Cheap On Fire (Book) (Larry Brown) Price

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Customer Reviews of On Fire

Reading ON FIRE not a waste of time
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.

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Very Disappointing and Grievously Boring!
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.

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Notes from the Firehouse in Oxford, Mississippi
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.