The Intangibles

by Monte Dutton

It's 1968. The winds of change are descending on Fairmont and engulfing the small South Carolina town in a tornadic frenzy. The public schools are finally being completely integrated. Mossy Springs High School is closing and its black students are now attending formerly all-white Fairmont High; the town is rife with racial tension. Several black youths have been arrested for tossing firebombs at a handful of stores. White citizens form a private academy for the purpose of keeping their kids out of the integrated school system. The Ku Klux Klan is growing. Reese Knighton arrives on the scene at precisely the right time. The principal of Fairmont High School, Claude Lowell, becomes superintendent of the school district. Lowell chooses Preston Shipley, currently the football coach, to replace him as principal and hires Knighton to coach the team, thus forcing Knighton to find common ground with Willie Spurgeon, the successful Mossy Springs coach who has been passed over for a job he richly deserves. At The Intangibles center is the Hoskins family, their relationships to those living within the town of Fairmont giving rise to a memorable cast of characters. Tommy Hoskins is a local businessman and farmer who is a supporter of the team, on which his older son, Frankie, plays. Frankie s best friend is Raymond Simpson, who lives in a shanty on the Hoskins farm. Another of Frankie s friends, Ned Whitesides, is a spoiled bigot. Clarence Click Clowney is the talented, rebellious quarterback from Mossy Springs. Al Martin is the staunch black tackle who becomes the glue that keeps the integrated team together. Twins James and Joey Leverette are the sons of professors at local Oconee College. Curly Mayhew coaches rival Lexington Central. Laura Hedison is a white cheerleader. Jorge Heredia is a tennis player at the college who sells drugs on the side. Aubrey Roper is a college girl who exerts a corruptive influence on Frankie Hoskins. The county sheriff, a turncoat within the team, Ned Whitesides father, the loyal assistants, militants both black and white, a doctor, a lawyer, local businessmen, and others all add fuel to the fires of prejudice and fear of the unknown that are raging in the town of Fairmont. This is a story of a high school football team that puts aside its differences, never realizing that, outside its bounds, the world is unraveling. It's a story about the cultural changes, good and bad, that take place when two societies shift and finally come together. Ultimately, The Intangibles is a story of triumph achieved at considerable cost.

294 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2013

About the author

Oh, I've lived in Clinton, South Carolina, for most of my life. I played on the state championship football team of 1975. I graduated from Furman University, majoring in both political science and history. I got accepted to law school ... twice, but couldn't convince myself to go either time.
Most of my career has been spent writing about sports, and most of that about NASCAR. Most of my books are about NASCAR, but my goal was always to write fiction, and the latest novel is my eighth.
I thought it perfectly honorable to be a struggling artist at, oh, twenty-five, but, though I didn't envision it at age sixty, I'm good with it.

Reviews

[Monte Dutton]

I can't rate it, of course, because I wrote it, but I can tell you that the first resident of my hometown (there are those who have detected similarities to the Fairmont of the book ) has passed along that it's got too much "smut " in it, so I'm ready to declare it a success.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yesterday I finished The Intangibles by Monte Dutton, a fine book that had me hooked from the start. I read the last third of this compelling drama in a single sitting, eager to reach the conclusion--which was tense, exciting, comical, and heartbreaking. That's quite an accomplishment. It wasn't all that long ago that I reviewed Monte's novel The Audacity of Dope, and I'm officially going to label myself a fan of his work.

In truth, the prose was much cleaner in The Audacity of Dope and if I wanted to give someone the best example that I could of Monte's writing, I would recommend that one. However, I enjoyed The Intangibles more. It was very raw and very personal, and though it got a little muddy at times, the characters and the story spoke to me on a deeper level. The Audacity of Dope was a slick and entertaining ride that dealt with complex themes in a lighthearted way. The Intangibles takes a similar approach to themes that are more complex and a bit harder to wrestle with. There are a great many laughs to be had while reading this one, but it also boasts some genuinely wretched people and some truly despicable schemes.

The book is set in 1968 and depicts the impact of integration on the people of a small town in South Carolina. Much of the story centers on the local high school, where a pair of determined and thoughtful football coaches work to bring their team together. In the process, they may just bring the community itself together, though there are those who are working just as hard to prevent that from happening. The tale reaches well beyond the football field, following the lives of several players and their friends and relatives as they come to terms with the changing times--or, in many cases, as they fail to do so. It is possible that there a bit too many characters involved and sometimes elements of this saga that deserve more attention seem a bit rushed. Yet life can be equally overcrowded and abrupt, and as such, it is likely that some of this novel's flaws contribute to its authenticity.

There are meditations on more than race relations, as religion, sex, politics, and drug use and abuse play pivotal roles in the way the way the characters and their relationships develop. As with any worthwhile drama, there are struggles, triumphs, shocking developments, and tragedies housed within the pages of The Intangibles. It is clear throughout that Dutton is writing about things that matter to him, and one has to think that his personal experiences played a significant part in bringing this story to life. While the end result may be a bit overwrought in some places and a bit jarring at times, it is a potent and meaningful story with a lot of soul, and it is surely worth reading. The journey is enlightening and the climax is a stunning example of Monte's wit and talent.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having worked with Monte in the past, I know he can spin a good yarn that reels you in. His Book The Intangibles does not disappoint. The Intangibles tells the story of a South Carolina high school football team forced to integrate in the turmoil of the 60s and how the small town adapts to the rapid changes in their culture. The players face coming of age issues of sex, drugs, religion and parental pressure to succeed, while the adults face their own tests - some good, some bad. It captures the tension of the times as the students just want to be teens and play football, but the adults want them to be more. Looking forward to more novels from Monte, and catching up on the Audacity of Dope as well.