Never Cry Again by Jim Cole

 

Drew is conceived in abuse, born into neglect, and raised in hatred. The story tells how the rural boy survives a life of extreme poverty, living in the poorest part of a southern Arkansas town and whose prostitute mother entertains numerous 'uncles'. When one of those uncles becomes abusive toward Drew, and then later attempts male rape, which was encouraged by his mother. Drew has no other choice. He must leave home.

The ten-year old boy climbs into a rail boxcar, and the train takes him away not only from the abuse but also from his friends, carrying him to an unknown future. Just as things seem their worst, Drew, realizing that his childhood is now over, vows that he will never cry again, but instead face life on his own terms.

Praised by one critic as Huckleberry Finn meets Forrest Gump, Drew's adventures on the way to responsible and compassionate manhood, set against the backdrop of America's Great Depression and the following turbulent years of World War II, are a story that is relevant to the upheavals and turbulence in society today.  

 

Some women are not cut out to be mothers. Drew's mom Edith  is one of them. Edith was only 13 the first time her father raped her and it wasn't much longer until the day she decided to go for a walk and never return. Having no place to stay and no way to earn money she ends up in a hotel with a married man. When he tells her that he is going back to his wife she is once again on her own. Edith ends up giving birth in a brothel and becomes a prostitute. She seems to enjoy this lifestyle as there is no shortage of other prostitutes to take care of her son, who she wants nothing to do with. This becomes a problem as Drew grows up and begins attending church, the only white boy in the all black congregation. The brothel owner feels she is already at risk having a child on the premises but the Klan may make trouble as well so Edith is sold off to one of her customers and she is not happy that she is expected to take her son with her and be a mother to him. By this point Edith is already a raging alcoholic with no maternal skills and Drew must basically fend for himself. He follows in his mother's footsteps of becoming a runaway after an attempted rape and is homeless and alone at 10 years old. Drew meets a multitude of people in his travels, some good and others who mean him harm though he never seems to give up hope of living a decent life.

This is usually my favorite time period for historical fiction and while I understand that racial tensions ran hot in the south it still seemed a bit heavier on the N word than was required and the (phonetically correct?) spellings of the way black people are portrayed as pronouncing certain words seemed over done and unnecessary. I'm not as in love with this book as I'd hoped to be.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

I received an complimentary copy for review.