A Land More Kind Than Home
A stunning debut reminiscent of the beloved novels of John Hart and Tom Franklin, A Land More Kind Than Home is a mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town
For a curious boy like Jess Hall, growing up in Marshall means trouble when your mother catches you spying on grown-ups. Adventurous and precocious, Jess is enormously protective of his older brother, Christopher, a mute whom everyone calls Stump. Though their mother has warned them not to snoop, Stump can't help sneaking a look at something he's not supposed to — an act that will have catastrophic repercussions, shattering both his world and Jess's. It's a wrenching event that thrusts Jess into an adulthood for which he's not prepared. While there is much about the world that still confuses him, he now knows that a new understanding can bring not only a growing danger and evil — but also the possibility of freedom and deliverance as well.
Told by three resonant and evocative characters — Jess; Adelaide Lyle, the town midwife and moral conscience; and Clem Barefield, a sheriff with his own painful past — A Land More Kind Than Home is a haunting tale of courage in the face of cruelty and the power of love to overcome the darkness that lives in us all. These are masterful portrayals, written with assurance and truth, and they show us the extraordinary promise of this remarkable.
MY REVIEW: Author Wiley Cash lets his debut work, "A Land More Kind Than Home", be told through three distinctly different voices: a young boy, an elderly lady, and a salt-and-pepper sheriff. This dark and disturbing blend of religion, superstition, and manipulation reveals painful human vulnerabilities. Even the most devout believers may have chinks in their armor. The elements of truth in this work of fiction are unsettling, and just as nature has its way in the wild, the weak are culled from the herd. The predator here is a preacher, but is he a man of God, or is he the Devil incarnate? The characters are well-drawn, and the story line is as old as mankind itself. My favorite "voice" was the sheriff, a seasoned lawman with keen Southern sensibilities. The contrasts in the ages and life situations of the three narrators add just the right balance. "Snake handling" and "speaking in tongues" is still a religious practice in parts of the United States. I live in a small town in the VA mountains, and I have heard of churches which partake of these rituals, but they are not located in my home area. "A Land More Kind Than Home" is set in rural North Carolina, and it has a true feel for the land and the people. Wiley Cash is an author to watch, and I hope he continues to tell his tales with a Southern accent.
Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
Reviews
“Mesmerizing . . . only Jess knows why his autistic
older brother died on the very day he was taken into the church, and
it’s his voice that we carry away from this intensely felt and
beautifully told story.” (New York Times Book Review)
“Cash adeptly captures the rhythms of Appalachian speech, narrating his atmospheric novel in the voices of three characters . . . The story has elements of a thriller, but Cash is ultimately interested in how unscrupulous individuals can bend decent people to their own dark ends.” (Washington Post)
“Absorbing . . . Cash uses well-placed flashbacks to flesh out his characters . . . and to illuminate a familiar truth of Southern lit: Many are the ways that fathers fail their sons.” (Entertainment Weekly)
“As lyrical, beautiful, and uncomplicated as the classic ballads of Appalachia, Cash’s first novel is a tragic story of misplaced faith and love gone wrong . . . In a style reminiscent of Tom Franklin and John Hart, Cash captures the reader’s imagination.” (Library Journal (starred review))
“This book will knock your socks off. It’s so good to read a first novel that sings with talent. Wiley Cash has a beautifully written hit on his hands.” (Clyde Edgerton, author of The Night Train)
“A riveting story! The writing is bold, daring, graceful, and engrossing.” (Bobbie Ann Mason, author of In Country)
“I try to state the truth and dislike flinging superlatives about with mad abandon, but I have been so deeply impressed by this novel that only superlatives can convey the tenor of my thought: this is one of the most powerful novels I have ever read.” (Fred Chappell, author of Brighten the Corner Where You Are)
“This novel has great cumulative power. Before I knew it I was grabbed by the ankle and pulled down into a full-blown Greek tragedy.” (Gail Godwin, author of Evensong)
“The first thing that struck me about Wiley’s novel is the beautiful prose: the narrative is strong, clean, direct and economical. . . . I think this could be the beginning of a long, fruitful career.” (Ernest J. Gaines, author of A Lesson Before Dying)
“Cash’s debut novel explores Faulkner-O’Connor country . . . As lean and spare as a mountain ballad, Cash’s novel resonates perfectly, so much so that it could easily have been expanded to epic proportions. An evocative work about love, fate and redemption.” (Kirkus Reviews)
This Dark Road to Mercy
The critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home—hailed as "a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" (Richmond Times Dispatch)—returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, set in western North Carolina, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.
After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.
Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.
Narrated by a trio of alternating voices, This Dark Road to Mercy is a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go.
MY REVIEW: Wiley Cash is an author who won't let you go as a reader. Long after you have turned the last page, you will remember a passage of dialogue, a moment in the story line, and the one character whose voice resonates above all others. I found this to be equally true with the author's debut work, "A Land More Kind Than Home", and now with his second book, "This Dark Road to Mercy". Both books are set in Wiley Cash's home state of North Carolina, and he writes "Southern" with an appreciable style. This time, the author tells the tale of two young sisters, one older than her time, whose mother, Corinne, gives herself the gift of eternal sleep with an unintentional drug overdose. After the death of their mother, twelve-year-old Easter Quillby, and her six-year-old sister, Ruby, are shoved into foster care. Their father, Wade, who had struggled to make it out of minor-league baseball, had signed away his parental rights years ago. Eventually, Wade shows up at the foster home and tries to reconnect with his girls. His decision to take them on a misguided, but heartfelt, flight from reality will change all their lives forever. Following Wade and the girls are Brady Weller, the guardian appointed to them by the court, and Robert Pruitt, a man with a deadly grudge against Wade. When information links Wade to a high-dollar armored-car heist, he becomes even more of a wanted man, but will his girls decide they want their daddy? Told in alternating turns by three voices, it is Easter's story you will most remember. Some people never have a future--they are swallowed by the past. For some, the future moves them forward in ways they never expected, but ultimately must accept.
Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
“Cash adeptly captures the rhythms of Appalachian speech, narrating his atmospheric novel in the voices of three characters . . . The story has elements of a thriller, but Cash is ultimately interested in how unscrupulous individuals can bend decent people to their own dark ends.” (Washington Post)
“Absorbing . . . Cash uses well-placed flashbacks to flesh out his characters . . . and to illuminate a familiar truth of Southern lit: Many are the ways that fathers fail their sons.” (Entertainment Weekly)
“As lyrical, beautiful, and uncomplicated as the classic ballads of Appalachia, Cash’s first novel is a tragic story of misplaced faith and love gone wrong . . . In a style reminiscent of Tom Franklin and John Hart, Cash captures the reader’s imagination.” (Library Journal (starred review))
“This book will knock your socks off. It’s so good to read a first novel that sings with talent. Wiley Cash has a beautifully written hit on his hands.” (Clyde Edgerton, author of The Night Train)
“A riveting story! The writing is bold, daring, graceful, and engrossing.” (Bobbie Ann Mason, author of In Country)
“I try to state the truth and dislike flinging superlatives about with mad abandon, but I have been so deeply impressed by this novel that only superlatives can convey the tenor of my thought: this is one of the most powerful novels I have ever read.” (Fred Chappell, author of Brighten the Corner Where You Are)
“This novel has great cumulative power. Before I knew it I was grabbed by the ankle and pulled down into a full-blown Greek tragedy.” (Gail Godwin, author of Evensong)
“The first thing that struck me about Wiley’s novel is the beautiful prose: the narrative is strong, clean, direct and economical. . . . I think this could be the beginning of a long, fruitful career.” (Ernest J. Gaines, author of A Lesson Before Dying)
“Cash’s debut novel explores Faulkner-O’Connor country . . . As lean and spare as a mountain ballad, Cash’s novel resonates perfectly, so much so that it could easily have been expanded to epic proportions. An evocative work about love, fate and redemption.” (Kirkus Reviews)
This Dark Road to Mercy
The critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home—hailed as "a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" (Richmond Times Dispatch)—returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, set in western North Carolina, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.
After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.
Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.
Narrated by a trio of alternating voices, This Dark Road to Mercy is a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go.
MY REVIEW: Wiley Cash is an author who won't let you go as a reader. Long after you have turned the last page, you will remember a passage of dialogue, a moment in the story line, and the one character whose voice resonates above all others. I found this to be equally true with the author's debut work, "A Land More Kind Than Home", and now with his second book, "This Dark Road to Mercy". Both books are set in Wiley Cash's home state of North Carolina, and he writes "Southern" with an appreciable style. This time, the author tells the tale of two young sisters, one older than her time, whose mother, Corinne, gives herself the gift of eternal sleep with an unintentional drug overdose. After the death of their mother, twelve-year-old Easter Quillby, and her six-year-old sister, Ruby, are shoved into foster care. Their father, Wade, who had struggled to make it out of minor-league baseball, had signed away his parental rights years ago. Eventually, Wade shows up at the foster home and tries to reconnect with his girls. His decision to take them on a misguided, but heartfelt, flight from reality will change all their lives forever. Following Wade and the girls are Brady Weller, the guardian appointed to them by the court, and Robert Pruitt, a man with a deadly grudge against Wade. When information links Wade to a high-dollar armored-car heist, he becomes even more of a wanted man, but will his girls decide they want their daddy? Told in alternating turns by three voices, it is Easter's story you will most remember. Some people never have a future--they are swallowed by the past. For some, the future moves them forward in ways they never expected, but ultimately must accept.
Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
Reviews
“[Cash is] a new master of Southern gothic.” (Garden & Gun magazine)
“A time capsule and at times an edgy thriller, but at its fine emotional center it’s all about what it means to be a father.” (Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life)
“The endangered little sisters Easter and Ruby will go straight to your heart, which will be thumping like crazy the entire time you’re reading this novel straight through as I did.” (Lee Smith, author of Guests on Earth)
“This Dark Road to Mercy is a terrific, moving and propulsive novel: Harper Lee by way of Elmore Leonard.” (Jess Walter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins)
“Cash follows his evocative debut with another striking take on Southern literature. . . . In the rhythms and cadence of the South, Cash offers a tale about family and about the tenuous link among the right choices, living with consequences or seeking redemption.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“This Dark Road to Mercy will stick in readers’ minds, especially Cash’s heroine, feisty, red-haired and freckled Easter, who joins Scout and Kaye Gibbons’ Ellen Foster in the pantheon of Southern kids in literature.” (Wilmington Star News)
“Darkly mesmerizing.” (O Magazine)
“Exciting and suspenseful as well as moving, with a captivating heroine, this is a tremendous book.” (The Guardian)
“The voice is Southern and oh so charming in This Dark Road to Mercy, a crime novel that’s also a road movie and a baseball tale and a wicked twist on Sixth-Grade Father-Daughter Night.” (New York Times Book Review)
“A time capsule and at times an edgy thriller, but at its fine emotional center it’s all about what it means to be a father.” (Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life)
“The endangered little sisters Easter and Ruby will go straight to your heart, which will be thumping like crazy the entire time you’re reading this novel straight through as I did.” (Lee Smith, author of Guests on Earth)
“This Dark Road to Mercy is a terrific, moving and propulsive novel: Harper Lee by way of Elmore Leonard.” (Jess Walter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins)
“Cash follows his evocative debut with another striking take on Southern literature. . . . In the rhythms and cadence of the South, Cash offers a tale about family and about the tenuous link among the right choices, living with consequences or seeking redemption.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“This Dark Road to Mercy will stick in readers’ minds, especially Cash’s heroine, feisty, red-haired and freckled Easter, who joins Scout and Kaye Gibbons’ Ellen Foster in the pantheon of Southern kids in literature.” (Wilmington Star News)
“Darkly mesmerizing.” (O Magazine)
“Exciting and suspenseful as well as moving, with a captivating heroine, this is a tremendous book.” (The Guardian)
“The voice is Southern and oh so charming in This Dark Road to Mercy, a crime novel that’s also a road movie and a baseball tale and a wicked twist on Sixth-Grade Father-Daughter Night.” (New York Times Book Review)
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