They Don't Dance Much

By James Ross and James Ross

Book Overview

In this classic country noir, featuring a new introduction by Daniel Woodrell, a small town farmer takes a job at a roadhouse, where unbridled greed leads to a brutal murder Jack McDonald is barely a farmer. Boll weevils have devoured his cotton crop, his chickens have stopped laying eggs, and everything he owns is mortgaged-even his cow. He has no money, no prospects, and nothing to do but hang around filling stations, wondering where his next drink will come from. As far as hooch goes, there's no place like Smut Milligan's, where Breath of Spring moonshine sells for a dollar a pint. A bootlegger with an entrepreneurial spirit, Milligan has plans to open a roadhouse, and he asks Jack to run the till. The music will be hot, the liquor cheap, and the clientele rough. But the only thing stronger than Milligan's hooch is his greed, and Jack is slowly drawn into the middle of Smut's dalliances with a married woman, the machinations of corrupt town officials-and a savage act of murder. "A sleazy, corrupt but completely believable story of a North Carolina town." -Raymond Chandler "A very fine book." -Flannery O'Connor "[Ross] showed us that a writer can come out of the red-clay gulches of rural North Carolina during the Depression-that is, a writer can come out of absolutely anywhere at any time-and make high art without resorting to tricks, stylish ennui or pointless savagery." -The Millions "Ross writes in classically laconic, wised-up American prose. His voice suits then and now and will still carry well tomorrow." -Daniel Woodrell "As far as I'm concerned, this book is where dark Southern fiction began, and any writer who works in the field owes Ross a debt of gratitude, whether he or she has read They Don't Dance Much or not." -William Gay "In and out of print since it was first published in 1940, this blistering novel about a rural Carolina roadhouse with a dance floor is packed with enough desperate characters to make murder merely inevitable, but no less horrifying." -Newsweek James Ross (1911-1990) was born in North Carolina, where he worked as a reporter for the Daily News (Greensboro) for many years. He wrote his first and only novel, They Don't Dance Much, in 1940. The book, considered "country noir," was praised by the likes of Raymond Chandler and Flannery O'Connor. During the decade that followed, Ross published several short stories in literary journals such as Partisan Review, the Sewanee Review, Collier's, and Argosy while he worked on another novel, In The Red, which was never published.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1453296204
• ISBN13: 9781453296202
• Release Date: April 2013
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media LLC
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

SIMPLY THE BEST

A genuine masterpiece! I have read all the greats out there: Charles Bukowski, James M. Cain, Chandler, Hammet, Hemingway, Orwell, Jim Thompson, Clarence Cooper, Jr., Iceberg Slim, John and Dan Fante, Donald Goines, Joseph Conrad, B. Traven, Jack London, Albert Camus, Knut Hamsun...and this guy, James Ross, with his one and only book is right up there at the very top of the heap with the best of the best. You won't find better writing anywhere...and it's not so much the story even, but what he does with it. Ross uses a deceptively easy-going, simple style that sort of sneaks up on your psyche and leaves a mark long after you have finished his tale. A remarkable work; a certified classic in my humble opinion. Highly recommend it to anyone who likes a solid read.

A great and obscure piece of pulp fiction.

Raymond Chandler mentioned this novel (along with THIEVES LIKE US) in a letter in his collected letters, so I grabbed a copy, and I can only say that Chandler knew one when he saw one. This completely amoral tale of roadhouse denizens in the depression era South is wonderfully atmospheric and gets under your skin in an unforgettalbe way. Deadpan violence, stark atmoshpere, and characters worthy of a pulp Faulkner. Don't miss it if rural American noir is your genre.

Excellent writing and superb atmosphere

"They Don't Dance Much" was rescued from obscurity by Southern Illinois University's Lost Fiction Series. Author James Ross' style is similar to James M. Cain; this book resonates like a film noir screenplay. Judging from the popularity of the recent film "L.A. Confidential" someone in Hollywood should take notice. But "They Don't Dance Much" is more than a cheap thrill. It's true literature. Those fans of excellent writing out there need to take a look at this book. They won't be disappointed.