Books like Addie Pray by Joe David Brown
Addie Pray, an orphan with a restless spirit, travels with the charismatic confidence man Long Boy Moses Pray across Alabama and beyond in the early 1930s. Narrated from Addie's perspective, the novel details their daring schemes—bluffing cotton dealers, swindling investors over a worthless mine, and duping a wealthy New Orleans lawyer. In the second half, Addie and Long Boy navigate the city of New Orleans, where they become entangled with Colonel Culpepper in another scam. The story explores themes of family, survival, and the moral ambiguities of trust during the Great Depression, and it served as the basis for the 1973 film Paper Moon.
First publish date: 1971
Genre: Crime Fiction/Criminal Underworld
Authors: Joe David Brown
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