Sweetwater Blues

by Raymond L. Atkins

Rodney Earwood and Palmer Cray had been best friends for as long as either could remember. They were brothers in all but the genetic sense, each born late in the lives of good women who had given up on the dream of motherhood by the time their respective miracles occurred. They wandered the hills of North Georgia, hunted the pine woods, fished the cool, green streams, and camped under the stars. They shared each other's clothing, each other's families, and each other's homes. They grew into tall young men, and on a hot May afternoon right after they turned eighteen, they both graduated from Sweetwater High School, numbers seven and eight in the crooked, sweaty line that held a class of thirty of Sweetwater's finest. Shortly thereafter, Rodney and Palmer flew a Camaro into a tree, Palmer flew into a haystack, Rodney flew into the great beyond, and nothing in Sweetwater was ever the same again.

Genres: Book Club, Fiction

340 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

Raymond L. Atkins resides in Rome, Georgia, where he is an instructor of English at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. He lives in a 110-year-old house with a patient wife and a fat dog. His hobbies include people-watching, reading, and watching movies that have no hope of ever achieving credibility.

His first novel, The Front Porch Prophet, was published by Medallion Press in 2008 and was awarded the Georgia Author of the Year Award for First Novel. Midwest Book Review called it "an intriguing and clever tale, highly recommended for community library fiction collections."

His second novel, Sorrow Wood, was published by Medallion Press in 2009. As noted in Publisher's Weekly, "Subtle humor and mostly pitch-perfect prose distinguish Atkins's compelling mix of mystery and romance, set in 1985 with flashbacks to the 1930s and '40s. Atkins smoothly weaves past into present as the action builds to a final poignant twist."

His third novel, Camp Redemption, was published by Mercer University Press in 2013. It was awarded the Ferrol Sams Award for Fiction and won the 2014 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Fiction. "Camp Redemption showcases the best of Raymond Atkins’s talents in Southern fiction: characters who move in with us, for better or worse; a plot that keeps the pages turning; and the stately, elegant prose of a born storyteller. Alternately hilarious, sad, and downright scary, this is Atkin's best novel yet." Melanie Sumner, The Ghost of Milagro Creek

His fourth novel, Sweetwater Blues, will be released by Mercer University Press in September 2014. "Raymond Atkins is a marvel. As one of Georgia’s most talented authors, he magically weaves complex stories from believable characters. You know the people he writes about; they are flawed, complicated, and real. From the first page to the last, Sweetwater Blues takes the reader on a journey filled with consequences, courage, and redemption. Using his remarkable wit and masterful gift of storytelling, Atkins brings us full circle. When you close this book you will wonder, what else has he written? Then you will rush out to buy his other award-winning books." Renea Winchester, In the Garden With Billy

Reviews

[Thomas Holbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Palmer Cray and his life-long, best friend, Rodney Earwood celebrated graduating Sweetwater High School by scoring some beer from the local bootlegger, driving Palmer’s 1969 Camaro to the graveyard behind Mission Hill Baptist Church where they could get drunk while being left alone by the local constabulary. Within two hours of achieving this plan, Rodney was dead and Palmer was responsible by driving into the Cherokee Oak at approximately 120mph. On Palmer’s Nineteenth Birthday he was sentenced to, and began serving, a ten-year sentence for Vehicular Homicide. For the next decades, he seeks to repay a debt that can never be satisfied. Part of the way Palmer deals with the reality of killing his best friend is by writing him frequent, “newsy” letters of his life in Sweetwater Correctional Facility where he is made to wear the denim prison wear known as Sweetwater Blues.
Palmer’s father, Trenton, is head guard at SCF and manages to have him placed there. To his continued “Sloppy Luck,” his first cousin, David “Cheddar” Cray, is assigned his cellmate and instructor in “showing him the ropes.” Cheddar obtained his name in response to his profession, Meth maker/dealer, and his use of his own product leaving his dental work a remarkable shade of orange. Their years in prison are marked by: being as invisible as possible, passing the days with as little awareness of the time as possible and working in the kitchen. The time in prison passes slowly for Palmer and Mr. Atkins makes this evident while not allowing the story to drag. The conversations between Palmer and Cheddar, the letters to Rodney and the narration of their lives in prison are filled with the humor, clear description, poignant moments and side-splitting humor I have come to expect from this author.
The pace of the book picks up dramatically when events occur that lead to Palmer’s release. He has the opportunity to continue to atone for his action by caring for Rodney’s mother and fulfilling Cheddar’s wishes for the disbursement of his “savings.” Most of these gifts are to Cheddar’s wife, Bay-Annette, and his son, neither of whom are in the lead for Citizen-of-the-Year. Life has changed in the years of Palmer’s being hosted by the state but he soon finds a rhythm that includes learning the importance of paying attention to the passing of time.
There are several deaths in this book, none are expected, only one was easy but none were violent. Each was realistic, reminding the reader that everyone has an Appointment that cannot be missed, none of us know when that appointed time is and we are better served by living everyday with depth, joy, meaning and being in touch with those we love. There are places of great joy in this book, as well. The simplicity of a Sneakers bar, Swisher Sweet cigars, a child’s doll, late night AM radio can lift life to sublimity, taking time enough to note their presence help mark the day a “lived” rather than just marked.
I have read all of Mr. Atkin’s books and this is the most intense. His writing capabilities are shown to be more than writing good humor, a steady mystery or an action-heavy novel. Here, his characters continuing to be sharp, the pace is steady, the story gripping but not maudlin or sappy. It appears the author is maturing as a writer, developing the talent shown in his earlier work to be a mere hint of what lies ahead.

[Janie Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Southern Storytelling at Its Finest

This review is from: Sweetwater Blues: A Novel (Kindle Edition)

A young man, Palmer Cray, accidentally kills his best friend, and faces the consequences. But with the skilled Raymond Atkins penning this tale, this is much more than a coming of age story with an empathetic protagonist. There are meth dealers, prisoners, junkyard owners, conniving ex-wives and loving mothers. As in some of his other fiction, through his characters Atkins explores faith, asking hard questions about God and his motives. Yet other characters demonstrate their strong belief. A serious well-plotted story told with Atkin’s usual humor and philosophy of life.

[Raney Simmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out my review on Vook: Books + Video games: https://vookthevook.wordpress.com/201...

I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting, wanting me to continue reading to find out what happened next to Palmer Cray. It was written at just the right pace to where I could continue reading the book from where I stopped.

I really liked the characters because they kept the story going. I really liked reading about Palmer’s relationship with his cousin Cheddar as he continued to live out his life in jail. Especially because Palmer didn’t expect to room with him and it really surprised me as a reader.

I also enjoyed reading Sweetwater Blues because there was a lot of character development for Palmer and Cheddar. Before the accident, Palmer was a carefree high school student who did what he wanted with his best friend Rodney.
However, after what happened and spending time in jail, Palmer grew as a person. Even though he was guilty of the crime he committed, Palmer didn’t let the system get to him and became a better person as he continued his sentence. Cheddar also underwent character development throughout Sweetwater Blues. The reader can see this through his relationship with Palmer and through the way he acts as the story continues. The reader can see that Cheddar is a changed man and that he wants to do better for himself once he’s released. I love seeing these developments in Sweetwater Blues because the reader is able to better understand these characters and their predicament.

The only aspect of Sweetwater Blues that bothered me was the portrayal of jail life Atkins gives to the reader. I felt at times as if it wasn’t realistic and wished he included more detail about jail and how inmates have to cope so they can get out. I know part of that is because Palmer had good connections so he was very fortunate, but I wanted to see more of jail life for Palmer and see how he copes with being messed around by other inmates. While the reader does see some of that in Sweetwater Blues, I don’t think Atkins included enough to where I could get a good sense of what jail is really like for those placed in it.

Overall though, Sweetwater Blues was a wonderful read for me. I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this book and recommend it to anyone interested.

[Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have become a huge fan of Ray Atkins. It all began last year when I dove headlong into his novel Camp Redemption. I mean, I love details. I love imagery. Even more than that, I love references to growing up in the South. Like Camp Redemption, Sweetwater Blues is filled with all of those things and much more, and it makes for one of the best books I have read all year long.
It’s amazing how strongly one bad decision can affect a person’s life forever. Such was the case with Palmer Cray, a teenager who, along with his best friend since childhood, Rodney Earwood, took a wild, high-speed, alcohol fueled ride in Palmer’s ‘69 Camero on Graduation Day. In what seemed like an instant, the Camero was airborne, flying into a huge tree, and Palmer was in prison for the murder of his best friend.
The story is told both as narrative and in journal entries by Cray, whose living nightmare began on that summer evening and nerver quite ended.
Filled with interesting characters (Cheddar in particular), and details of his stay in Sweetwater Prison, the novel follows Palmer’s journey as he serves his time, and returns to the outside world, where he discovers that life on the outside is nothing much like it was prior to that fatal Graduation Day.
Atkins was voted Georgia’ Author of the Year, and when you read Sweetwater Blues, you will see exactly why.
There’s only one author I can think of that I have to read everything he writes, and that is Stephen King. I have been reading him since he wrote Carrie back when I was in High School. (Again, the devil’s in the details!) Now there is a second author that I am stalking. Raymond Atkins is that good. Take a trip to Sweetwater for a visit. Just keep your distance. There are a few disreputable characters living in sing-sing.

-Michael Buffalo Smith. KUDZOO Magazine (www.kudzoomag.com)

[Debbie (Vote Blue) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book I read in every spare minute and finished in 2 days. I generally find something I like in most books I read, and only a few really stand out. This is one. Wonderful, descriptive language, but not over the top flowery. I could feel these characters, the good and bad. And there's a fine line between both. Quietly written, but a big emotional impact. The author says he writes rural fiction, and I agree--could be rural Georgia, Ohio, Illinois--you pick. I recommend this book. You must read it!

[Cindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED this book. I was going to give it all 5 stars because I really enjoyed the writing and the characters, from Palmer to Rodney to Cheddar to Ottis to Kathleen. I looked forward to Palmer's letters to Rodney at the end of each chapter. The only thing that kept it from getting 5 stars from me was the depressing situation at the end of the book. I guess maybe it wasn't really depressing, just kind of bittersweet. But compassionate Palmer held it all together for me. As it states on the back of the book, we all need to "listen to what he has to say."

[Sarah Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Palmer and Rodney have been best friends their whole lives and do everything together. Unfortunately, they celebrate their high school graduation with some beer drinking and fast driving with disastrous results. Palmer is sentenced to prison for the death of his best friend, and tells his "coming of age" tale from behind those prison walls. This book is touching and funny, and filled with some great characters, including Palmer's meth dealer cousin "Cheddar", Cheddar's wife "Bay-Annette", a junkyard owner named Otis Lee and Rodney's Alzheimer-stricken mother Kathleen. This is a good one!

[Sally Kilpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ray. You know this if you've looked at my books. I will say that this one moves a little slower than some of the others, but you gotta understand that Palmer's in the stir. Time moves slowly there. Per usual, character development and a deep understanding of and appreciation for the south are what make this story work.

And now I'm caught up on my Ray Atkins. *sigh* *twiddles thumbs*

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story filled with memorable characters and infused with compassion. Raymond Atkins is a masterful storyteller. I love all his books.

[Michael Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sloppy luck.” It’s when fortune saves an individual from a terrible fate only to make surviving it almost as bad. Like a young man emerging alive from an almost certainly fatal auto accident, only to find his closest friend dead at the scene, and himself facing a prison sentence for his negligence. Palmer Cray believes he and his family are doomed and blessed by sloppy luck. He accepts it and perhaps embraces it. Raymond L. Atkins’s novel Sweetwater Blues follows Palmer through ten penitent years of his young life in the town and prison of Sweetwater, Georgia.

Sweetwater Blues (Mercer University Press, 2014, 340 pages, $18.00 paperback) is Atkins’s fourth novel. Raymond L. Atkins is a professor of English at Georgia Northwestern Technical College and member of the Creative Writing faculty at Reinhardt University.

Something about this novel spoke to me. Reading it was like meeting a stranger and finding out we grew up just miles from each other and knew all the same places, or passed through some significant shared experience, like being in the military or working at the same place, even if separated by time. It’s a kinship almost. Possibly it is Atkins’s slow description of life in Sweetwater, even through the thoughts of an inmate remembering the town. It takes me back to my own youth in a small Southern town, where everybody knew me and my whole family, and years passed around us all like water flowing around rocks in a creek bed.

There is a charming humor about the voice of Atkins’s writing that brings to mind Twain or Faulkner. But there is a pace to it that makes it enjoyable in a different way. It’s a walk through the scenery, not hurried or even brisk. It’s more of a saunter or a mosey. It’s not belly-laughing humor, but a chuckling look at what just is and maybe always was. Like this description of funeral arrangements for one of Palmer’s friends:

"Otis Lee had gone to visit Genuine Owen not long after receiving his diagnosis and prognosis, and over a quart jar of corn liquor and a pair of Swisher Sweets they had hammered out the pertinent details of his eternal sleep. He had wanted to be buried at the junkyard, under The Death Car with his father, but Genuine had informed him that, lamentably, due to town ordinances that had been passed almost immediately after that original automotive interment, this would not be possible" (308).

Otis Lee and his demented wife are two of the key characters that bring out the medicinal qualities of humor in this book. Another is Cheddar, Palmer’s cousin and cell mate, a life-long professional prisoner whose main problem is his wife “Bay-Annette”. As readers we laugh, even if we feel a little guilty about it, and that makes it easier to deal with the heavy issues of prison, betrayal, and the end of life.

Sweetwater Blues is a sweet read whose literary value sneaks up on the reader, taps him on the shoulder, and introduces itself with a friendly smile. I shall read more of Mr. Atkins’s work and I look forward to his next novel with great anticipation.

Read more reviews at http://davisfalk.com

[Isabel Bryan [the Bookmark Hoarder] · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first book by Mr. Atkins. It was for school summer reading, and I knew nothing about it when I started it. I had never even heard of it. I learned a lot of new words from this book (sarcastically) and I now wish I hadn't read it that year, because I could have appreciated it a lot more if I was older/more mature. This was not a good introduction to realistic fiction for me- I needed something a little less harsh and intense. I don't regret reading it, I just wish I had been older so I could understand it better.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was lovely as ever, but I feel like Atkins put this novel together without a true direction for it. I kept waiting for the point of the story, but it never materialized for me. Also, the main character just seemed completely adrift throughout the whole book. Was that the point? Not my favorite from this author.

[Davis Falk · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sloppy luck.” It’s when fortune saves an individual from a terrible fate only to make surviving it almost as bad. Like a young man emerging alive from an almost certainly fatal auto accident, only to find his closest friend dead at the scene, and himself facing a prison sentence for his negligence. Palmer Cray believes he and his family are doomed and blessed by sloppy luck. He accepts it and perhaps embraces it. Raymond L. Atkins’s novel Sweetwater Blues follows Palmer through ten penitent years of his young life in the town and prison of Sweetwater, Georgia.

Sweetwater Blues (Mercer University Press, 2014, 340 pages, $18.00 paperback) is Atkins’s fourth novel. Raymond L. Atkins is a professor of English at Georgia Northwestern Technical College and member of the Creative Writing faculty at Reinhardt University.

Something about this novel spoke to me. Reading it was like meeting a stranger and finding out we grew up just miles from each other and knew all the same places, or passed through some significant shared experience, like being in the military or working at the same place, even if separated by time. It’s a kinship almost. Possibly it is Atkins’s slow description of life in Sweetwater, even through the thoughts of an inmate remembering the town. It takes me back to my own youth in a small Southern town, where everybody knew me and my whole family, and years passed around us all like water flowing around rocks in a creek bed.

There is a charming humor about the voice of Atkins’s writing that brings to mind Twain or Faulkner. But there is a pace to it that makes it enjoyable in a different way. It’s a walk through the scenery, not hurried or even brisk. It’s more of a saunter or a mosey. It’s not belly-laughing humor, but a chuckling look at what just is and maybe always was. Like this description of funeral arrangements for one of Palmer’s friends:

"Otis Lee had gone to visit Genuine Owen not long after receiving his diagnosis and prognosis, and over a quart jar of corn liquor and a pair of Swisher Sweets they had hammered out the pertinent details of his eternal sleep. He had wanted to be buried at the junkyard, under The Death Car with his father, but Genuine had informed him that, lamentably, due to town ordinances that had been passed almost immediately after that original automotive interment, this would not be possible" (308).

Otis Lee and his demented wife are two of the key characters that bring out the medicinal qualities of humor in this book. Another is Cheddar, Palmer’s cousin and cell mate, a life-long professional prisoner whose main problem is his wife “Bay-Annette”. As readers we laugh, even if we feel a little guilty about it, and that makes it easier to deal with the heavy issues of prison, betrayal, and the end of life.

Sweetwater Blues is a sweet read whose literary value sneaks up on the reader, taps him on the shoulder, and introduces itself with a friendly smile. I shall read more of Mr. Atkins’s work and I look forward to his next novel with great anticipation.

Read more reviews at http://davisfalk.com

[Debbie Keen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can love any book with a character named Palmer. Even if he does spend 2/3 of the book incarcerated. This was well written but it took me awhile to become engaged in it. Maybe the prison was too claustrophobic a setting for me? Also, the last 1/4 about care-taking the demented and dying dragged on for me. It did elicit feelings of compassion for prisoners and humanize men who are serving jail time by seeing that world through the eyes and heart of a teenager who was a first time offender sentenced to 10 years.

[Rona Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you read the sentence "It's like there's a pack of crazy dogs in my head ripping off little pieces of my brain" on page 3 you know you are in for a ride. I cherished every mile and wished the journey did not have to end. Given how many fine books there are on my to be read list, I rarely allow myself the luxury of reading more than one book by an author. Ray Atkins just made my exception list.
"Southern" writing at its best.

[Deborah Mitchell]

Two best friends from childhoood to graduation, a fast Camaro and tragedy. One friend is dead and the other survives with strange helpers along the way. The story is told thru the eyes of Palmer Cray's eyes after accidentally killing his best friend. Compelling story.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it very much. I love the concept of "sloppy luck" and my favorite character was Cheddar. Most of the book takes place in a prison, but still I really liked it. I enjoyed picturing Cheddar reading Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer.