Review by Andy Johnson. Amy Einhorn Books /G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin). Hardcover. 289 pages. $25.95 In this, Lynda Rutledge’s first novel, God commands ailing Texas widow Faith Bass Darling to sell her Louis XV Elephant Clock, an heirloom wedding ring, a banker’s rolltop desk, a rare Dance Dragoon pistol, 44 signed Tiffany lamps, a portrait […]
June Read of the Month: “Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale,” by Lynda Rutledge
June 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
May Read of the Month: “Slant of Light,” by Steve Wiegenstein
May 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Cameron Williams The concept of utopia—an ideal community composed of men and women living together in social and political harmony—has been a popular trope in literature since Plato first penned The Republic. Slant of Light (Blank Slate Press), Steve Wiegenstein’s first novel, breathes new life into this genre, (re)imagining the possibility of utopia […]
“Apples & Ashes,” by Coleman Hutchison
May 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Apples & Ashes: Literature, Nationalism, and the Confederate States of America (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2012). 277 pgs. Review by Allen Mendenhall Confederate literature and literary culture have not received the critical consideration that they warrant. Not only that, but they have been dismissed as scant and mediocre. Scholars of the South and […]
“The Homeschool Experiment,” by Charity Hawkins
May 2, 2012 by 1 Comment
Charity Hawkins, 2012, Familyman Ministries, 229 pp, $12.99, 978-1937639068 Review by Patricia O’Sullivan. Julianne Miller, the protagonist of The Homeschool Experiment, a novel, homeschooled her three children last year with mixed results. This year she is determined to do better. With a little organization, lots of patience, and a network of supportive friends, Julianne learns how […]
“Gone,” Edited with Photography by Nell Dickerson
April 25, 2012 by 2 Comments
Review by Allen Mendenhall BelleBooks. 118 pages. I’ve always maintained a spectator’s curiosity in the rituals and practices of photography. I can’t take a good picture, no matter which side of the camera I’m on, but I appreciate the idea of reducing the world to a more manageable form, something I can look at […]
“Ghosting” by Kirby Gann
April 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Tina Egnoski In Kirby Gann’s new book, Ghosting, Kentucky is raw-edged, poverty-stricken and violent. It is also a place of physical beauty and, for some, of personal redemption. The protagonist James Cole Prather, known as Cole, is twenty-three and at loose ends. He lives with his mother Lyda, an addict. His half-brother Fleece […]