On Fire

Rating:
Summary: Notes from the Firehouse in Oxford, Mississippi
Review: I did not know of Larry Brown until I saw the film "Big Bad Love," based on one of his stories. I wasn't crazy about the film but was fascinated by the imagination it emerged from, and gave one of his books a try. For starters, I read his memoir "On Fire," about his years as an Oxford, Mississippi, fireman. I thought it would be about fighting fires, responding to emergencies, and what goes on in the firehouse in between. I expected some reflection on the world of firemen, which I understand to be a social order of its own, like policemen.

There is all of that and considerably more in this wonderful collection of short essays, many of them dashed off during those off hours in the firehouse, often recounting an experience Brown and his compatriots just had, rescuing someone trapped in a smashed car, putting out a fire, or just screwing around. You learn something of the process of firefighting as Brown reconstructs the events of several fires, including one in the top floor of a building at Ole Miss. He explains how they use the Jaws of Life. You learn about the daily routines of checking equipment for readiness, as well as continual training in CPR and different kinds of fires.

But much in the book is unexpected. There are pieces about dogs, hunting, lost kittens, cookouts, practical jokes, watching hawks, petty thefts, driving, drinking beer, and S and V on HBO. Essays that will stay in my memory include his account of a trip to New York to appear on the Today show when one of his books is published and learning while he's there that his wife and son have been hurt in a car accident, then discovering when he finds out they are OK that his dog Sam has died. The mental image of him crying in the airport is vivid and moving.

On a more hilarious note is an account of a long day's drive to a training exercise in the Delta, where they arrive late and drunk. On a more literary note, there's his account of setting up a hose to provide fake rain for a documentary film at William Faulkner's home, just down the road from the firehouse. His reflections on Faulkner sitting in the house and writing novels are full of awe and respect for a giant of letters, a giant who had a cup of coffee every night at a local restaurant where he always left a dime tip for the waitress.

If you've read or you're thinking of reading Brown's fiction, I recommend this book. It's a wonderful introduction to the man and his world, and you get a sense of the raw material that feeds his imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: I don't know how this book ever got published. It was a rudderless account of unrelated stories about nothing. Many stories revolved around actions you probably warned your kids never to try... and Mr. Brown seemed to be pretty proud of that.

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing and Grievously Boring!
Review: I thought this author would share his experiences of life as a firefighter; I thought wrong. He shares more about his dog not being able to produce puppies than he does about the various accidents and fires he has been a part of. I was shocked by how much he digresses, over and over again he talks about animals which have absolutely nothing to do with firefighting or even his life! The author has written a book that will put the most astute reader to sleep. I wish it had been a bit more interesting, but alas, it was not.

Rating:
Summary: Reading ON FIRE not a waste of time
Review: It certainly isn't about firefighting. It's more about man's inhumanity to animals and the careless ways in which we treat them. If you care anything about animals this book will break your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Made in America (Mississippi in particular)
Review: Judging from the reviews here, one would expect Larry Brown's "On Fire" to be a travesty of modern nonfiction, an insult to firefighters and rescue personnel, and a rough estimate of the degree to which mankind has fallen from some form of enlightened perch. For grief's sake, people, it's only a book, and a fairly good and compelling one at that. Apparently many people (either in or out of the fire service) have such lofty expectations of their heroes (reinforced sadly by the events of September 11) that to envision firefighters as doing anything more rowdy than a tough game of touch football is to destroy the halos we all love to put on them in our society. Truth is, folks, and this is a firefighter talking here, most of them have the same ordinary, mundane concerns as you and other dead-end jobbers do, especially those whose careers take them down dark paths (as dryly and matter-of-factly as Brown writes them here). They love and hate, they rage and submit, they work and play, they hunt and fish, they drink and smoke, they are ordinary men and women, and they are somehow more important for many of the reasons Brown indicates. What I feel is the book's greatest strength is that Brown's portrayal is as much a myth-destroyer as it is a myth-builder: firefighters, he seems to say, rise above the mundane when asked, and slip beneath it when allowed.

Now as for the whole hunting / fishing / cruelty to animals bent that seems to turn everyone off, I suggest you all buy a plane ticket to Memphis, drive south toward Oxford itself, and observe the country Brown writes about and writes from. In case you haven't read any of his other works, it's pretty consistent with other Larry Brown, and yes, it's country-boy living. Some can handle it, and some don't. As for Brown, I think he probably feels as I do: thanks for stoppin' by, and if you see something you don't like, then don't let the door hit you too hard. Frankly, I read Larry Brown for just that attitude and reality, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you're looking for a glorious depiction of firefighting, or a glamorized portrayal of the Mississippi South, you're invited to read a few fictional accounts of each. But if you want the cold, hard reality of life that only Brown ever seems to bring to light, the pop open a cold one and join him for a tale or two. It'll be, as he says, "mighty fine".

Rating:
Summary: Excelent!
Review: Larry Brown shares the emotional trauma of being a firefighter in his book On Fire. The book is a true to life account of what it is like to be a firefighter, from the crazy things you do to the heart wrenching life or death scenarios at the scene of an accident. Anyone looking into becoming a professional firefighter should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Reading ON FIRE not a waste of time
Review: ON FIRE is not a book about firefighting; it is a book about a man's life who also happens to be a firefighter. Brown is a regular guy who worked hard to become a writer, not because he didn't want to be a firefighter, but because he thought he could do something else to contribute to others, doing work as a writer.
I think the book is very good. I do not think the book is great. I think the book is worth reading, but I also think if you want to learn more about firefighting there are probably better books out there. Still, I think the book was not a waste of time, as some other reviewers thought it was.