Lay Down My Sword and Shield

Starred review from March 29, 2010
Hackberry Holland—a Texas attorney, Korean War vet, and candidate for Congress—is haunted by memories of his days as a POW and driven to finding relief at the bottom of endless bottles of alcohol and in public displays of potentially career-ending behavior. Stuck in a loveless marriage and a law practice he cares little about, Hack is given a shot of redemption when a fellow vet is thrown into jail on trumped-up charges. Hack's decision to help his former brother in arms and his subsequent involvement with a beautiful union organizer leads him on a journey of self discovery and a shot at personal redemption. Will Patton delivers a soulful, world-weary reading as bleak as the Texas landscape, a performance that expertly captures Burke's multileveled characterizations and rich descriptive passages. Patton's narrations of Burke's novels are the perfect marriage of writer and reader. A Gallery paperwork.