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Bev Marshall’s first novel, Walking through Shadows, is a breathtaking creation. Set in a small town in rural Mississippi just before World War II, the story’s obvious center is the murder of a young woman, Sheila Barnes. Sheila is one of the most unforgettable characters I’ve run across in recent years – just seventeen at the time of her death, married for around a year, Sheila is uneducated but full of unconventional wisdom, which she bestows gently on those around her as their needs dictate. She is a gift in their varied lives – and they all come to realize it in their own time. (more…)

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When I read William Gay’s first novel, The Long Home, recently, I had the strong feeling that I had discovered the work of someone very special – and reading Provinces of Night has confirmed that for me. Gay writes with a carefully and languidly – the breadth and depth of his writing demands full attention from the reader, and the rewards are great indeed.The above-mentioned languid quality of his work does not for a single moment indicate any sort of laziness on his part – writing this good can, of course, come from the foundation of a natural talent, but it takes hard and diligent work to come up with a finished product of this quality. Gay’s characters are vivid and real, and they are built up slowly – the reader is required (more…)