" I can't get enough of Larry Brown's books; "sad and beautiful" does not do justice to the very real, stark and poetic stories he tells. To simply call his work "Southern" or "Faulkneresque" oversimplifies the originality of his gifts as a writer. His is really a genre unto itself. If you haven't read any of Brown's work, Joe is a great place to start. Depressing as hell, sure, but, like a great sad song (Mark Lanegan, anyone?), tanscendently moving, indelibly affecting and ultimately uplifing through the sheer power of artful storytelling. The simplicity and power of his words are more important than the plot itself. His books, this one perhaps more so than any other, make me want to drop everything and write, paint, make music, get to a higher plane. "
— David, 1/9/2014