Lyin' Like a Dog continues the story of Richard the paperboy and his best friend, John Clayton. In this novel the boys happen upon a nest of bootleggers deep in Flat Creek Swamp and the resulting encounter drives the story until the climatic ending.
Lyin' Like a Dog continues the story of Richard the paperboy and his best friend, John Clayton. In this novel the boys happen upon a nest of bootleggers deep in Flat Creek Swamp and the resulting encounter drives the story until the climatic ending.
Excerpt
Boom!
Dang, the sound just echoed through the woods, and I nearly jumped outta my skin 'cause a bullet smacked into a tree right beside me and bark flew out and stung my arm. Shoot, Sniffer jerked away and took off like a scalded dog.
"What in the world!" I yelled. "Who's shootin' at us?'
Heck, we were scared just absolutely outta of our minds, and we didn't move an inch 'cause we were afraid whoever was shooting at us might shoot again.
"That's far enough, boys!" yelled somebody from up in front of us.
I jumped about three feet again when that fella yelled, and then he stepped out from behind a big pin oak tree holding a rifle. My gosh, he was one of the worst-looking men I'd ever seen. He had on an old crumpled felt hat and some ragged overalls with a blue work shirt pulled over them, and he was wearing some old beat-up work shoes with the shoelaces hanging off the side.He had a stub of a cigar in his mouth and a kinda scruffy "I ain't shaved in a while" look. Shoot, that guy looked at mean as some slimy snake.
Professional Reviews
AuthorsDen Review
Professional Book Review by Molly Martin
Richard Mason’s Lyin’ Like a Dog opens with a flurry of words on 23
September 1945 as we meet Richard sitting with his hound Sniffer,
cogitating over his birthday. Actually, it is a lack of celebration
which has given Richard such a cogitation. With the intuition of lads
his age, 12 today, Richard ‘fesses up that he is bent outa shape and
sitting around feeling sorry for himself; while
The scene for down home fun is set and actually begins a page or so
later on December 1944 when it snows on Christmas and Richard and his
friend John Clayton Reed got to spend some time Christmas Eve with Uncle
Hugh. Hugh was not their uncle, he was an old colored man the boys
carried groceries to from the store in town to his small cabin in the
woods nearby because he had trouble walking.
Prowling around the woods and down along the river bank, going to
school, reading and re reading comic books, visiting Uncle Hugh and
maybe getting to listen to a ghost story, Saturdays at the movies with
other kids from school, sitting on the breadbox down at the grocery
store jawing with friends are all a part of the narrative.
Scheming with best friend John Clayton to take possession of a funny
book having an upside down front cover to sell for big bucks, camping
out in the woods when they were supposed to be camping in one or the
other boys’ back yard, as well as angel food cake with pink icing and
licking out the icing bowl, Vacation Bible School and an evening revival
highlighted with a truly memorable baptismal service conducted using
the baptistery at the church; underscore the problems, difficulties and
unanticipated mischief a pair of energetic lads can get themselves
almost without trying.
Helping Daddy put in and, care for, the yearly vegetable garden, making
a bad miscalculation regarding a red pepper fresh from that garden, tug
of war, gathering as a family around the radio to listen to Walter
Winchell announcing the end of WW2, and, when one money scheme ends in
disaster, another is quickly hatched; are sure to appeal to lads aged 11
and 12 years in addition to to the generation who were themselves kids
growing up and playing outside without TV and hand held game devices
during the 1940s and 50s here in the US.
Running into trouble and facing possible harm to themselves during one
of their forays into the woods culminates with the Richard and John
Clayton become town heroes; while the work culminates with unease.
Daddy has come home liquored up, again, and while Mama does not tie into
him; Richard understands that there is something not quite right about
the situation.
I undeniably relished reading the adventures two pre-teen lads relayed
in the youthful patois of storyteller, Richard Mason. The shenanigans
and hijinks perhaps actually taken from the author's life in rural
Arkansas bring to this reader’s mind the tales my Daddy shared around
the supper table many evening as sisters and I were growing up, in rural
Arkansas.
And, while my own growing up years was lived in semi-rural California
during the 50s and we lived surrounded by cotton fields and not swamp or
woods, the big irrigation ditch carrying water needed for farming was
the site of many adventure for 3 little girls and their friends as we
too played outside without much supervision, or baby sitters and the
like. We have tales told to parents only after we were grown and
enjoyed watch Mama’s hair turning grey before our eyes.
The eleventh year of the lives of Richard and John Clayton introduced in
book one of the Richard the Paperboy series, their friends at school and
the little town of Norphlet, Union County, Arkansas takes place in the
area just north of the Louisiana border where Union County, LA meets
Union County AR. The setting is the troublesome period December 1944
to September1945; time repeated during the 1950s as families gathered
around the radio to listen to the evening news. Richard’s family
listened to Walter Winchell report the war news WWII.
During the 1950s families listened intently as Edward R Murrow told us
of the events far away in Korea.
Lyin’ Like a Dog told in the first person, using local vernacular, is a
work having appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. This is a book
reminiscent of Twain’s writings. While teaching 4th grade I read aloud
daily and found girls and boys alike listened raptly as I read Twain and
his Tom Sawyer adventures. Lyin’ Like a Dog will be placed in my Sub
bag for reading a chapter aloud to students; should I received a call
for classroom subbing in a classroom of 4th graders rather than my
usual K 1 preference.
I had no problem visualizing or believing the antics Richard, John
Clayton and others in the area experienced. Trying goofy, to adults,
schemes generally centered on how to get rich, i.e. maybe bring home as
much as $100!, beginning to notice girls, as well as the you can’t be
serious!, activities including Vacation Bible School, revivals, a still
out in the woods, jars of ‘shine, going barefoot, Big Chief tablets, a
kid with a newspaper route, even the term colored man indicate another
time and place many readers experienced during the early years of their
lives.
Characters are well fleshed, settings are filled with imagery, names of
the kids, John Clayton … both names used rather than just first name,
Connie Rosallie, plain simple names, and nick names Tiny for the big
kid, Ears and the like are right for the time and place. Readers will
be drawn into the story from the opening lines and the narrative hijinks
hold reader interest and keep the pages turning right on to the last
when Richard ruminates over the carryings-on during his eleventh year
and ponders Heck, I’m twelve now, and maybe I’m old enough to keep outta
trouble…. But, naw, I can tell you right now if I told you that, I’d
just be lyin’ like a dog.
Highly readable text, Lying Like a Dog will have a place in the home,
library, school library, classroom and as an item in a gift box for
birthday, Christmas or anytime.
I particularly like the old photo c 1940s of a skinny kid, hands on
hips, down at the calf pen, farm house in the background used as cover
art.
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