Review by Esther11 -- My Only Sunshine by Lou Dischler

[Esther11]

[Following is a volunteer review of "My Only Sunshine" by Lou Dischler.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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My only sunshine by Lou Dischler, mostly told through a nine years old Charlie’s eyes, is a fiction rich with Southern culture and absurdity. Charlie Boone was a nine years old boy living with his younger bother Jute, grandfather, and grandmother. Charlie’s parents never appeared in the book. His father had been given fifteen years of hard labor due to the failed attempt to robbery. His mother , told by his grandfather, had been carried away by the hurricane; while his uncle Dan’s story insisted that she had been taken away by the giant leeches. When his long lost and jail breaking uncle Dan had come back to the house with a bag of candies, and a beautiful woman named Lona with a worm-like freckle on her neck, Charlie was forced to share a bed with Jute on his nightly wetted bed. When Dan and Lona’s plan to sell adult books with bible covers to the almost-blind minister had failed, they headed for the bank to play out their new plan which wouldn’t have gone so well. Meanwhile, Charlie and Jute accidentally dug a hole, which they later found out was worth millions for its salt.

What I like about the book is that we get to see inside of a nine-year-old’s head. I truly believe that being told from Charlie’s perspective is what makes the book funnier due to his childish and innocent thoughts. He thought his mother Mary had returned from Jesus when his uncle Dan brought a woman named Mary. He even waited for her to hug him and call him son.

I would say that the only thing I don’t like about the book is it’s absurdity. Although the books totally spins my head with its impossible and crazy stories, those stories are the materials that make the book so funny. My logical brain tries to complain about this but it is just one of the characteristics of the book.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 for it can make me laugh out loud with those outrageous stories like Jute swallowing a bullet. It also portrays the family drama, Louisiana and Cajun culture, and pure imagination of a child, with engaging narrative. Dischler describes beautifully of what’s going on in inside the tiny head of Charlie.

I would recommend this book to those of you who love Southern styled fictions, who want laugh real hard, and who want to read a crazy story told through a child’s eyes.

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My Only Sunshine
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