Blood and Lemonade

Hap and Leonard

by Joe R. Lansdale

Hap Collins is a complicated man. He looks like a good ‘ol boy, but his politics don’t match. After way too many jobs, Hap has discovered what he’s best at: kicking ass. Vietnam veteran Leonard Pine is even more complicated: black, Republican, gay—and an occasional arsonist. As childhood friends and business associates, Hap and Leonard have a gift for the worst kind of trouble: East Texan trouble.

Joe R. Lansdale’s popular Texan crime-fighting duo are immortalized in this collection of new Hap and Leonard short stories and tall tales. Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade follows the exploits of the early years of these beloved characters. Many of these intertwined stories appear for the very first time.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Short Stories, Noir, Thriller, Humor

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2017

About the author

Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over forty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in more than two dozen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Ho-Tep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story "Incident On and Off a Mountain Road" was adapted to film for Showtime's "Masters of Horror," and he adapted his short story "Christmas with the Dead" to film hisownself. The film adaptation of his novel Cold in July was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Sundance Channel has adapted his Hap & Leonard novels for television.

He is currently co-producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats.

Reviews

[Dan Schwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood and Lemonade is a collection of tales of the early days of Hap Collins, wrapped in a mosaic novel as Hap and Leonard drive around, bullshitting with Bret, Chance, and each other.

I get a lot of ARCs and it's always a treat when I get one I was dying to read anyway. How could I pass up Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade?

Using Hap and Leonard driving around and telling stories as a framing device, Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade is a mosaic novel about the early life of Hap Collins. Some of the stories are about Hap, some are about Hap's father and Hap just narrates. They're all told in the much-revered Joe Lansdale style.

As near as I can tell, I've only read three of the stories before, although I could be wrong about that. As a mosaic novel, Blood and Lemonade works very well and does a lot to show how Hap, and in some cases Leonard, have been shaped by the events of their early lives.

Lansdale's beer and tailgate style of storytelling gives him a unique voice and feels like it was written specifically for my ears. There is comedy, fist fights, and even some horror in the form of a ghost story, showing the depth and versatility of Lansdale's style.

While I wouldn't recommend this as a first Hap and Leonard or first Joe Lansdale book, it's definitely a worthwhile read for anyone who is a fan of Hap and Leonard. Four out of five stars.

[Dave Edmunds · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Its that strange feeling you get when things aren't right, a sensation of something mean and nasty on the other side of some kind of dimensional barrier, waiting to get through a slit in time and space, and enter into one of us humans and ignite our most evil traits, send us flailing with fist, snapping with teeth, slashing with knives, slinging clubs, and tossing rocks."

Oh yes! I'm back once again with my favourite pair, "Champion" Joe Lansdale's very own Hap and Leonard. One of the best ongoing series out there. This is the authors own brand of redneck noir. And Blood and Lemonade is book number eleven and this time we're getting something a little bit different.

Lansdale has delivered a series of hair raising adventures featuring the duo that has seen them beat up and left for dead many times. But in this installment he's going back to the beginning as he serves up fourteen flashbacks from the early days of Hap Collins.

Now this being a Hap and Leonard book we all know that virtually guarantees it's going to be fantastic but sometimes these prequels can be a bit of a damp squib. Yes I'm talking about Star Wars! But Lansdale hasn't let me down so far and I have more faith in him than whoever Disney chooses to direct their movies these days.

The author describes this book in the afterword as a mosaic novel, where a number of random stories are pieced to together to form a cohesive whole. It's a brilliant description and refreshing to get something very different from what I've seen in the series so far. But will it work? Only one way to find out!

The Story

The story begins with Hap and Leonard having a bit of down time and deciding to go for a drive and shoot the shit like they did in their youth. For once it doesn't lead to them landing smack in trouble and certain landmarks jog their memories as the pair reminisce of important parts of their life. We then get a series of short stories that delve primarily into Hap's past in the 50's and 60's, with the occasional appearance from Leonard.

Although the stories vary in length they do not vary in quality. There's a great mix of humour and violence with some heartfelt and poignant moments. I'd go as far as saying there's not one weak entry in this entire collection with some absolute crackers and there's a good chance you'll be compelled to blast straight through them in one go!

The standouts for me were:

Tire Fire - where Hap and Leonard first meet down by the river bank at a bare knuckle fist fight.

In The River of the Dead - which is a classic Hap and Leonard adventure where they discover a sunken vessel containing a deadly secret.



The Boy Who Became Invisible - a deeply affecting story where a bullied teenager responds with very dark and disturbing results.

And honestly, if that's not enough to get your juices flowing then I give up!

The Writing

Trademark Lansdale writing right here with that mojo flavour. It's only after reading a range of different authors I realise how good this guy is. It's so natural and makes you feel like you're sat round a campfire with an expert story teller who's in full swing. Each entry is expertly written and drew me in, where I was right there amongst it.

The dialogue as always is right on the money. Funny, realistic and with a sense of charm. Like actually listening to two friends go back and forth. And although it's not quite as funny as in other entries, as Leonard is missing from a lot of the stories, there's a fantastic mix of emotion that can be funny and heartbreaking at the same time. Something this author can do like no other.

Each of the stories captures the period and location perfectly. It was like I was transported back in time sixty years to East Texas. The atmosphere is tangible and you can almost taste it and Lansdale explores the way of life perfectly. It's a time where racism was widely accepted but at the point of radical change and it's brilliantly realised. I got a real sense that the author had lived the lives he was describing and walked in those shoes.

"What we learned was if we went fishing, sat in a boat and dragged some line in the water, we might catch dinner for our night camp, but mostly we found out about each other."

Final Thoughts

Although this wasn't a perfect reading experience in the world of Hap and Leonard I did really enjoy it. Lansdale's decision to try something different and mix things up was a good one and I liked the way the book was structured.

Both Hap and Leonard have come a long way since they burst onto the scene in Savage Season and I've grown really attached to them over that time. They're like a pair of drinking buddies that I'd share a beer with after a hard shift. So getting to know there backstory was always going to be a wonderful experience.

Blood and Lemonade could be described as a coming of age story, particularly for Hap, and there's some great development as I got a real insight into his formative years. You really get a sense of understanding of why the pair are so tight and have come to see each other as brothers.

My only real complaint was that the social messages became repetitive and I would have appreciated if Lansdale had mixed it up a bit. But you can't have it all and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to any fans of the series. While it isn't essential reading it's a certainly worthwhile experience and a whole lot of fun.

And that's all I've got to say about that. Thanks for reading and...cheers!

[Kemper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free advance copy of this from NetGalley.

Best buddies Hap and Leonard have some time to kill so they end up sparring, eating ice cream, and generally farting around as they bullshit extensively about their past.

If this sounds more like a trip down memory lane or a clip show episode of a TV series than the fellas having a new crime adventure then you’d be right because the idea of H&L wandering around to some of their old haunts is just the framework used to string together some short stories about the good ole days which weren’t always so good. Along the way we hear about their first meeting as well as the early days of their friendship, and there’s a lot about Hap’s childhood and teen years with stories that involve his parents as well as good deal about racial issues.

Overall, there’s some interesting stuff for H&L fans, and I’d only seen a couple of the stories before. However, by sticking to their early days we don’t get much of the what I love which are the guys bumbling their way through some kind of mess as they try to play detective and usually get themselves in a whole lot of trouble. There’s still some crime elements to it, but I gotta say that Hap ran across so many dead bodies in his younger days that he probably missed his true calling of being an undertaker.

They’re all pretty decent, but it fell into a weird grey area for me where I felt like I was getting more history than I really needed or wanted about the guys rather than another one of their hilarious adventures.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere along the line one needs to take a breath of fresh air and ask where one's line in the sand is. The Joe R. Lansdale book "Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade" only contains five new stories. The book costs eleven bucks if purchased through Amazon and sixteen bucks (plus postage) if purchased from the publisher, and so what does that mean? It works out to two or three bucks per new story.

Personally, I had read all the older stories in this collection, and I realize the purpose of publishing one's book is ultimately to line one's wallet or to buy a better brand of caviar. What saddens me the most is that I like and respect Mr. Lansdale's writing, With this publication I feel like he is just asking me to bend over and take one for the team

The joining pieces he has written to conjoin the stories together are weak at best. Perhaps I am speaking out of school here to all the Lansdale fans, and I am not giving up belonging to that group, however, it gives me pause to think.


Contents:

013 - "Parable of the Stick" (2016) - re-written
021 - "Tire Fire" (2015) - re-written
039 - "Not Our Kind"(2016) - re-written
059 - "Down By The Riverside" (2015)- re-written
065 - "Short Night" (2016) -re-written
077 - "The Boy Who Became Invisible" (2009) -re-written
085 - "Blood and Lemonade" (2017) -First Appearance
107 - "In The River Of The Dead" (2017) -First Appearance
147 - "Stopping For Coffee" (2017) First Appearance-
163 - "Apollo Red" (2016) - re-written
177 - "Coach Whip" (2017) -First Appearance
193 - "The Bottom Of The World" (2015) - re-written
207 - "Squirrel Hunt" (2017) - First Appearance
223 - "The Oak And The Pond" (2016) -re-written
231 - Afterword
235 - About The Author

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe Lansdale can always be counted on to deliver an impressive story and in this case, he delivers several.

These short stories are presented around the framework of Hap and Leonard chatting-sometimes in Hap's truck, sometimes at the DQ and towards the end, back home at Hap's house with Bret and Chance. They're almost all about Hap, but some are about both Hap and Leonard and how their friendship originally developed.

The tales about Hap and Leonard as two young men were the ones I liked the most. Especially the one where they first met, fist fighting on the banks of the river being a thing back then. You'll have to read Blood and Lemonade for more detail. My other favorite was the story of what they discovered at the bottom of the river one day when Leonard lost his favorite weight.

Those two were my favorites but every story here is good and they're all told in the trademark style of the Champion Mojo Storyteller. Which of course means, there is a lot of humor here as well as magnificent storytelling. There's also a touch of poignancy to some of the tales and I liked that just fine. I bet you will too.

Highly recommended to fans of Joe Lansdale and the Hap and Leonard series!

*Thanks to NetGalley and to Tachyon for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

You can preorder your copy here: Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapters From Hap and Leonard's Early Days

Blood and Lemonade is listed as volume 12.5 of Lansdale's Hap and Leonard series. Lansdale describes it as a mosaic novel, a series of interconnected stories from different points in the lives of these two characters, who are the best of friends, although they appear mismatched, one Black, one White, one Gay, one straight. Many of these chapters are childhood stories they they share with each other from when they met and started hanging out together to adventures with Hap alone. They harken back to a childhood where segregation was the rule and there were balcony sections set aside and restaurants didn't serve Blacks -at least in the dining room. For those who yell discrimination today whenever they can't argue their point, it would behoove them to look at what real discrimination was like and how far we have all come since those divided days. These vignettes probably fill in a lot of background for regular readers of Hap and Leonard, but those of us who haven't read much of these series probably didn't appreciate this background quite as much.

[Alfonso D'agostino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se amate indefessamente Joe Lansdale, lo adorerete. Se di Lansdale apprezzate in particolare le avventure di Hap e Leonard, il duo investigativo più improbabile del dopoguerra, non potete proprio perdervi Sangue e limonata, proprio per niente.

Sangue e limonata ci conduce infatti alle origini di Hap & Leonard: da Una stagione selvaggia in poi, siamo abituati a goderci le avventure dei due in un rapporto ormai consolidato, un’amicizia che va oltre ogni confine (di orientamento, credo, razza, e via dicendo) vissuta nel quotidiano di un Texas assolato e feroce, a metà tra un “liberi tutti” quasi western e le trame di un noir d’altri tempi. Con questa nuova raccolta, scopriamo come i due si siano conosciuti, assistiamo – ed è quasi emozionante – al loro primo dialogo, e ritroviamo un Hap bambino e il suo contesto familiare, certamente non facile ma (oserei dire) quasi felice.

La struttura narrativa è davvero semplice, del tutto basata sul racconto orale: Hap e Leonard prima ricordano, durante un giro in macchina o davanti a una cioccolata con Brett, episodi della loro infanzia, e danno vita a quella che è a tutti gli effetti una raccolta di racconti. Ma, con le premesse del primo paragrafo, è a-do-ra.bi-le, e completa il nostro immaginifico di una coppia entrata nel cuore di una grande schiera di lettori.

http://capitolo23.com/2019/04/25/sang...

[Kenneth McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hap and Leonard have come to grow on me. They've burrowed into that soft spot of nostalgia that makes me think of being a kid and listening to my dad tell stories. When I "listen" to Hap tell his stories in Blood and Lemonade, it reminds me of sitting around the kitchen table listening to my dad tell stories about his childhood. Granted there are about a 1000 miles between where Lansdale's tales are taking place in East Texas and where I grew up in southern Michigan, but the settings have some amazing similarities and the era Hap grew up in coincides perfectly with my dad's storytelling of his childhood. So, yes, I have a soft spot for Lansdale's yarns about Hap and Leonard. But outside of that, these are great little snippets in Blood and Lemonade. Lansdale calls it mosaic storytelling and it's not told in any order. You could read any of these short stories randomly and the impact would be the same. They are the filling in the cracks that binds Hap and Leonard to our psyche. It brings them more to life and makes them seem like real people. If you've never read any of the Hap and Leonard tales, you could get away with making Blood and Lemonade your first one, but I would recommend going back to the beginning. If you've already discovered the magic of Hap and Leonard, then Blood and Lemonade will be like sitting around with 'ol Hap by the campfire and letting him tell you tales of his childhood. And he'll have your attention the whole night.

5 Co'Colas out of 5


This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


You can also follow my reviews at the following links:

https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com

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[Taksya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fare una raccolta di racconti semplice probabilmente era troppo banale per Joe R. Lansdale, Hap & Leonard: Sangue e limonata è quindi un romanzo a mosaico, come l'autore stesso lo definisce nella postfazione. Una antologia dove i racconti si susseguono in ordine non cronologico, collegati tra loro da una breve narrazione iniziale dove Hap ricordare racconta o Leonard, Brett oe Chase ricordano e chiedono ad Hap di raccontare.
Un po' ripetitivo, ogni racconto introduce i personaggi principali, il momento storico in cui si svolge o il luogo.
Le storie non sono male, molto più soft e meno sanguinolente dei romanzi a cui siamo abituati, ma Hap e Leonard sono sempre loro, anche quando sono ragazzini. Meno disincantati e delusi dalla vita forse, ma sono loro.
Forse l'espediente della narrazione di collegamento, forse la ripetitività non mi hanno convinta del tutto. Piacevole lettura, ma nulla di particolarmente interessante.

[Luca Masera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanzo "a mosaico" in cui Hap e Leonard raccontano con successioni non regolari né cronologiche (brevi) avventure del loro passato: il risultato è quello di avere una panoramica delle loro vite, soprattutto quella di Hap, che colma un'ampia serie di carenze e di punti oscuri del loro passato.

Al di là dell'affetto per la strana coppia e per la loro famiglia, le singole storie lasciano attaccato poco e nessuna è davvero indimenticabile: la sensazione è quella di aver letto un taccuino di appunti di Lansdale, dove molte pagine sarebbero anche potute mancare che nulla sarebbe cambiato.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always enjoyed the oddball “odd couple” setup of Joe R. Lansdale’s series duo Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Hap is a white leftist who went to prison rather than go to Vietnam; Leonard is a Vietnam vet whose aggressive demeanor is a product of growing up black and gay in East Texas. Hap hates resorting to violence and using guns, often trying to talk Leonard out of fights; Leonard has a short fuse, the proverbial bull in a china shop who flies off the handle. Somehow, they became the best of friends, starring in a long-running mystery/thriller series and a new TV show on the Sundance channel. This collection brings together stories of their earliest years as a “mosaic novel” or “fixup novel,” tying them together with a new frame narrative. It’s a look back at how the two met, showcasing their teenage friendship and some of the events that made a young Hap Collins into the man he is today.

On the one hand, it’s nice to slip back into some familiar characters whose antics I’ve enjoyed for many a book, but I worry things are starting to wear thin. There’s been a steady stream of Hap and Leonard novels, novellas, and collections in the last few years, not counting the fact that some (like this one) reprint older, harder-to-find material. I’m not sure I’d recommend this as a starting point for new readers, despite its focus on Hap and Leonard’s earliest days—if you haven’t read Savage Season or watched the first season of the Hap and Leonard TV show, I’d recommend you do so first to gain a full appreciation of the characters. This book feels like one more for the fans, as it’s missing the things that make the series so well-loved: there’s a joy to watching these two get in over their heads, forced to work their way out of rotten situations and unravel crazy mysteries. Here, it’s all nostalgia, a trip down memory lane to the ’50s/’60s.

I’d say that the best material includes most of the new stories. “In the River of the Dead” is the closest thing in the collection to the average Hap and Leonard adventure, a tale where the two teenagers go out fishing and find themselves held at gunpoint, embroiled in a cocaine-deal-gone-wrong that’s left a dead family (and the drugs) at the bottom of the river. There’s some good excitement and action here, a nice change of pace when most of the stories are more contemplative, dealing with a young Hap learning tough lessons about the world. Take “Blood and Lemonade,” where Hap and his mother try to help a poor black boy lost and alone; while they try to cheer him up and do the right thing, they run into the social barriers erected by racism. Or “Coach Whip,” a kind of two-sided moral fable about two snakes which teach Hap life-long lessons via words of wisdom imparted by his father.

This isn’t to say the old stories are bad, but they hew closer to the small-town slice-of-life meets coming-of-age variety. “The Boy Who Became Invisible” is one I covered in the Hap and Leonard collection a year ago, but it’s a poignant story that haunts me, where one of Hap’s friends is bullied to the point where even Hap abandons him; this boy has his revenge on his bullies in a brutal finale. “Apollo Red” is a flashback to a cocky young tough that tries to start a fight with Hap’s dad, only to find out the middle-aged mechanic is no slouch. “The Oak and the Pond” is a mournful recollection of lost youth and the passage of time, where Hap revisits the verdant forests of his youth and charts the “path of progress” that has left the area stripped of its natural beauty.

There’s blood, and bitterness, a pean to the innocence of youth and the naivete we see when we look back at our childhoods as adults. Because things were never quite rosy as we remember them being, as the stories show, dealing with bullying, racism, sexism, and homophobia. Even as Hap looks back at his past, there are no rose-tinted glasses, with the rotten elements shining through just as clear as the good moments. The stories capture Hap’s important memories—some powerful, others poignant, some a bit funny, most a bit sad. The stories in Blood & Lemonade are all solid and entertaining, if dark; they give a good idea of how Hap came together as a person, the world he grew up in. But that also makes it feel like a clip show, filling in gaps so new fans are up to speed. As mentioned, I’m not sure it’ll appeal to newer readers since it’s a different speed than the usual Hap and Leonard fare, and the hardest of the hard-core fans probably own the reprinted stories. Those in the middle ground, who appreciate the characters and want to know more about them, will appreciate this the most.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher. Originally posted on my blog.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting series of vignettes, with Hap and Leonard reminiscing about the times when they were much younger. I know they're middle-aged at this point, but overall, it felt like they were older, as of they were sitting in an old barber shop passing the tone and shooting the bull.

Some of the stories were quite good, too. I especially liked the title story, Blood and Lemonade. Very poignant and touching. I also liked the stories of how their friendship started and grew. Great background material.

I'm not sure that I would classify this as a novel in the true sense of the word, and the author says pretty much the same thing. It's almost like a book of stories that he started and left without finishing. The writing is still very good, typical Lansdale, and it shows his ability to capture the reader with a shorter format.

My wife and I homeschooled our two kids (both graduated over 10 years ago now) , and I was always looking for ways to challenge them, especially in the field of literature and reading/writing. This book would have been great to have simply for the potential discussions, especially the stories of the racism both Hap and Leonard experienced as young men. In that regard, this book is very thought provoking.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hap and Leonard have become brothers by the time my first novel in the series, Savage Season, occurs, but before that they were two guys feeling out a friendship, finding it good, but it was not quite at the level of what it would eventually be. They would become family

I love these guys. They have been with me a long time. I have had a lot of time to visit with them, and lately more than usual(…)

I am proud of these stories. I am proud of Hap and Leonard. They may have even broken a bit of new ground in their day. I won’t go into all of that, as I have written about their odd couple differences before.

I am also proud of Hap and Leonard’s influence on other writers, and I am happy to have those writers write and tell me how much the books meant to them, and how much they helped them create their own characters. And all you readers, Hap and Leonard fans, thank you.”

-from Joe R. Lansdale’s afterword-

If this is my last Hap and Leonard hangout for a bit, I’m REALLY happy it was this one. I love the novels, don’t get me wrong, but these two short collections have really, really gotten me in a way I really didn’t expect them to.

So basically, by JRL’s own admission, this is a “mosaic novel”. Basically the only plot it has is Hap and Leonard fucking around during a day, hanging out, reminiscing, and then hanging out with Brett and Chance, placing it roughly in chronology with the novels (but even Lansdale himself says a lot of these tales actively contradict stuff Hap has “revealed” in the books so that’s just another level of access one could have with this; fucking brilliant). And then bullshitting some more.

A few of these stories were in the first collection, but the way Lansdale frames them now with the pace of the “hang out” and how they are couched between these new pages in their lead up, Jesus Christ does it make them all the better. “Not Our Kind” and “The Boy Who Became Invisible” particularly because like…those had such a punch just as single stories, but now having them have an “audience” with characters we love, who are THEN reacting to Hap’s recollection of the horribly beautiful moments of those stories, god it’s just the best. And the sort of experimentation and emotional storytelling that you don’t really often see in “crime/action” fiction.

And even if Leonard’s presence isn’t explicit too often during the whole thing, his energy and the influence and clear loving connection he has with Hap in the connecting tissue just make the whole experience all the stronger. Even more so when we finally do get some rollicking and shockingly fucked up stories of Teen Hap and Leonard adventures. AND also JRL doesn’t skate on the pretty appalling details of their upbringing, the backwards way of thinking that even their own parents engaged in, and how they had their own interactions and interrogations of racism and how their relationship, even in the early days, was looked on as an aberration that people just thought Hap would grow out of.

It’s very rare this sort of prequel, backstory works as well as it does. Reacher sometimes does it and it works and I’m sure other series (wasn’t there some young Jack Ryan bullshit at some point?) have done too, but for my money, I can’t see them working as well as this does. Taking the sideways, hangout approach. Not trying to get any hacky forced connections or callbacks to stuff.

Just two guys (and the gorgeous family they’ve made for themselves) talking about all the fucked up stuff that made them who they are and how it all brought them together. It’s all very Texan.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Tachyon Publications for an advance copy of Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade, a mosaic novel with episodes from Hap's youth.

I hadn't heard of the term mosaic novel before Mr Lansdale used it in his afterword but it is a wonderful description for this novel. It opens with present day Hap and Leonard discussing current education policies and segues back into a memory from Hap's childhood to make Leonard's point. As they go out for a drive it pulls them back down memory lane for a series of tales from Hap's youth in 1950s and 60s East Texas.

It is many years since I read Hap and Leonard but I always enjoyed the humour, the defiance of stereotypes and the gleeful adventure of it all. Sadly, much of that is missing from Hap and Leonard: Blood and Lemonade which, I think, has been written in reply to a television series and sets out Mr Lonsdale's vision of his character, Hap Collins, and how he came by his values.

Obviously, as this is, mostly, a first person narrative by Hap, Leonard takes a bit of a back seat and there isn't the same amusing banter between the characters. Also the episodic nature of the narrative makes it hard to get fully immersed.

On the other hand I found the scenes set in the 50s and 60s with their overt racism extremely well done and a timely warning in our modern times of how history has a habit of repeating itself. It does not make for pleasant reading, but is, I imagine, realistic of the era.

It was interesting to re-visit old, well loved characters and get an insight into their formative years, albeit in a different format from their usual adventures.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept of this collection (or novel in stories, whatever), but it's the execution that didn't really work.

Am I getting bored with Hap & Leonard? Has the world changed too fast for them? Fighting evil racists and bigots is pretty much why they exist, but it didn't feel like the guys were morally or physically challenged here. They're just smugly plowing through waves of bigots and living on to tell the tale. I understand that racism is still an issue today, but these antagonist were so all one and the same that felt like zombies, Nazis or any one of these token bad guys. But instead of saying "braaains" or "heil Hitler", they say... well, you know what. That word was said an uncomfortable amount of times. I felt self-conscious reading it in public transportation.

I feel heartbroken giving this a bad review because I really liked Hap & Leonard at some point. But this is a "well, if you don't like this book, you don't agree with its beliefs" type of book and you know, while I think racism and homophobia are horrible, I think self-congratulating tales of crushing bigots are horrible and boring too. It's not subversive and it's not exactly a notch on the ladder of progress either. We need heroes like Hap & Leonard today more than anything, but we need them to be pertinent and to fight the right enemy.

[Debbie Notkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always keep a book on my phone, to read in odd moments, and they take me months and months to finish. This was a good choice for that; I haven't read any earlier Hap and Leonard stories, but I did watch the TV show, so I knew what to expect.

Lansdale is a fine storyteller, Hap and Leonard (White and Black, straight and gay, best of friends) are fine characters, and the stories are sharp and memorable. The book starts with a morality tale, "The Parable of the Stick" (which I don't agree with) but the rest of the stories are much more fleshed out and human. Many of them treat with Hap's growing up, what he learned from his quietly humane and justice-conscious father, how he met Leonard. Everything has a backwoods, rustic feel, but that doesn't equate to simplistic or stereotyped.

It's certainly better because I can see Michael Kenneth Williams and James Purefoy, but it would be good reading in any event.

[Christian Frascella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ricordi in forma di racconti, e @joelansdale ci mostra la giovinezza di Hap&Leonard, raccogliendo a piena scrittura la nostalgia, la violenza e il feroce razzismo del Texas orientale alla metà dello scorso secolo. Agghiacciante il racconto della barca sott'acqua.

[Bobparr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come sempre piacevole, come sempre guardo con leggera invidia al coraggio di Hap e Leonard in quella terra di animali pericolosi - i texani, non i mocassini d'acqua - e di paesaggi nostalgici.
Non uno dei più belli, ma un corroborante diversivo nella saga.

[Alessandro Pontorno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarà perché non avevo ancora letto nessun racconto di Hap & Leonard, sarà perché perché si parla della giovinezza dei nostri con quell'atmosfera retrò che fa tanto In fondo alla palude, ma questo libretto mi ha fatto trascorrere alcune ore di puro divertimento.

[Thomas Rannekleiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more for true fans of all the series with hap and Leonard alot of stories from childhoods of hap and family ,

and a mystery they fix a litle bit to fast ,
But if you have had fun from the first one and up to this hap and Leonard you need to read this one ☺️

[Robert James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry from one of my favorites. This one is in short story form and fills in some of the gaps in Hap's and Leonard's relationship but also has a few stories where Hap is only the narrator.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is H&L #11, and the author calls it “The Mosaic Novel”, a novel that is not in order of events, nor do those events roll precisely into each other. The stories herein are about “the early life of one Hap Collins”.

I’d read two of these before, but the rest were new to me. “Tire Fire” was a special treat - the first time H&L meet! And “Apollo Red” shows us what a bad ass Hap’s dad was (and where Hap gets it from!)! Actually, many of these involve Hap's dad, Bud, and they are pretty dang good! The whole book has a nostalgic feeling, and it really made me feel like I was there. It's a really well-written bunch of stories, even if you don't like the usual H&L action packed novel. This volume has a sweetness to it, despite some of the sour subject matter. It's good background information about H&L, mostly H, but it's also good stories about the life of a poor boy growing up in East Texas. Bravo Mr. Lansdale!

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a big Hap and Leonard fan, I was so happy when I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. As Lansdale mentions at the end of the book, this is called a Mosiac novel which is basically a string of memories with some thing stringing them together. Basically, it's a collection of short stories. While the title says Hap and Leonard a good half feature stories with just Hap and cover Hap's life from about age 7 or 8 through 17 when he meets Leonard. The stories with him and Leonard all take place when they are 17.

It was interesting to find out how they met and how their "code" was already mostly developed by 17. Not too surprisingly if you've read the other books (just one even) there's more blood (the bad) than lemonade (the good). Too much so really. While occasionally the right triumphs in the end, most of the stories were pretty depressing and most people suck.

On the plus side for younger readers Lansdale doesn't shy away from how brutal the south (most of America really) was to black citizens in the 50s and 60's (and yes, still is as we were rudely reawakened to in the last presidential election).

I would not recommend this book to people new to the series (unless they've watched and enjoyed the tv series, which I have not) because I don't think they'd appreciate the characters. I only give the book an ok rating because I'm not fond of this format and short stories and because the stories were just too dark, I needed a touch more lemonade. Hap and Leonard didn't triumph (well, just making it to their ages after their teens might be the ultimate triumph) over the bad guy letting me close the book on a high note.

[Saretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Recensione
Review

Il romanzo appartiene alla fortunata serie basata sui Hap e Leonard, inconfondibili protagonisti di molti dei romanzi di Joe Lansdale.

La caratteristica di questo libro è di essere un romanzo mosaico: Hap e Leonard ricordano diversi episodi della loro gioventù - tra cui anche il momento in cui si sono conosciuti - e li raccontano ai famigliari.

Si tratta sostanzialmente di una raccolta di racconti collegati da un filo conduttore; come nella maggior parte di questi casi non tutte le storie sono allo stesso livello, con alcune decisamente più incisive.

Uno dei temi principali è quello del razzismo (l'ambientazione è principalmente Texana) e del tentativo di superare i pregiudizi (la madre di Hap è un esempio molto positivo).

Nel complesso è un libro gradevole, anche se onestamente preferisco i romanzi "standard" della serie che hanno un respiro più ampio.

Ringrazio l’editore per avermi fornito la copia necessaria per scrivere questa recensione.

[3 no 7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Blood and Lemonade” is a collection of short stories by Joe Lansdale. It features great backstories from the early lives Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Be advised that Hap and Leonard are, as always, rude, crude, and very funny. If you are not prepared for “colorful” language and politically incorrect scenarios, do not read this book. If you want to laugh and recollect along with Hap and Leonard, then this book fills-in the gaps and background that you might have missed.
It is all about Marvel Creek, East Texas and all the good, the bad, and the in between who lived there. It’s about, as Hap puts it, “the rough kind of life that was below the surface, the stuff that the people with money didn’t know about or didn’t want to talk about.” It’s about the 60s, fishing, cars, ninth grade, sex, cowboy movies, and segregation. It’s not mean spirited, just daringly honest.
NetGalley gave me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is not my first Hap and Leonard book, and I both laughed, and cringed all the way through.

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little tales from Hap's infancy, the meeting with Leonard, their beginning (that could have been their end too) and life in the '50 and '60 in rural south U.S. where being a "nigger's friend" or a black homosexual could mean a very bad end.

Piccole storie tratte dall'infanzia di Hap, il suo incontro con Leonard, le loro prime avventure (che avrebbero potuto benissimo essere le loro ultime) e la vita tra gli anni '50 e '60 nel profondo sud degli Stati Uniti, quando essere "amico di un negro" o un nero omosessuale, poteva significare una brutta fine.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong collection of stories: most are from Hap's childhood and family. The short stories are strung together as reminiscences shared during the course of a lazy day. I thought it unlikely that Leonard could be so subdued for so many hours, but hey, Mr. Lansdale knows him better than I do.

[Jimbo]

Amazingly important in today's climate and a wonderful mash-up of stories (some new some old) with connecting material.

Read it twice!

[Joanna Spock Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll tell you what - I think these stories are based on reality, and that's alot for anyone to have gone through. Joe R. Lansdale is one of the best writers of his generation.

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Joe R. Lansdale's Blood and Lemonade is a masterpiece of addictive and stylistic storytelling. It's satisfyingly pulpy entertainment to those who enjoy reading clever and vivid stories with memorable characters.

I was delighted to read this mosaic novel, because I enjoy Joe R. Lansdale's Hap and Leonard stories. I find these stories amazing, because the author's writing style appeals to my twisted taste in pulp fiction. I don't normally read this kind of fiction very much, but Joe R. Lansdale's stories are among the few exceptions that fascinate me.

Blood and Lemonade oozes steadily pulsing raw power that is rare in this kind of fiction. As experienced readers are aware of, there are way too many pulp and crime novels, in which the authors try too hard to reach for something fascinating, unique and wild, but fail miserably due to lack of vision and poor writing skills. Fortunately, this novel is something totally different, because it's original and entertaining, and - what's most important - it has style and substance that is lacking from other novels.

If you're a newcomer to Joe R. Lansdale's fiction, this novel may not be the best place to start reading his Hap and Leonard stories, but I see no reason why newcomers wouldn't enjoy it. Because the stories are good and entertaining, they can be read and enjoyed without knowledge about the previously published stories.

This novel consists of the following stories:

- Parable of the Stick
- Tire Fire
- Not Our Kind
- Down by the Riverside
- Short Night
- The Boy Who Became Invisible
- Blood and Lemonade
- In the River of the Dead
- Stopping for Coffee
- Apollo Red
- Coach Whip
- The Bottom of the World
- Squirrel Hunt
- The Oak and the Pond

These above mentioned stories tell of the early life of Hap Collins, but Leonard Pine also makes an appearance in them (other characters also appear in them). They've been told in the genuine Joe R. Lansdale style that doesn't disappoint readers.

I enjoyed each of these stories and was hooked by the author's entertaining and poignant writing style. In my opinion, Joe R. Lansdale is an excellent writer, because his stories are engaging and vivid.

I'm sure that Blood and Lemonade will please readers who have read the author's Hap and Leonard stories, because it reveals more information about the protagonists and their early lives. These stories help to understand how Hap and Leonard have been affected by what has happened to them and how they've come to be the persons they are in the later stories.

I won't go into details about these stories, but I can reveal that they are satisfyingly diverse. They showcase the author's imagination and his ability to write different kinds of tales. I found it fascinating that there was even a bit of horror in this novel in the form of a ghost story, because normally Hap and Leonard stories don't contain such horror elements.

I enjoyed reading all of the stories, but the above mentioned ghost story was especially to my liking. I've always been fascinated by stories that have horror elements in them, so I found this story thrilling. It was written so well that I couldn't resist reading it a couple of times.

One of the main reasons why I love Blood and Lemonade is that it features excellent dialogue. I love reading the sharp, thoughtful and striking conversations between the protagonists, because the author excels at writing them in a lively manner. Another reason why I love this novel is the author's sense of humour, because it's delightfully amusing, insightful and twisted. It adds a nice flavour to the stories.

I give Blood and Lemonade full five stars on the scale from one to five stars, because it's pure pulp goodness from start to finish.

I highly recommend Blood and Lemonade to Joe R. Lansdale's fans, because it has everything you could ever hope to find in Hap and Leonard stories - style, substance, humour, insightful commentary, interesting happenings, fights etc. It's a delightfully entertaining reading experience for those who love crime and pulp stories, but it will also appeal to horror readers.

Excellent and wonderfully vivid entertainment!