A Miracle of Catfish

By Larry Brown

First a word about the author and this book. The book was published posthumously, as Larry Brown died before the book was finished. It was decided to publish the book anyway, with the author's brief notes about the ending chapters.
I was not familiar with this author's works so didn't know what to expect from it. I must say I really enjoyed reading this book to as far as it went, which was not to any kind of conclusion. The characters are interesting and varied and engaging. A mystery is hinted at concerning one of the main characters, an old farmer named Cortez Sharp. As the novel moves along, you discover that Cortez is a man of mixed motives, often times cruel and cold and rather repellent. Yet, somehow, one cares about him and about the new pond he had just had stocked with thousands of baby catfish. And about the other persons in the story, Jimmy, a little boy, and his sad, angry family that live in a trailer near the old farmer's place, and the old man's daughter, a plus size model who lives with her boyfriend, an artist who has Tourettes.
One thing I didn't like about the story was the author's love for lists. He just loves making long lists which are a pain to read. One of the worse was his description of all the stuff for sale at a big flea market: "...guns, chickens, chicken cages, chicken grit, pottery, tractors, toys, ponies, mules, donkeys, burros, horses, dogs, quilts, homemade jellies and jams and preserves, ribbon cane syrup, tomato relish to put on your peas, cookware of all types, including rusty castiron skillets and dutch ovens, candles, musical instruments, ironwork, new tools, old tools, trailers, antiques of every kind, furniture, knick-knacks, rabbits, rabbit cages, rabbit feed, rabbit feeders, rabbit waterers, frozen pen-raised quail, fishing equipment, tillers, lawn mowers, chain saws, stump grinders, portable sheds, portable water pumps..." And the list goes on and on. Too much for me!
Anyway, although I enjoyed the story, the fact that it is unfinished was off-putting. If you are a huge fan of Larry Brown, you probably won't be bothered by this. If not, you might want to give this one a skip.

Review by Mary McCoy on Pop Matters:   https://www.popmatters.com/a-miracle-of-catfish-by-larry-brown-2496217813.html.