The Bottoms

Summary

In rural East Texas during the Depression, a young boy named Harry discovers the mutilated body of a Black woman near the river bottoms and watches his constable father pursue a killer amid the poverty and racism of the era. Lansdale tells a coming of age story shot through with menace, comparing his hero's awakening to a Southern gothic reckoning with prejudice and violence. The novel is widely praised for its voice, its sense of place, and its emotional power.