Pretty Boy

By Bill Brooks

"As I lay dying, I see Daddy Walter sitting on the porch reading a Bible sold to him by a man wearing spats." Thus begins the novel of Charles Arthur Floyd, best known to depression-era America as Pretty Boy Floyd. "I was the dreamer, the seeker of all things beyond my reach, the dandy, the dancer, the lover of countless woman, the bank robber, the husband, the father, the son, the brother. I was the most wanted man in America." Rising out of the harvests and oil fields of the Oklahoma dustbowl that John Steinbeck so poignantly captured in The Grapes of Wrath, Pretty Boy Floyd became the most wanted man in America by the newly formed FBI-and the woman who loved him. And while Bonnie and Clyde were tearing up the country, robbing and shooting their way across the Southwest-Charley knew them both, cared for neither-Charley was robbing banks from Kansas City to Ohio. The local newspapers were full of stories about guys like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, and Al Capone, but none of them had what Pretty Boy had: uncommon good luck, a taste for fancy clothes, fancy cars, and beautiful dames. From the opening pages to the final chapter, we hear Charley and his pals, his lovers, and his family tell us the story of Pretty Boy Floyd. Writing with the same combination of lyricism and earthy prose that he used to create the western classic, The Stone Garden: The Epic Life of Billy the Kid, Bill Brooks plays the medium for Pretty Boy, his partners, lovers, and his enemies.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765304732
• ISBN13: 9780765304735
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Pretty Boy

I absolutely could not put this book down. I thought that the way Bill Brooks chose to tell the story of Charley Floyd through Floyd's own voice, and the voices of the people in his life, was brilliant. The creative license that he took worked well enough for me to forget that he couldn't possibly be privy to such information, and that takes such talent and creativity. Something about his style and lyrical sense reminded me of Cormick McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses", which is one of my favorites as well. I highly recommend this book and dare anyone to be able to put it down easily once he/ she picks it up.

Bill Brooks Does It Again!

I was blown away by Brooks' classic, THE STONE GARDEN and frankly thought, how on earth can he ever do it again? But he has. Marrying historical fiction with Brooks' inimitable lyrical prose, PRETTY BOY takes us into the life - and more importantly the heart - of one Charles Arthur Floyd. As I began reading this book I found myself thinking, "Why do I care about a bank robber?" But in Brooks' skillful hands I not only found myself caring, but totally and willingly immersed in the life of the notorious criminal. Pretty Boy's character explodes not only through his own words ("I think about the duck that flew away and who is alone this night, like me, and wonder if ducks have hearts that ache") but through those of his partners, wife, family and mistress, among others. The end result is a novel of the best kind - haunting and with resonance. One that days later you will find yourself thinking about again. And yet again.