I have seen Eli Cranor’s work referred to as “redneck noir.” While I understand the tag, I feel that it’s rather limiting in the face of what he has accomplished as an author. Writing from the banks of Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas, Cranor has found much success producing fiction that is true to his environment but also elevates it in the process.

BROILER, Cranor’s third novel, meets all the criteria one might expect from classic noir. However, the main setting is the Detmer Foods chicken plant in Springdale, Arkansas. “Broiler” is the name given to the primary type of chicken that is slaughtered and mass processed for public consumption at this location. But the book focuses more on the inhumane treatment of its workers, especially the minority employees. Plant manager Luke Jackson is all about hitting the numbers and high demands that have been set for him by way of corporate expectations, with a promotion being the end goal. He is married with a six-month-old son yet still finds time to sleep with other women.

"BROILER is a starkly real novel with characters who breathe and practically leap off the page.... Eli Cranor has written an outstanding piece of Southern literary fiction."

Representing the other side of this equation is a young Mexican couple, Gabriela Menchaca and Edwin Saucedo, who are undocumented but extremely hard-working and exploited at the same time. They have grown up in this town, and the idea of working at Detmer at one time seemed like a dream to them and a way out of the small trailer in which they live. However, they are owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime and are often mistreated while at work. The situation has gotten so bad that during their typical 10-hour shifts, they rarely have a chance to use the restroom or even take a break. They have resorted to sharing a pair of adult diapers to get them through the day.

One day, Edwin shows up a couple of minutes late to work while an employee meeting is taking place, and Luke chooses to make an example out of him. Edwin, who has worked there for years, is promptly fired because Luke sees him as a troublemaker who might continue to talk up the suggestion of unionizing the employees. That knee-jerk action prompts a similar one from Edwin, who proceeds to kidnap Luke’s newborn.

Gabriela is shocked and appalled, and she fears that Edwin will get them both locked up. She goes in for her next shift and gets into a verbal altercation with her supervisor over not being able to take a bathroom break. Luke notices the commotion and calls Gabriela to his office. He quickly puts together her relationship to Edwin, who recently phoned him demanding a $50,000 ransom for his son’s safe return. So Luke holds Gabriela captive and plans an exchange with Edwin. He ties her up and brings her home, where his wife, Mimi, is horrified to witness what is happening.

Not knowing how to care for an infant, Edwin runs into a no-good cousin of his who quickly figures out what he has done and decides to help him. But keeping true to the noir construct of the story leads to a finale that is destined for tragedy.

BROILER is a starkly real novel with characters who breathe and practically leap off the page. It is so easy for readers to lend their compassion to Edwin, Gabriela and Mimi, all of whom are victims of their current circumstances, in which a happy ending for each is all but impossible. Eli Cranor has written an outstanding piece of Southern literary fiction.