Cane and Able: A Novel
Cheek, Stephen. Cane and Able: A Novel.
Raleigh, NC: Lulu Press, 2008.
398 pp. $23.49 (paperback)
In Cane and Able, the titular characters are a Mississippi farm boy, Justin Cane and farmhand Able Johnson. This general fiction work is Cheek’s first novel.
The story takes place in the summer of 1959 in the Mississippi Delta, with three different threads: the coming-of-age story of Justin learning to drive on a road trip with his father’s black farmhand Able; the
perilous story of Able’s sister, Jeanna, who becomes entangled with a well-known Delta gangster; and the sad story of another farmhand, Pete Dodd, taking the train to see his son who is buried in Detroit.
Justin and Able dropped Pete off at the train station; then began a roundabout tour of the Delta on their return to the farm. During the trip, Able teaches Justin the rudiments of driving while they experience some adventures that would have raised the eyebrows of Able’s employer, Mr. Cane.
Before Jeanna can come up with the money to go to New Orleans for a job, she meets up with a gangster – Big Doug. Her treatment at Big Doug’s hands and her harrowing adventures are the most exciting passages in the book.
Pete, on his trip to Detroit on the train, tells his story of how he came to work for Mr. Cane. When he returns to Mississippi, he helps Cane, Able, and several law enforcement officers in hot pursuit of criminals.
This first novel is very much in need of better copy editing. The typos and misuse of language were numerous, glaring, and distracting. Characterization and plot are both a little weak and confusing.
This book is an optional purchase even for large, regional collections. Libraries and readers with an interest in Mississippi historical fiction will be somewhat disappointed with the lack of real historical context.
Jamie Elston
Assistant Director for Public Services
Hancock County Library System
Entry Filed under: Book Reviews
Posted on: September 29th, 2009
4 Comments
1. | September 30th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
The correct spelling for the author is Stephen Cheek, not Steven Cheek.
2. Eva Marie&hellip | October 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am
I have to say that I disagree with Elston’s review of Cane & Able very much. The first five paragraphs, about the actual book, are correct- it’s the last two paragraphs I disagree with.
I found no or almost no errors in the entire book while I was reading. This isn’t a slim book and I read it almost in one sitting I was so fascinated. I saw no ‘misuse of language’ and while I’m not a ‘reader with an interest in Mississippi historical fiction’ I thought the details provided were amazing.
I don’t have the words to express how much I disagree with this part of the review-’Characterization and plot are both a little weak and confusing.’
I wasn’t confused at all and in fact I fell in love with the characters from the start. Usually the main characters jump out at the reader while the others stay in the background and this isn’t the case with Cane & Able. All of the characters were important and they all played their roles perfectly.
I would suggest anyone thinking of reading Cane & Able to read it with an open mind and not to let this, or any review for that matter, stop them.
Below is a link to the review I wrote immediately after reading Cane & Able:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5218247.Cane_and_Able
3. Laura A. Burton&hellip | October 26th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Reading This Book Was So Much Fun, March 10, 2009
By Laura A. Burton (Long Beach, MS United States) – See all my reviews
I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was a delightful trip by two interesting characters. I laughed out loud each time the creative names for the books of the Bible were mentioned. I was a child in Louisiana in the 50′s, and I remember that things were not good in many ways. However, I appreciate how this book portrays the deep love and relationships of individuals, black and white. That is what I remember most about that time. I highly recommend this read for its entertainment quality!
4. Stephen Cheek&hellip | December 22nd, 2009 at 5:58 am
In respect to Jamie, I do appreciate anyone who reads one of my books. However, I do take exception to many of her remarks about the book in regard to misuse of language, etc. Every reader must understand that this book was written in dialogue of the time. It’s odd she missed that. I’m sure Jamie lacks the gray hair I do, but I know Mississippi very well. My roots are here. This state has come a long way in the last sixty years and anyone reading this book can certainly see that and compare easily.
Historical…many places in this book are real and happened, but she missed the cover. Cane and Able is FICTION not a historical document.
My last remark in regard to this review is that I asked that my name be correctly spelled on this website and a correction be made in the next issue of the magazine. To me, this shows total disrespect to any writer who offers a book to be reviewed. As of this date, (Dec ’09) no corrections have been made.
I do apologize to Mrs. Brannock by inadvertently sending her a proof copy (which did have a few copy-edit problems) to be reviewed. My fault! I offered a final (correct) copy to replace that one.
I’m only sorry that Jamie did not like the book.