A Brief synopsis:
"As a hard-working farm boy, I used to dream of the day when I could leave the farm for the lights and excitement of the city. Now these years later, I find myself daydreaming of the late afternoon walks along the road in front of our farm. I can smell the honeysuckle and hear the chatter of the whip-poor-will. Then, I look at the moon and a canopy of twinkling stars and say, "Thank God for the privilege of being raised on a beautiful little farm in South Georgia known as "Brown's Pine Ridge".
In 2018, a sequel, Brown's Pine Ridge Vol.2, has been released.
This work features examples of:
- Ace Custom: The "Bad Boy"note Brothers' 1957 Chevrolet is described this way. They owned and operated an auto parts store and thus and the knowledge and best parts available to make their custom hot rod. Driving it on the other hand...
- An Aesop: The first chapter ends with one.
- Afraid of Needles: The author had this in his childhood as detailed in the second chapter.
- The All-American Boy: Gary, the author, in the earlier chapters (which coincidentally take place during The '50s and The '60s).
- Anachronic Order: While the first four stories are in chronological order, the ones afterward go between the author's later childhood, adolescent years, adulthood (up to the year 1990), and in the case of one account ("A Tragedy and A Miracle") prior to his birth, before ending in the present with the final story ("Strange Encounter").
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: The tenth story focuses on an individual named Shelton Young. The thirteenth story is about an unnamed woman and her ward. Willis Watson is the focus of the twenty-fourth story.
- April Fools' Plot: Subverted. Jerome's statement concerning the ongoing fire is true.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: The Brothers who appear in the nineteenth chapter, "The Race", are described and portrayed this way in all but name.
- Berserk Button: The mere mention or sight of a figure known as "the Goat Man"note was this for the author's father.
- Biography: An autobiographical anthology of short stories to be more exact.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Gary Brown is revealed to have this characteristic in the twenty-third story ("The Train at Jay Bird") when he helps a woman change a wheel with a blown tire even when he knows this will cost him an opportunity to buy the things of his childhood.
- Cool Car: The author thinks this way of the Ford Starliner.
- Dedication: To Barbara Rowland, a literature teacher who had encouraged him to pursue a literary career.
- Deep South: The setting is in rural southern Georgia.
- Dull Surprise: "The store's on fire".
- Extreme Omni-Goat: Part of Jesse C. Brown's (the author's father) animosity towards the Goat Man stemmed from this.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: The last short story of the second volume, "My Trip to the Rome of the Ancient past", is very different being that it involves science fiction (e.g. Time Travel) and fantasy (e.g. Angels) elements. The fact that it is a contribution by another author altogether who has an interest in such genres is the reason for this difference.
- Friend to All Children: This is the basic description the author has of the fireman featured in the second chapter.
- Gainax Ending: Subverted. The Twenty-ninth and final story, "Strange Encounter", seems to be setting up one of these, but it is quickly established that the Squirrels' threat of legal action was All Just a Dream. Though considering that this a non-fiction work to begin with, it shouldn't be a surprise that this would never occur in the first place.
- Genre Throwback: To works of the 1950s and 1960s prior to the The Rural Purge.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: Invoked in the twenty-third story as Brown is struggling to decide if he should help a bystander even if it means voiding his opportunity to buy the miniature train at Jay Bird Springs.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: In the eleventh story, the new principle of Telfair County High School is called "
a cold hearted evil, mean, rotten, no good scoundrel" in regard to his new regulations that he has imposed.note - Idiot Hero: Gary Brown himself, and the author takes plenty of opportunities to acknowledge it.
- Kick the Dog: The central trope regarding a chapter concerning Ole Strawberry.
- Mood Whiplash: While there are some humorous stories, but there are also chapters that focus on tragic events that occurred to the author and his neighbors.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Defied. The young Gary wishes to seek retribution for Ole Strawberry's Death, but his father quickly rebuts it stating that it was the duty of the Justice system to try and punish the offenders. See also Shout-Out below.
- Roman à Clef: The names of some individuals were changed and in some cases omitted altogether.
- Shout-Out:
- Not just only is Bonanza mentioned in the fourth story, but the outcome of a particular episode involving Ben Cartwright preventing an extrajudicial hanging is discussed at one point.
- In the same chapter, there is also a less obvious reference to the film American Graffiti in the form of naming a brand of whiskey "Old Harper's". The author couldn't recall the real brand of whiskey that was drunk by the joyriders who brought about Ole Strawberry's death and thus decided to use the name Old Harper's both as a place holder as well as an in-joke.
- And then in the twelfth story there is a mention of My Little Pony!... But, sadly my fellow Bronies, it is a subversion as it was merely a coincidence. Alas, Brohoof to all the kind readers who have bothered to read this anyway.
- In the eighteenth story, Gary at first says that he "felt like Superman," but later comes to compare himself with Charlie Brown when he finds out his attempted "rescue" a woman and the children in her care from a fire ended up destroying her house over a burnt pot roast.
- The twentieth story, there are numerous references including: Hulk Hogan, Leave It to Beaver, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Beverly Hillbillies,note and an old slogan that had been used by the United States Marine Corps.note
- Slice of Life: In this particular case, a slice of life of a boy/young man growing up in rural southern Georgia.
- Strong Family Resemblance: The author says this of Hazel Coleman's daughters' resemblance to their mother.
- Take That!: To Dodge vehicles that were introduced in 1961. To quote the author, "I thought this must be a bad year for Dodge."
- Tragic Keepsake: Ole' Strawberry's bell.
- Trees into Toothpicks: A variation of this is discussed. The author bemoans how some people have cut down trees on their yards simply so that they will not have rake the leaves they shed in Autumn.
- You Have Failed Me: A variation of this occurs. The Custom 1957 Chevrolet is destroyed by its owners following their loss in the competition in the nineteenth story.
