I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Steve Earle's first novel (his first book was the collection of short stories Doghouse Roses: Stories) is a well-written story that is unmistakably a Steve Earle product. Framed in the weeks before and the months after JFK's assassination (and in reality written in a time when Earle was struggling to come to terms with his father's death and needed an outlet, of which the album I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive is also a product), "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" tells the fictional story of Doc Ebersole, a fallen-from-grace MD who now practices medicine (mostly abortions) out of a boarding house in the South Presa Strip of San Antonio and struggles with a twice-daily morphine habit. As Doc was allegedly the last to see Hank Williams alive ten years earlier, Hank's ghost has the curious and often unhealthy (for Doc) habit of haunting Doc, mainly when he's high but also just when Hank is lonely, continuously pushing Doc to keep pushing the drug into his veins. One day, however, a young Mexican girl named Graciela is brought to Doc in need of an abortion. The two grow fond of each other during and after her recovery and it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems with Graciela as strange miracles begin happening on the South Presa Strip, attracting the attention not only of the local lost souls, but also of the local priest Father Killen. The end result is an explosive climax befitting all the characters involved, from Father Killen to Doc's dealer and somewhat friend Manny to Doc himself and to Graciela. Even to Hank.
The novel itself is an easy read. At around 250 pages, it is not too long, and the language is written in Earle's typical "everyman" diction that he uses in his lyrics and now in his books. The characters are fairly well-written, some better than others (Father Killen seems a little unbelievable at times, even with the efforts to give him a background), but the real meat of the writing is Doc's addiction, the realism of which is fueled by the knowledge that Earle had his own much-publicized demons in his younger days. It is hard to read the (sometimes unsettling) descriptions of Doc's drug trips and not feel that Earle has somehow put some of his own experience into the writing. Earle's fictionalized descriptions of Hank Williams' ghost also weave well into the story, as Doc struggles to balance his obligations to those around him with the ghost that haunts him. The story itself seems familiar and like one that we've all heard before, as a sort of twist on the good vs. evil motif. At times it feels a little predictable, but Earle tries to stay one step ahead of the reader to keep you guessing, his skills as a songwriter aiding in his ability to tell a good story. Deftly walking a line between matters of good and evil, addiction, morality, and religion, Steve Earle's "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" comes recommended not only to his fans, but also to those who love a good story.

Click Here to see more reviews about: I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive

Click here for more information about I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive