Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas “32″ Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they’ve buried and ignored for decades. ~HarperCollins.com

Book Club Ideas

Decorations

The setting of Mississippi is an important aspect of the book.  A Mississippi poster like the one below can greet your guests as they arrive for the book club party.

Music

Silas has fond memories of listening to Al Green when he was younger (page 206).

Book Club Menu

At the mechanic shop owned by Larry’s dad, the soda machine had drinks that I had not seen in some time:   Tab and  Orange Nehi.   I could not find these in the grocery store but they are still available at Amazon.

At the diner where Silas would eat, he loved the hot dogs, which were made with kielbasa and he would eat them with lots of ketchup, mustard, relish and chopped onion with a dab of hot sauce on top (page 93).

For dessert, try this gooey Mississippi Mud Cake.  This is called a cake, but it is more like a pecan brownie covered with marshmallows and chocolate pecan icing.  It is for people how like their desserts sweet and nutty.

Book Club Resources

Ratings at the time this post was published

Discussion

1. What is the significance of the title of the book?
2. What did you think of Silas’ character?  Could you understand why he kept quiet for so long?  Would you forgive him if you were Larry?
3. How about Larry’s character?  Did he seal his own fate by not telling the whole story of the last time he saw Cindy Walker?
4. Why did Larry befriend Wallace Stringfellow?  Why was he able to overlook his flaws?
5. Why do you think Larry stayed in the town that turned its back on him?  Why did Silas return to the town?
6. In the beginning of the novel, who did you think killed the Walker girl?  Did your suspicions change over the course of the novel?
7. Did you enjoy the ending of the novel? Did you feel like all the problems were resolved or were you left with unresolved issues?
8. Discuss the racial tensions portrayed in this novel.  Did the racial slurs make you uncomfortable?

Purchase Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter at your favorite bookseller

The Author

Tom Franklin is the author of Poachers: Stories, Hell at the Breech, and Smonk. Winner of a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, he teaches in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program and lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife, the poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and their children.

Do you have any other ideas or recipes for a book club party for Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter? We would love to have you share them with us! You can leave a comment below and upload pictures as well.