Desperate Ransom

by Minton Sparks

"Time changes nothing, girl, but the size of your underwear...and hopefully your hairdo." Minton Sparks unique brand of performance art has brought the rural South to life for the many fans who flock to her shows and relive them through her audio releases. Now, the Grammy-nominated artist has committed some of her most popular poems and stories to print. The thirty pieces collected here veer from heartbreak to hilarity and back again, as Sparks shares her memories of growing up in small-town Tennessee. This unusual family may not walk the straight and narrow, but they're guaranteed to walk straight into your heart and mind, and linger. Like an old-time preacher, Sparks draws her audience in with compelling storytelling while leaving them with something essential to ponder. Desperate Ransom takes readers on a journey into the heart of an extraordinary family, demonstrating once again that Sparks is a ground-breaking artist--and a true American treasure.

Genres: Poetry

85 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minton Sparks wowed me at the Fishtrap writing workshop this summer. She doesn’t just write and read what she writes. She performs it, she acts it, she enlivens it. Reading this book of poems and stories, I hear her voice. On paper, these portraits of rural southerners are beautiful. The language is spare, original, and so specific that we immediately know and love these people. But when Sparks brings them to life on stage, she grabs your heart and never lets it go. So read this book and her other book White Lightning, but also visit her website at mintonsparks.com to see and hear what she does with them.

[Minetta Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having seen Minton Sparks at the Tejas Storytelling Festival I wanted to read her books. She makes no excuses that her family can be complicated and her poems introduce us to interesting characters. As I read her poems and prose in the book I could hear her voice as she had performed them. If you are not afraid to peel back the layers of your own family you will find something to relate to in the book. Be sure to take time to listen to the CD.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

My mom asked me to read this because she disliked it so much. I don't like reading "assignments," and this is not my kind of book. But I found more to like in it than mom did. It's gritty and unflinching, but not unkind.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book also comes with a DVD of Sparks reading her work. I haven't watched it yet, but I think it may add something to my appreciation of the book.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to follow.
Disappointment.