A real contender

Tale of female ex-cons ‘Sing Her Down’ best of the year

by Jeffrey Mannix

Ihadn’t read anything by or even heard of Ivy Pochoda until a couple of months ago. Her publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux has always been good about sending me announcements of upcoming crime fiction, and I’ve reviewed many of their excellent books. But Pochoda must have fallen through my cracks, or I fell through theirs.

So I’m more than excited to have heard the chatter and bring you her new release, “Sing Her Down.” This is an extraordinary book of a gracious 272 pages about two women we meet in a state penitentiary in Arizona: Florence “Florida” Baum and Diosmary “Dios” Sandoval.

In the 20-some years I’ve been scouring publisher catalogues, making contacts and reading trade publications, I can’t remember a single book staged in a women’s penitentiary. “Sing Her Down” is my first exposure to the very different world of inveterate female sociopaths, and believe me when I tell you, this is a trip you cannot afford to sit out if you are a freshman crime fiction reader. And for veteran “Murder Ink” readers, don’t let this one go; spring for the hardcover. So far, this is the book of the year, and I suspect Pochoda can do no worse than tie for the honor.

Within this exciting and odiously realistic tale, Pochoda has conjured the gnawing certainty that prisons – and we now have to believe women’s prisons especially – are near enough, if not exactly like this horrible place where we meet Florida and Dios. And we spend not quite a moment too long inside before the two are paroled.

This is not a Mickey Spillane street cred novel or a startling Stieg Larsson book. It’s not big-screen graphic, although a scene or two in prison where the guards intentionally turn their backs to keep internal control are what you might expect in an agitation factory.

Just before we spend too much time among the inmate population, we are relieved, along with Florida and Dios, that an early release has been arranged for the pair. And that’s where “Sing Her

Down” gets legs, and we realize that Pochoda owns us until she lets us go.

The story is rather simple: they’re deposited from the prison in a rundown motel for two weeks until their parole officer can interview them, find the tender spots to poke and scabs to pick, and line them up for menial jobs.

Florida calls her new parole officer to ask if she might transfer her supervision to California, and she is laughed at. Dios fumes over the treatment they’re getting and jams their few belongings into a prisonissued trash bag, and the two catch a bus to L.A.

Florida wants rid of the unpredictably violent Dios and to get home to her longed-for Jaguar convertible, and finagles her getaway over a bus change.

This isn’t a book made for movie offers. We read it for the writer’s virtuosity characterizing these two women and the impediments they run into in their L.A. wanderings.

There aren’t too many writers like Pochoda, just like you can’t find too many Miles Davises or Robert De Niros or Nolan Ryans. Of the hundreds of crime fiction books I have read and recommended over the years, I can vividly remember only a dozen or maybe 20.

I won’t forget Ivy Pochoda and “Sing Her Down.” And I won’t forget the Israeli writer Ayelet GundarGoshen and her unforgettable “Waking Lions” followed by “The Liar” that I marveled at and reviewed in these pages. And I’m excited to say that we’ll take a look at Ayelet’s new book in August, “The Wolf Hunt.”

You don’t need or want to know any more about Pochoda’s “Sing Her Down.” It’s not about the story; it’s about Ivy; it’s about the writing; it’s about what every fiction should be, but can’t.

Don’t forget to ask Maria’s Bookshop for your 15% “Murder Ink” discount, or don’t – the book is worth twice the price.

Thursday06

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 11 a.m., Cottonwood Park (next to Animas Valley Elementary).

Music in the Mountains Concert, 1 p.m., FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

Concerts in the Plaza – The Road Show, 2 p.m., Three Springs Plaza.

Ben Gibson, 5 p.m., Balcony Bar, 600 Main Ave.

The Skajects plays, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard Ave.

Shamarr Allen plays, 5:30 p.m., Buckley Park.

Thursday Night Sitting Group, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6 p.m., James Ranch, 33846 Highway 550.

Ava Swan, Rachel Angel and Neleke play, 6 p.m., Durango Hot Springs.

Bluegrass jam, 6 p.m., weekly, Durango Beer & Ice, 3000 Main Ave. All levels welcome.

Jeff Solon Jazz Duo play, 6-8 p.m., Lola’s Place, 725 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

First Thursdays Songwriter Night, 7 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave.

Friday07

San Juan Nature Hike, 9 a.m., Haviland Lake. Hosted by San Juan Mountains Association.

Four Corners Gem & Mineral Show, 10 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Friday Re-fresh, learn techniques to reduce stress, 12 noon, Community Wellness Center, 160 E. 12th St.

Open Meditation, 12 noon-1 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

First Friday Women’s Marketplace, 4-8 p.m., Animas Trading Co., 742 Main Ave.

Art Crawl, 4 p.m., Smiley Bldg., 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 2 p.m., Claire Viles Park, 245 E. Park Ave.

State 38 plays, 5 p.m., Purgatory Resort.

Black Velvet plays, 6 p.m., Derailed Pour House, 725 Main Ave.

Ben Gibson Duo plays, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Lisa Blue plays, 6 p.m., Fire Fox Farms, Ignacio.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 6:30 p.m., Buckley Park.

“The Complete History of America (Abridged)”, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Hip-Hop and Poetry Open Mic, 7:30 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 8 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.

Saturday08

Durango Farmers Market, 8 a.m., TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. 9th St.

Big Mountain Enduro, 8 a.m., Purgatory Resort.

Four Corners Gem & Mineral Show, 10 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.

Colorado Trail Days, 10 a.m., Backcountry Experience, 1205 Camino del Rio.

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 11 a.m., Shoshone Park, Ignacio.

Second Saturday Series Seminar: Ancestral Pueblo Pottery, 1 p.m., presentation on Zoom, featuring archeologist Mona Charles, register at animasmuseum.org/events.html

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 2 p.m., Eagle Park, Bayfield.

Artisans of Mancos 20th Anniversary Celebration, 4-7 p.m., Mancos, 101 Grand Ave.

Elder Grown Summer Camp featuring Ava Swan, Rachel Angel, Nelleke and Forest Thump, 5 p.m., Tico Time River Resort.

Pete Giuliani Band plays, 5-8 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Ben Gibson Band plays, 5 p.m., Balcony Bar & Grill, 600 Main Ave.

The Wild Roses play, 6-9 p.m., Union Social House.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Music in the Mountains Mobile Stage Community Concert, 6:30 p.m., Buckley Park.

“The Complete History of America (Abridged)”, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Undisassembled, Community Pancake & Green Lizard play, 7:30 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

Hauntings & History Ghost Tour, 8 p.m., Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot.