With shades of Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Times Like These features angst-filled Beatrice (Bode) and her more level-headed lover, Sarah (Twirler). While on a road trip to protest financial injustices, the pair find themselves in an impossible situation; one is nearly raped and the other inadvertently murders the attacker to prevent the heinous crime. Unsure of how to proceed, they clean up the area, send the dead rapist down the river with a bag over his face and hope for the best. The harrowing sexual assault brings up some long-suppressed memories from childhood and turns the trip into a journey of vengeance. Both from different backgrounds, these women share their deepest secrets and insecurities and come together as they evade police looking to find the perpetrators.
With a modern voice and a frenetic pace, Birdie Turner offers an action-filled dramatic story about a cross country road trip featuring protagonists with a lot of baggage to sort through. The number of assaults and injustices perpetrated on the women is outrageous, and difficult to stomach. The slaughter of the rapist seems to embolden Bode in her quest for revenge and the malice escalates from there. With plenty of colorful language and racy details, the pair connects with old friends, foes, and family members with varying degrees of affection. Bode and Twirler fight hard against the ignorance and prejudices around them and find support in the most unlikely of places. If you’re looking for a drug-fueled revenge story featuring a dynamic couple, Times Like These is an electrifying tale with more than a few surprises along the way.
