Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin
A gang of hooded outlaws, a year-long reign of terror, a legendary massacre -- the extraordinary events of the Mitcham Beat War are brought to life in this superb new novel from the Edgar Award-winning author of Poachers. In 1897, in a remote area of Alabama called Mitcham Beat, an aspiring politician is mysteriously murdered. His outraged supporters form the Hell at the Breech gang -- and wage a bloody campaign of retribution that sweeps up the guilty and the innocent alike. Caught in this maelstrom of vengeance are the county's ageing sheriff, the widowed midwife who delivered nearly every member of the gang, a ruthless detective waging a private war, and a young store clerk with a terrible secret. Soaked in the atmosphere of the Deep South, Tom Franklin weaves together historical fact, spare, poised prose and brutal, vivid action to tell a powerful story of ordinary people testing their capacity for good and evil in a harsh and lawless land -- in so doing writing a novel worthy of comparison to the works of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor and James Dickey.
FROM THE PRAISE FOR HELL AT THE BREECH:'Beautifully written and potent' Daniel Woodrell, Washington Post 'A literary knockout. Franklin has cleverly woven history and fiction. Hell at the Breech is an impressive novel that should catapult Franklin into the big leagues.' USA Today'Such exquisite prose, such depth of character and depth of emotion that you feel swept up in a terrible beauty. Hell at the Breech bears comparison only with other great novels, and it ensures a place for Tom Franklin in the highest ranks of our country's new writers.' Dennis Lehane'The most extraordinary first novel to come out of the South since Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain ... hypnotically captivating.' Orlando Sentinel'Franklin evokes time and place with language of eloquence and fire, and his journey through the evils men do leads down the old dark ways of the heart.' William GayFROM THE PRAISE FOR POACHERS: 'I am amazed by Franklin's power. I'm reminded, by the evocative strength of the prose and the relentlessness of the imagination, of William Faulkner.' Philip Roth'It's as if the author kidnapped Raymond Carver's characters and set them loose in the Deep South.' New York Times Book Review'Marvellous ... Franklin writes beautifully with an unsparing, detached eye.' The Times
Tom Franklin was born and raised in south Alabama. He is the author of the acclaimed collection of stories entitled Poachers, which was named as a Best First Book of Fiction by Esquire in 1999 and was also the winner of a 1999 Edgar Award for the title story. Recipient of a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship, he has held the John and Renee Grisham Writer-in-Residency at Ole Miss and the Tennessee Williams Fellowship at Sewanee. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife, the poet Beth Ann Fennelly, and their young daughter, Claire.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780002261593 |
| ISBN 10 | 0002261596 |
| Title | Hell at the Breech |
| Author | Tom Franklin |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding type | Paperback |
| Publisher | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Year published | 2004-02-16 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |