Sometimes I get to the end of a book, and the words wonaEUR(tm)t come. Then I recalled the teenie-tiny pieces of this story that put me in mind of the last book I read. The two stories are not alike, excepting these few things: superb writing, a gritty tale, real-feel characters in real-feel situations, and living in the south. The cover of the previous book mentioned Southern Lit. ThereaEUR(tm)s a term I hadnaEUR(tm)t thought about before seeing it, but talk about a glove that fits. When I think of literature I think of something a little more. Desperation Road has it. The wording is spot-on terrific for the plot and the setting. Fully descriptive, yet often straight up. In that simplicity it could also be called beautiful. The story is the same as the writing. It didnaEUR(tm)t waste a minute. The time span lasted only a week or so, but by using the occasional flashback I pictured every detail of these few lives. IaEUR(tm)m going to let 5 stars say the rest. 
 Oh, and give me some more Southern Lit with a heart like this one.