Date of Review:

10/29/1999

Published Work:

Reviewer:

Clay Smith

Source:

Austin Chronicle

Review Excerpt:

Despite the stark desperation that is part and parcel of growing up in Claude (Cullin himself grew up in Guthrie) and Willy's awareness that it is a one-track town, Whompyjawed is not a novel that decries the small-town Texas mentality. It satirizes it, certainly, but the satire is evocative, perhaps even fond. At one point, Willy is alone with Hanna and he absentmindedly says "Goddammit" to which Hanna replies, "Don't do that to the Lord." Willy is prone to all sorts of ruminations: "What gets me going about Whitey is that he's black. I've never asked him, but ten bucks says that ain't his real name. Maybe he just got called Whitey because he's the only black man in town who owns a business. That's how it is here. If a guy's fat, someone just might label him Slim."

Link to Full Review:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:74396