Small Town Odds Book

The comedian Jeff Foxworthy is known for his "You Might be a Redneck" routine, which provides a handy inventory of traits indicative of red-neckedness. For example, if you own a home that's mobile and five cars that aren't mobile… get it? With due apologies to Foxworthy, I applied this litmus test to Eric Mercer, the main character of "Small Town Odds" by Jason Headley.
Eric might be a redneck if he:

• lives in the small southern town where he was born
• is mostly known in said town for his glorious high school football career
• regularly wakes up in jail after a night of hard drinking
• fathered an illegitimate child in high school, NOT with his girlfriend

Check, check, check , and check. Eric's neck is indeed good and red. But like many proud rednecks, he knows his own mind, works hard, and accepts his responsibilities. Those are also typical redneck qualities that make it okay for them to laugh at themselves without anybody taking offense (an admirable trait, all too rare these days). They are also virtues that make Eric a very sympathetic character, whom readers root for no matter how many knuckleheaded things he does.

It didn't have to be that way for Eric. His prospects upon graduating from high school looked bright; he planned to get the hell out of town to attend Brown University in the fall, and his loving girlfriend and soulmate, Jill, would be in school nearby. Unfortunately, he sabotages his future happiness when he gets very drunk at a high school party and has sex with a girl whom he'd been fantasizing about all his life. As his bad luck would have it, she gets pregnant. Eric forsakes college for fatherhood, while Jill leaves for bigger and better horizons. No wonder he drinks so much.

Five years later, Jill returns to town for the funeral of her father. Eric is only too happy to comfort her in her time of grief. His past, present, and future collide in a spontaneous kiss, which then sends Eric into a dither of ambiguous emotions. The author does a clever job getting into Eric's head and making even his most delusionary ideas and actions seem credible. For example, in the aftermath of his stolen kiss with Jill, Eric's fantasies take off:

"He and Jill would take the love that was obviously still there between them and weave it into a grand tapestry of passion. If anything, their love would be even stronger because of their time apart. He would study hard and learn great things."

His penchant for rationalizing is one of his most endearing qualities. It also predictably gets him into trouble. Readers would like to slap him and say, "snap out of it."

Even though, in the end, Eric predictably makes a mess of things, he picks himself up and carries on, like the noble redneck that he is. He may be his own worst enemy, but his heart is in the right place.

If you love "Small Town Odds," you might be a redneck. If so, that makes me one.