth and meaning to the story.

BAM! There’s the unicorn. Story + character + language = a book that should be at the top of every serious reader’s to-be-read pile.

Spread the word.

[Rel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gem, and I had a delightful time reading it. I got it in Burke's Bookstore in Memphis, TN. I bought it on the strength of the first couple of pages, and was never disappointed.

It's like a slightly less fantastical Tom Robbins, more grounded in the reality of our present climate circumstances. Topical and yet it was a lot of fun to read.

Really, it is a book about love, like most great books.

I recommend it especially if you love Memphis Tennessee, Anywhere Tennessee, and/or the blues or country music.

There is great music in this book. It mentions and I highly recommend the song She's Got the Jordan River In Her Hips.

Good ending, too! Satisfying.