Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed Of Mice and Minestrone: Hap and Leonard: The Early Years on + 1180 more book reviews
This is a collection of Hap and Leonard stories occurring before the first Hap and Leonard novel, Savage Season. I've read all of the novels except The Elephant of Surprise which is next on my agenda. I just can't seem to get enough of these two characters: Hap, a white liberal draft dodger, and Leonard, a black gay conservative who pulled a stint in Vietnam. Opposites definitely attract in this case because these two consider each other brothers.
The stories in this volume range from when Hap was still living with his parents and went to visit his grandmother and uncles for a dinner in The Kitchen to when Leonard is discharged from the Army and returns from Vietnam to come home to a camping and fishing night on the Sabine with Hap in The Sabine Was High. In between, the pair do what they do best: tell off-color jokes and fight for what's right including the rights of the blacks in the still Jim Crow era East Texas. Hap also gets involved in trying to save a women from spousal abuse in Of Mice and Minestrone and the pair decide to try to desegregate a redneck bar in The Watering Shed leading to some dire consequences. And finally in Sparring Partner, the pair are trying to make some extra money by boxing which leads to Leonard besting a mountain of a man and saving a young black man from a possible deadly beating.
As usual, I really enjoyed all of these stories and as an extra bonus, a section of recipes from the stories is included at the end written by Kasey Lansdale, Joe's daughter. Now on to Elephant of Surprise which will leave me only some of the story collections to read in the future. Hopefully, Lansdale will be writing more in the series.
The stories in this volume range from when Hap was still living with his parents and went to visit his grandmother and uncles for a dinner in The Kitchen to when Leonard is discharged from the Army and returns from Vietnam to come home to a camping and fishing night on the Sabine with Hap in The Sabine Was High. In between, the pair do what they do best: tell off-color jokes and fight for what's right including the rights of the blacks in the still Jim Crow era East Texas. Hap also gets involved in trying to save a women from spousal abuse in Of Mice and Minestrone and the pair decide to try to desegregate a redneck bar in The Watering Shed leading to some dire consequences. And finally in Sparring Partner, the pair are trying to make some extra money by boxing which leads to Leonard besting a mountain of a man and saving a young black man from a possible deadly beating.
As usual, I really enjoyed all of these stories and as an extra bonus, a section of recipes from the stories is included at the end written by Kasey Lansdale, Joe's daughter. Now on to Elephant of Surprise which will leave me only some of the story collections to read in the future. Hopefully, Lansdale will be writing more in the series.
