Critically acclaimed author and local legend William Faulkner wrote a highly praised

play called Requiem for a Nun, a play most notably known for one of his most famous lines;
Faulkner declared that the past is never dead. Its not even past. Tom Franklins (very well
written, might I add) psychological thriller, Crooked Letter, Crooker Letter certainly supports
Faulkners claim. Essentially, Faulkners quote means that regardless of what the present holds,
or what the future may bring, the past is, and always will be with us. In reality, it cannot be
referred to as the past, since it will affect most of, if not everything, that we do. Chabots crime
scene investigator says it best: You can bury the past, but it always seems to come back one
way or another (215).
One of the novels more prominent examples of the past following us can be found when
Silas decides to investigate Larrys home for the first time. On his way, he sees nothing but a
barren, desolate countryside: Nothing moving out here, the motel across the highway silent, a
childs bike parked by the front door. Had Larry caused this section of town to dry up? (95).
Larrys reputation clearly followed him, as no citizen in their right mind wanted to be anywhere
near Scary Larry, his home, or his auto repair shop. Another instance of the past preceding the
characters reputations is when Silas arrives on Larrys land to continue his investigation. Silas
finds the remains of a joint of marijuana, ultimately leading him to believe someone else had
been here. Franklin writes, He tweezed it into an evidence bag and realized this alone was worth
his morning. If Larry Ott smoked weed Silas would shoot his badge. Somebody else had been
here (97). Larrys past friendship with Silas allows the constable to know that this joint could
not have belonged to Larry, thus meaning that someone else had walked on Larrys property.
Franklin heavily relies on the use of flashbacks throughout the novel, as they are his
primary means of conveying Silas and Larrys pasts to his audience. Silas chapters present the
readers with different styles of flashbacks; these memories serve to show that the past has been
eating at Silas, especially in lieu of recent events (the murder of M&M, the disappearance of the
Rutherford girl, and Larrys shooting). This is further exemplified when Silas is reminiscing
during his visit to The Hub: Hed slept badly and even dreamed about Larry Ott, though the
dream was gone and by the time he sat up amid his tangled wet sheets to reassemble its strange
narrative (92). Silas dreaming of Larry after he listens to the many messages on his answering
machine from Larrys multiple missed calls confirms that the past is clearly plaguing him;
however, the chapters showing Larrys perspective feature recollections, not to show his guilt or
remorse, like Silas, but rather to inform the readers of what truly happened decades ago.
Nearing the climax of the novel, flashbacks present the readers with Silas long-buried
truth. Throughout the tale, Franklin uses subtle phrases to additionally embody Silas past
troubling him, such as his head full of the past (111) and the boy hed been then (158).
Furthermore, Franklin tells about how Silas deliberately avoids looking in Larrys direction as he
drives by Ottomotive on his way home from Oxford for his mothers funeral, or how he and his
friends ignored Larry at haunted house on Halloween; what the audience once considered just a
dead friendship turned out to be Silas repressing his past and not wanting to confront Larry.
Likewise, upon another usual check-up of Larrys house, Voncille calls Silas to inform him that
Larrys mom was having a good day. After hanging up, Silas stares at Larrys overgrown and
neglected lawn and reflects returning to the boy he once was: He longed to cut it now, mow his
way back to the boy hed been so and do it differently with Larry, go to the police and say she
was with me. Whats missing out of you, Silas? Courage, he thought. No wonder he felt at ease
among these damn chickens (207). Another instance that implies that 32 regrets these events
can be found when he and Larry are in the same hospital room, shortly after telling Larry that
they are related: With such gaps in his understanding, he saw very clearly how the boy hed
been had grown to be the man he was (255). Condemned by his past, Silas yearns to tell the
truth that he has so dearly and secretly held on to for approximately a quarter of a century, and
get this monkey off his back, so to speak, once and for all.
Faulkners accurate and incredibly wise quote can be applied to just about anything that
tells a story, such as movies or books, and more precisely, real life. Tom Franklins crime novel
certainly is a perfect embodiment of Faulkners excerpt from his 1950 work. The events in
Crooked Letter, Crooker Letter that took place decades ago certainly molded the characters into
what they are in the storys present, and their reputations linger, following them throughout the
tale. The way Franklin patterns the chronological sequences (the use of flashbacks, as well as the
back-and-forth switch between Larry and 32s perspectives) is crucial to the storyline, not only
because it builds tension and adds a dramatic flair, but because it is, undoubtedly, the best way to
reveal and expose the events that really happened after all those years. Perhaps Larrys thoughts
most evidently support Faulkners claim: When he left, Larry lay amid his machines, thinking
of Silas, how time packs new years over the old ones but how those old ones are still in there,
like the earliest tightest rings centering a tree, the most hidden, enclosed in darkness and shielded
from weather. But then a saw screams in and the tree topples and the circles are stricken by the
sun and the sap glistens and the stump is laid open for the world to see (251).