To Florida by Robert Sampson

Originally published 1987 in {unstated, could not find}; this edition 1995

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Collected in: Hard-Boiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories (ed. Bill Pronzini & Jack Adrian)

MA15+

Considered unsuitable for persons under 15 years of age; legally restricted

(D, H, L, V)

Drug References {PG}

Supernatural References {No weight}

Coarse Language {M}

Violence {MA15+}

Themes {M} {Crime; Family Breakdown}

Representations

Gender:

One female character, mostly terrorised into going along with the protagonist.

Sex:

Unreferenced; the two leads may have been in a relationship, but implied at best.

Race & Ethnicity:

One black child passed by as a background detail.

Disability, Physical Diversity and Health:

Protagonist is depicted as abruptly and excessively violent. I think we are supposed to believe he suffers from some sort of mental illness.

Awards

None found.

Notes

Did not enjoy this story. It is bleak and depressing and disturbingly violent. Like a shadow falling across one's soul.