$27.95)
This story begins in 1856 in the Kansas Territory. Henry Shackleford was 103 years old when he preserved his memories. His account was discovered in the ashes of a church that burned down in the 1960’s. At least that’s the inventive myth devised by James McBride to introduce this slyly humorous novel.
Henry was a young slave when he encountered the abolitionist John Brown. Brown mistakenly believed that little Henry was a girl. Brown gave him (her) the nickname “Onion.” Henry goes along with this charade and begins to dress up as a girl. He accompanies Brown on adventures which culminate in Brown’s quixotic invasion of the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry Virginia. This wildly entertaining work just won the National Book Award for Fiction.
"The Son" by Philipp Meyer (Ecco, 561 pages, 27.99)
“The Son” features another fabulous bit of storytelling by a fictional centenarian. In this one the most gripping parts are recounted by Eli McCullough who was the first male child born in the Republic of Texas in 1836.
When he was thirteen the family homestead was raided by a band of Comanches. Eli and his brother were kidnapped. Eli’s descriptions of his enslavement by the Comanches and his eventual ascent to warrior status are utterly captivating. “The Son” is narrated in turns by Eli, his son, Peter, and Eli’s great-granddaughter, Jeannie. This masterful story of a Texas cattle dynasty that was transformed into a petroleum empire defies superlatives.
"The Tilted World" by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly (William Morrow, 300 pages, $25.99)
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most devastating natural disaster in US history. This novel is set in the river town of Hobnob, Mississippi in 1927. The levees along the river are close to bursting when two federal agents arrive disguised as flood engineers.
These two are searching for another pair of agents who have vanished.
This was at the height of Prohibition, Hobnob was already awash in a deluge of bootleg liquor. The authors ratchet up the tension as the agents close in on the bootleggers and saboteurs conspire to blow up the levees. “The Tilted World” is written with a passionate lyricism that this reviewer found utterly intoxicating.
"The Thicket" by Joe R. Lansdale (Mulholland Books, 340 pages, $26).
This is another gritty novel set in Texas. “The Thicket” begins as a brother and sister have lost their parents in an outbreak of smallpox.
Jack and his younger sister Lula are on their way to start a new life with their grandfather when they encounter a band of ruffians on a ferry.
Lula is abducted by these murderous thugs and the chase begins. Jack recruits a most unusual band of bounty hunters to help him rescue his sister. “The Thicket” is exquisitely told and deeply satisfying.
"Nostalgia" by Dennis McFarland (Pantheon, 318 pages, $25.95)
Here’s my sleeper pick: this Civil War novel takes place in 1864.
Summerfield Hayes is a Union soldier who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most of this story unfolds in a Union hospital where Hayes mutely observes his surroundings and recalls the horrors he witnessed during the Battle of the Wilderness.
Next week I’ll have my non-fiction favorites from 2013.
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