Customer Reviews
This Country For Old Men 
2008-08-30
This outstanding novella is a master class in fiction writing -- perfectly paced, perfectly plotted, filled with dark, sardonic humor, age-old themes, and unlikely heroes. Or to put it another way, it's a Coen Brothers movie turned into prose: combining the questing gumption of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with the dark modernization themes of No Country for Old Men, populated with the small-town heroes and thugs of Fargo. It's elegantly simple, the outcome is rather predictable, and yet it's impossible to stop turning the pages.
Set in the depressed backwoods of Vermont logging country over the course of a summer day, the story kicks off when the town sheriff discovers a haggard young woman asleep in her car outside his office. It seems a local thug named Blackway scared off her boyfriend, killed her cat, and is stalking her. Unfortunately, as the sheriff points out, there's not a whole lot he can do unless she has a witness to any of this -- which she doesn't. Unwilling to send her away emptyhanded, he suggests she go to the old sawmill, where a crippled old-timer sits court amidst a revolving cast of local men, playing cards, drinking beer, and generally passing the time. There, he suggests, she will find someone to go with her and talk to Blackway.
She does indeed find someone to go with her, but not the person the sheriff thinks. Instead, two locals -- a crafty old-timer and a dour young colossus -- agree to help her. The odd couple are entirely unlikely heroes, and as she travels with them to various motels and bars to track down Blackway, she grows increasingly uneasy about what she's gotten them into and their ability to emerge unscathed. Meanwhile, the story continually returns the reader to the sawmill, where the Greek chorus of local men discuss this and that, gradually filling in a newcomer on the lay of the land, and just what a sticky situation the young woman is in. The overall effect is of a slightly surreal, somewhat mythic confrontation, all deeply tinged in black humor and a rural noir sensibility reminiscent of Scott Wolvern's excellent short stories in Controlled Burn. Brilliant stuff worthy of multiple readings.
Refreshingly finest kind 2008-08-27
Castle Freeman's
Go With Me is complete hit for me, mordantly funny, sly, great dialogue, fine indeed. This is one to pass along to your friends, or you could wait for December when it would make a terrific gift. I wouldn't wait, though. It's just that fine.
Excellent! 2008-08-15
That was some book. It was? Wasn't it? Suppose so. What was? The book. You said it. This book had me laughing at almost every page. If you read it then you know what that first sentence is all about. If you haven't then you should. Never a dull moment with this one. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.
Easy quick read 
2008-08-13
I thought this book was OK, but not as great as some of the reviews stated. It's a quick, somewhat comical and quirky little book, but I would not say it was gripping, as some of the reviews stated. The method of dialogue became a little boring towards the end of the book. It was OK, but definitely not on the list of books I would recommend.
Quick, Real, Funny 
2008-08-07
Being a New Englander, I recognized the people in this book! It captures the tone and atmosphere perfectly. We New Englanders (especially the old timers in small, remote towns) are a breed in ourselves. Why use 10 words when 1 will do - and when you live in a small community, experiences are shared and remembered together. This book tells the story of one day in the life of such people - with flash backs explaining story line and setting characters. I loved it! Great read - would like to see more such stories from the author.
Moving The Knights Errant Of Medieval Europe to Vermont 2008-07-06
The Vermont hill country is the stark, vivid setting for this gripping and entertaining story of bold determination. The local villain, Blackway, is making life hellish for Lillian, a young woman from parts elsewhere. Her boyfriend has fled the state in fear, and local law enforcement can do nothing to protect her. She resolves, however, to stand her ground, and to fight back. A pair of unlikely allies – Lester, a crafty old-timer, and Nate, a powerful but naive youth – join her cause, understanding that there is no point in taking up the challenge unless you’re willing to “go through.” In this modern-day drama, a kind of Greek chorus – wry, witty, digressive; obsessively, amusingly reminiscent; skeptical, opinionated, and not always entirely sober – enriches the telling of this unforgettable tale as the reader follows the threesome’s progress on their dangerous, suspenseful quest.
Are We There Yet? 2008-06-16
GO WITH ME is a novel written very much in the spirit of Cormac McCarthy. Freeman is frugal with the details, and relies on sparse realism to guide his very simple tale to its very simple conclusion.
Novels this short and this quiet can be quite deceptive. It's called hiding in plain sight. Just as a glance across a crowded courtroom can be both straightforward and frought with complexities, so can the right kind of unadorned writing bristle with the sort of import and passion and depth that most English Lit professors never dare dream of.
Freeman's story is about a woman named Lillian who has caught the attention of a local disease, a dangerous villain named Blackway (let's not analyze the name). Seeking a cure against his destructive attentions, Lillian finds aid in an elderly fellow named Lester and a beefy young lad named Nate.
Saying any more would give away what little punch this novella has to offer (c'mon, folks; this is NOT a novel). I'm not saying it's not entertaining. A fellow named Whizzer and his round-table of good-old-boys spend the entire novel drinking beers and chewing the fat, and their authentic back-and-forth is what really gives the book the intrigue and humor and pathos that it wants so much to have elsewhere.
However, the core of the plot (ESPECIALLY Nate and Lester's motivations) is not only as fine and as delicate as a spider web, it holds about as much weight, too. I've heard words like "suspenseful" and "thrilling" and "shocking" and "stunning" used to describe the climax and some of the moments that preceded it, but I found the entire novel -- climax, conflict, resolution and all -- to be as whisper-thin as the minimalist writing used to depict it. There are small, delightful moments where the story finds something to really be about, but beyond those brief passages, this is really just a milquetoast snack trying to pass itself off as a hero sandwich.
Tries a Little Too Hard 2008-06-02
It is not unusual for a short book to pack a solid wallop. Sometimes, though, it is because there is just not that much to it. GO WITH ME falls into the latter category. The story of a woman who is not about to back down from the town bully, and enlists the help of good but rough fellows to help her out, simply tries a little to hard to be deep and meaningful and generally more than what it really is. That is not to say the book is bad, but, well, there's not much more to it than what I have just written.
The writing is sparse and does the job of keeping the momentum flowing. The woman and two men seek out the villain while the men's compatriots hold court back at the old, abandoned chair factory. I guess the conversation of the compatriots is supposed to be deep and meaningful, but it is not. It is just some somewhat interesting back and forth between some down and outers that provides some filler.
The book comes to a head when we finally meet our bad guy, near the end of the book. Like everything leading up to this final confrontation, there is nothing bad to say about it, but nothing particularly noteworthy, either. GO WITH ME might fill up a few hours of your free time, but it is not going to stick to your ribs after you are through.
A Hillbilly Fable 2008-06-01
This hillbilly fable, set in the backwoods of Vermont, draws you in with a classic woman-in-distress opener. The lovely Lillian is being stalked by Blackway, a local criminal who drove Lillian's boyfriend out of town, supposedly killed her cat, and has a legendary reputation for badness in these parts. Sheriff Wingate, recognizing that Blackway has broken no laws he can cite to arrest him, refers Lillian to a local sawmill owner named Whizzer for help. Whizzer puts his best men on the job, an over-the-hill guy named Wes, who's respected for his mastery of dirty tricks, and a young simpleton named Nate, who can curl more pounds than his IQ.
Suspense builds as the trio hunt down Blackway in a desolate swath of woods that makes the setting for the Blair Witch Project seem like a boyscout campsite. As they close in on Blackway, the reader is entertained by scenes featuring the banter of Whizzer and his loyal posse, who pass the days draining cases of beer, recalling poker games card-by-card from years ago, and opining on whether Wes and Nate have a shot at taking Blackway down.
This is minimalist writing at its finest, with a spare style that relies on realistic and slyly-humorous dialogue rather than heavy-handed narrative. My only regret is that the ending wasn't better developed, as the climax and resolution couldn't quite live up to this tall tale's setup.
Sparkling True Grit 2008-05-23
I agree that although this story is set in the Vermont backwoods, it has the spirit of an American Western. It is an entrancing tale of two unlikely heroes who go with a young woman into the woods to face down a local villain. It's true that there is not a wasted word; it is a perfect composition, as easy to take in as it is thoughtful. Castle Freeman Jr has composed a rarefied story that seems like the best of Charles Portis' True Grit with the dark humor of Richard Russo's Nobody's Fool. You're in for a treat.
