{"id":6842,"date":"2026-07-20T11:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6842"},"modified":"2026-07-20T11:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T11:25:00","slug":"lawton-passage-by-tim-duning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=6842","title":{"rendered":"Lawton Passage by Tim Duning"},"content":{"rendered":"

The absorbing, warm, and often-rollicking story of life-shaping experiences in a place where family names mean something<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lawton Passage<\/em> by Tim Duning opens with the sad story of Nanny, the narrator\u2019s grandmother, dying of breast cancer. As the narrator recalls, \u201cDeath didn\u2019t mean that much to me yet. That was about to change big time.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

While death and loss are a significant part of the narrator\u2019s story, other experiences and lessons are too. From \u201cindirectness has its benefits\u201d<\/em><\/strong> to conspiring about how to force parents to quit smoking, the narrator takes his audience through a myriad of hilarious antics that feel simultaneously relatable and wholly his own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lawton Passage<\/em> is a page-turning take on life in the American South. Duning discusses with great humor, how boys in Southern families attended prep schools, how Church Sundays held a dominant role in a southern family\u2019s schedule, and how and why a town like Lawton can remain significant in a family\u2019s lore and identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

What Duning accomplishes in this book is what the ever-growing realms of Southern and Appalachian literature ideally wants to accomplish. By preserving memory, personal voice, history, family lore, and ultimately place, it resonates with novels like Silas House\u2019s Clay\u2019s Quilt<\/em> and Lee Smith\u2019s Fair and Tender<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The narrator also candidly expresses how a life in Lawton could be a detriment to one\u2019s development as well as a boon. This is especially evident in \u201cCedar Line Blues,\u201d a chapter in which the narrator\u2019s emotional tug to stay in Lawton and his philosophical push to justify leaving intensifies. There\u2019s no better conversation about home than one where someone considers whether they should leave. This novel captures this very real feeling with great candor and feeling. As he labors on a pencil factory assembly line for $85 per week, the narrator grows more and more aware that the life Lawton offers is not necessarily the life for him. He makes a vow that the following summer will be different.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The differences between the narrator and his life in Lawton also intensify during holiday breaks when he returns home from college. Again, humor plays a shining role in these chapters. One especially memorable moment is when the narrator returns from college for Christmas break and his mother suggests he buy some new clothes in an attempt to refit him into Southern society.<\/p>\n

Lawton Passage<\/em> guides its audience through times and a place with deep affection and nostalgia. With a clear voice and attentive, personal details, Duning brings to life a place as unique as the narrator\u2019s story itself.<\/p>\n

The post Lawton Passage by Tim Duning<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The absorbing, warm, and often-rollicking story of life-shaping experiences in a place where family names mean something Lawton Passage by Tim Duning opens with the sad story of Nanny, the narrator\u2019s grandmother, dying of breast cancer. As the narrator recalls, \u201cDeath didn\u2019t mean that much to me yet. That was about to change big time.\u201d\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6842\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}