Razorblade Tears ★★★☆☆

Disappointing compared to All the Sinners Bleed. Although the premise held much promise and the characters dropped a lot of truth bombs, this was more of a macho action thriller than a deeper understanding of fathers and their evolution of hate toward their sons' sexual orientation. The women characters were mostly side characters in this testosterone-filled muscle bash. It was a predictable, melodramatic (filmi) ending that left much to be desired.

Edition Read

• Author: S. A. Cosby
• Date Published: 2021-01-01
• Pages: 336

Description

Ike Randolph has been out of jail for fifteen years. The last thing he expects to hear is that his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah's white husband, Derek. Ike had never fully accepted his son but is devastated by his loss. Derek's father Buddy Lee was almost as ashamed of Derek for being gay as Derek was ashamed his father was a criminal. Ike and Buddy Lee, two ex-cons with little else in common other than a criminal past and a love for their dead sons, band together in their desperate desire for revenge

Source: Hardcover

Notable Highlights

Tears ran from his eyes and stung his cheeks. Tears for his son. Tears for his wife. Tears for the little girl they had to raise. Tears for who they were and what they all had lost. Each drop felt like it was slicing his face open like a razorblade. [loc. 307]

“This is who I am. I can’t change. I don’t want to, really. But for once I’m gonna put this devil inside me to good use.” [loc. 1371]

Over the last few months, death had carved a valley between them as deep as grief and as wide as heartbreak. Now another man’s death had bridged that gap, if only for a moment. [loc. 1675]

I swear you white boys got a joke for everybody, but if I said your family tree ain’t got no branches, you’d be ready to fight.” [loc. 1729]

“We ain’t sensitive. Back in the day nobody could say shit or one of your uncles would’ve tried to hang ’em from a tree. Now I can tell you to kiss my entire ass,” [loc. 1732]

“I think maybe for the first time in your life you’re seeing what the world looks like for people that don’t look like you. I mean you still ignorant as hell, but you learning. But then, so am I. We both learning. We both done said and did shit that we wish we could take back. I think if you figure out at one point in your life you was a terrible person, you can start getting better. Start treating people better. [loc. 2842]

I ain’t gonna lie and say I get you, because I don’t. I can’t even pretend I know what it must be like to be … you. But if all this has taught me one thing, it’s that it ain’t about me and what I get. It’s about letting people be who they are. And being who you are shouldn’t be a goddamn death sentence,” [loc. 3498]