Text Box: Junior Guidry, the relentless bully in Ken Wells’ debut novel, Meely LaBauve, is back, and he’s not a pretty sight. He’s survived a fantastical offshore oil-rig accident that would've killed most men; with the help of a good lawyer, it made him rich instead. But Junior has squandered his fortune on drink, blackjack, womanizing and brawling, leaving a wake of wrecked cars and friendships, not to mention lost or stolen wooden legs. Then one night, the mysterious Iris Mary Parfait stumbles into his trailer and into his life, a good woman running from a tragic childhood, and a bad man determined to track her down. When her past suddenly catches up with her (with a bounty at stake), Junior faces the choice of his life—to regain his fortune, or to reclaim himself as a man. Narrated in Junior's unvarnished voice, Junior’s Leg takes the reader on a singular journey. It is at turns unsettling and comic, raunchy and erotic, surreal and poignant—-a bold stroke of story-telling that ultimately plumbs the possibilities of love and redemption, even for as unlikely a candidate as Junior. Text Box: Praise for Junior’s Leg… “Flavorfully entertaining," "salty and good," Junior's Leg is "a good ol' story,...briskly flowing and eventful...Mr. Wells handles his themes...with a controlled exuberance and an amused tenderness toward his characters. " —Richard Bernstein, The New York Times “I love this guy. His first novel, Meely LaBauve, was the very voice of the bayou, a Cajun American "Huckleberry Finn" of a novel. Junior's Leg is even more piquant, fewer alligators but more gris-gris...It’s a rollicking plot but Junior steals the show.” —Susan Salters Reynolds, the L.A. Times “Wells, who clearly cares about his characters, has created a Southern fable with a heart.” —Deborah Kalb, The Washington Post “...The magic of Ken Wells' writing and his sense of what makes us human turns this profane, lazy man into something of a sympathetic character...Stir up some etouffee and strike up the zydeco. (Reading Junior) you'll have big fun on the bayou.” —Wendy Fawthrop, The Seattle Times "Ken Wells's slyly satirical novel comes off like a bayou gator: slow and stealthy, but packing plenty of bite." —Maxxim Magazine “A fine comic gumbo.” —Ed Will, The Denver Post “A zesty, Cajun-flavored bouillabaisse…(that) demonstrates the author's considerable flair for offbeat Bayou-country characterization.” —Publisher’s Weekly. “...The magic of Wells' novels is his optimism for his characters: even angry, bitter junior has a shot at redemption and happiness. Told from Junior’s point of view in Cajun dialect, the novel is filled with both humor and honesty.” —Booklist “A vivid, spicy work.” —Library Journal “The voice Wells brings to this novel's narrator, Junior Guidry, is authentic as a crawdaddy fry on the Fourth of July -- beer, brawling and all...Do yourself a favor: Curl up with this spicy Cajun treat.” —Gussie Fauntleroy, The Santa Fe New Mexican "Junior's Leg" is an entertaining walk through the swamps, jails and courthouses of southern Louisiana -- part comedy, part mystery and part morality tale. Ultimately, it is about the redemptive quality of love.” — Nancy C. Dallas, The Decatur (Ala.) Daily “Ladle out a bowl of jambalaya, put on some hot zydeco and kick back with the best from the bayou since ‘The Big Easy.’” — Roddy Barfield, The Roanoke Times “Ken Wells has breathed life into a funny character in a novel about redemption...The local flavor is just delicious.” —Jill Williams, Venice (Fla.) Book Nook “...Junior Guidry is an ornery, unrepentant, miserable excuse for a man—and one of the most diverting literary voices a lucky reader is apt to run up against this year.” —Tom Powers, Flint (Mich.) Journal

Jacket design by Honi Werner @2001

 

“Wooden leg literature is some fast company—Melville, O’Connor,

Stevenson, The Sopranos. Wells is right up there with them.”

—Roy Blount Jr.