Pryor Rendering

By Gary Reed

Book Overview

A dazzling tale of one young man's emotional and sexual awakening in a small Oklahoma town, this is a near perfect story of a lonely eighteen-year-old growing up and finding his first love in a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525941029
• ISBN13: 9780525941026
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Dutton
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A compelling story beautifully told

The poetic title, Pryor Rendering, sounds promising, even when one discovers that Pryor Rendering itself is something less than poetic. Set in the small town of Pryor, Oklahoma, our young protagonist, Charlie Hope, tells his story from the age of seven into his late teens. He never knew his father and has been raised by his overly religious mother and bar owning frequently drunk grandfather. Charlie's life is far from the normal upbringing, and to add to his confusion he senses he is different from most boys. In the absence of real friends he has a friend of his imagination, that is until he gets to know fellow schoolboy Dewar, a year older, from the local boys' orphanage. The two become best friends with Dewar spending every weekend with Charlie, feeling more at home there than perhaps Charlie ever did. Pryor Rendering is a charming and delightful story beautifully told. The close and intimate friendship the two boys enjoy is heart-warming, all the more so for Charlie's love for Dewar recognises that it will also mean letting him go at the appropriate time. The relatively few characters we meet are vividly portrayed, and with the odd exception, thoroughly likeable. But what makes this an exceptional book is the quality and beauty of the writing. The characters are real, the sense of place compelling, our young hero Charlie endears from the start; and the story itself heart-warmingly wonderful.

When is Gary Reed going to give us another great novel?

I read the book twice and both times was taken into the mind and soul of Charlie Hope, the main character. He grew up in Pryor and I in Sallisaw, but this is not about me. A great read!

Suprisingly Realistic and Heartbreaking

Having been raised in a small, midwestern town I was intrigued by the cover and comments I had heard about "Pryor Rendering". Initially, I became bored with the book. Yet, as the story continued to unfold I found myself not only relating to the environment of Charlie Hope, but also to the feelings of despair and hopelessness that often accompany the teenage years. I must say that I cried at the end and was, at first, upset about how the tale came to close. However, as I examined the ending more and more I realized that it was, like the rest of the book, a brutally honest tale about life and love in a small midwestern town. The only negative I can say about this book is that I am thorougly confused at the end about what happens and why. Perhaps that is Reed's point, that life is not always clear on anwsers for why and how things happen, but I still would have liked a little more closure on Charlie.I hope that Mr. Reed will consider writing another book that tells us about what became of Charlie and Dewar. Overall, a wonderful, yet sad, work.

A beautiful story with memorable characters

I picked this book up because I was intrigued by the cover photo, and it turned out to be a wonderful novel. I was touched by the coming-out story of this boy living in very-small-town America. It's both idealistic and realistic, and for this it deserves respect. I don't read many gay novels, but I'm glad I read this one, and I'll be looking for more from this author in the future.

Prose that flows like warm maple syrup on fresh hotcakes.

OK, let's get to the point: I was thoroughly impressed. I had not heard of this book and picked it up out of sheer curiousity. Was this book forgotten? Why was it overlooked? Gary Reed's writing is mesmerizing, subtle, warm, evocative... I wish I could go on, but unfortunately, I can't use words the way Reed does, and I wouldn't do his novel justice. Reed used language in a way I've never seen it used before; he's able to discuss nascent feelings, those indescribable feelings young men have; feelings that have no name, no definition, because these things have never been provided. He is able to conjure up the dilemmas and confusion faced by teenagers as they begin to objectively realize they're somehow "different." All right, all right: his writing left me wanting more. As for story, I found it all there. No holds barred; this is a tale of boys growing up (in particular, Charlie, our storyteller), of innocence shed, without (thank God!) the pressures of the big city. Of two boys defining their own relationship, few outside influences intruding into their world. It's not necessrily a friendly town, but it is an innocent one that exists in its own world. Charlie's innocence is balanced by his quiet maturity and his sense of detachment, which allows him to deal with his prosletyzing mother, his drinking grandfather, the stench of his town, and the lack of life in his town--a point made all the more stark by the town's main business: rendering cattle scraps into something usable (canned cold cut spreads???). We feel for Charlie and we feel with Charlie. He tells us his story, drawing us into his world. Bottom line: I loved it, and I loved the fact that it's so different from other books in the same genre. How come I had never heard of it before? Gary Reed, when is your next book coming out??!!!