A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn’t seen in years.
On a quest to deliver the letter, Jimmy travels to Rattlesnake, a small town nestled in the foothills of the California Sierras. The centerpiece of the town is the Rattlesnake Inn, where the bartender is handsome former cowboy Shane Little. Sparks fly, and when Jimmy’s car gives up the ghost, Shane gets him a job as handyman at the inn.
Both within the community of Rattlesnake and in Shane’s arms, Jimmy finds an unaccustomed peace. But it can’t be a lasting thing. The open road continues to call, and surely Shane—a strong, proud man with a painful past and a difficult present—deserves better than a lying vagabond who can’t stay put for long. – Blurb via Goodreads
Rattlesnake is beyond what I would consider a good book. It’s an experience by itself and it’s something that only few storytellers are able to put into words. A beautiful rendition of a soul searching for some permanence, searching for acceptance and something that it could hold on to unconditionally.
“It began with a man alone in the wide, empty desert driving a decrepit old Ford with a dead man riding shotgun. But the tale progressed to two men together, alive and dancing and ready to establish their very own home.”
Jimmy Dorsett’s narration is like listening to folk songs from melancholic souls that makes you contemplate about the secrets of the universe. Jimmy meeting Shane is fate intervening.
“Someday you’re gonna be an old bastard like me, and you’re gonna be able to do nothin’ bout it. Don’t wait. You got stuff in your life needs fixin’, you gotta fix it now, while you can.”
Two men with pasts they could not left behind. Two men that needed healing.
“You can’t outrun your pain, Jimmy, ‘cause it’s a part of you. You just have to make your peace with it.”
I didn’t think I’ve ever rooted this hard for a book character. I just want Jimmy and Shane to be okay. My heart’s bleeding for Jimmy because he’s got no one at all while Shane still got his family.
“Wishes were like poison, Jimmy thought, When you made them, they were all bright and shiny, sweet as candy. But they lingered and languished and didn’t come true, so they curdled and went bad. Bacame toxic. That’s why he never made them to begin with.”
When Jimmy finally figured that he could at least hope – he finally found his way home. It’ too beautiful a story that needs to be read by many. Please, please people – get a hold of this one. It’s totally, absolutely worth it!
To Kim Fielding, you truly are one of a kind!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
About The Author
Kim Fielding lives in California and travels as often as she can manage. A professor by day, at night she rushes into a phonebooth to change into her author costume (which involves comfy clothes instead of Spandex and is, sadly, lacking a cape). Her superpowers include the ability to write nearly anywhere, often while simultaneously doling out homework assistance to her children. Her favorite word to describe herself is “eclectic” and she finally got that third tattoo.
PADDYLAST INC. 