:: Sunday, December 5, 2003 ::

Living with Fred. By Brad Whittington
Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2004, 244 pp., $12.99 softcover.

See my interview with Brad Whittington.

I reviewed the award-winning Welcome to Fred last year and looked forward to the further adventures of Mark Cloud, a PK (preacher's kid) in the small East Texas town of Fred. Living with Fred does not disappoint--once again, Brad Whittington has captured the flavor of 1970's adolescence (which I know from experience, sadly enough).

The lovely but dangerous Jolene Culpepper and her unique brother Bubba play prominent roles once again. Mark's father and the church deacons are also big parts of the story, as is the town's bootlegger. Whittington skillfully portrays the inner turmoil of a teenager dealing with the vicissitudes of life complicated by his father's profession. I enjoy his writing style, as in this excerpt in which Mark visits the church of a black friend, and contrasts the music to his own church's music:

The band broke into a groove that would have made James Brown's backbone slip, even if his hand wasn't on his hip...This was music that didn't make any excuses or take any prisoners. They didn't do this because it was time for music on an order of service. They meant it. I felt my pulse beating with the groove as they segued into "Soon and Very Soon." I recognized this song from Mom's Andre Crouch songbook. But compared to this arrangement, Mom, bless her heart, might as well have been playing the typewriter.

I recommend Living with Fred, but to get the full impact, read Welcome to Fred first. Then we can all eagerly wait the third volume.

Make sure you visit the official "Fred" web site.
:: Randy Brandt :: Comments :: ::