Books like Wild at Heart

”Lula pulled Sailor over to her and kissed him soft on the mouth. ‘You move me, Sailor, you really do,’ she said. ‘You mark me the deepest.’”\ \ Sailor Ripley has just stepped out of prison from serving time for a bullshit manslaughter charge. One of those convictions that reminds me of the royal shafting that Cameron Poe received in the movie Con Air(1997), which is an interesting association because Nicholas Cage plays Cameron Poe and he also plays Sailor Ripley in the movie version of Wild at Heart(1990).The better the lawyer, the less likely a defendant will become a victim of the justice system, and Poe and Ripley got crappy lawyers. It shouldn’t work that way, but that is the system we have. The minute he steps out of prison, Sailor is on his way to find Lula Pace Fortune. ”When he was on the road gang he had thought about Lula’s eyes, swum in them as if they were great cool, grey lakes with small violet islands in the middle. They kept him sane.”He knows that, if he is ever going to get to spend time with Lula, the first thing he needs to do is get her away from her momma. Sailor reassures her. ”We’ll be alright, peanut, as long as we’ve got room to move.”From North Carolina to Texas, we follow along with Sailor and Lula as they search for a place that will let them disappear and discover themselves. Of course, the second Sailor crossed over the North Carolina state line, he is in violation of his parole. They’ve got police, a private detective, and Lula’s momma looking for them. Is there a place where two youngsters can get a fair shake without being hauled back into reality? ”The world is really wild at heart and weird on top, Lula thought.”They are soul mates, but are they doomed, I kept thinking to myself as money runs short and the fantasy starts to bleed into reality? Great sex will sustain a relationship for a while, but it’s all the hours of time spent verticle that usually cause the problems. The sex is more than just sex to these two, which gives me hope for a sustainable future for them. ”Oh, Sailor, you’re so aware of what goes on with me? I mean, you pay attention. And I swear, you got the sweetest cock. Sometimes it’s like it’s talkin’ to me when you’re inside? Like it’s got a voice all its own. You get right on me.”Comparisons can be made to the great duo road trips. There is Holly and Kit from the movie Badlands. There is Bonnie and Clyde from the annals of history. We could throw Thelma and Louise in there as well. The difference is that the last thing Lulu or Sailor want to do is hurt anyone, but you would think, by the way they are searched for, that they are demented criminals. Since when did being in love become a crime? The prose is so sparse that this is more like a sketch pad than an oil painting, but there are some scenes that are more poignant because of the stark quick strokes of Barry Gifford’s pencil. There are also a few times when I feel like just a couple of more sentences might have made a scene even better. This book inspired the cult classic movie, and sometimes combining the experience of reading the book and watching the movie makes both experiences even better. This is definitely one of those times. If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.comI also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten