A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

A Deep and Terrible Love

September 28, 2011 “The Ballad of Tom Dooley,” a megahit for the Kingston Trio back in 1958, tells a tale of love gone wrong. It is a sad story but a straightforward one: man meets woman; man kills woman; man hangs. In fact, the story is so straightforward that Sharyn McCrumb at first resisted using the song as the foundation for her next novel based on Appalachian ballads. Then she did some research. The resulting book, The Ballad of Tom Dooley, takes readers on a dark journey of love, betrayal, and irrational hatred that is worthy of Emily Bronte. Or the Coen brothers. Sharyn McCrumb is on an extensive book tour that includes seven appearances in Tennessee; click here for details.

Ancient Music

September 27, 2011 Like a crumb trail through a deep, dark forest, skillfully sprinkled clues keep the reader enthralled as Alex Bledsoe spins an eerie tale in The Hum and the Shiver. Both romantic and harsh, the novel is about the strength of family ties and the power of music, as well as the coarseness and brutality of evil men. Balanced on the thin edge between dreams and reality, The Hum and the Shiver captures the subtle magic of childhood’s landscape, the pull of desire against destiny, and the way life can turn in an instant, suddenly revealing that pivotal moment no one ever sees coming.

Don't Chase It, And It Will Come Back

September 26, 2011 Charles Frazier catapulted to fame in the late nineties thanks to the unlikely and extraordinary success of Cold Mountain. All of his work since has been characterized by the same patient plot development and gorgeously meticulous period detail. At the center of each of his novels are pairs of lovers separated by time and circumstance, each longing for the other, convinced that the love between them can somehow heal a soul damaged by the random cruelty of an unmerciful world. His new book, Nightwoods, is no exception. Frazier will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville. All events are free and open to the public.

The True Costs of Amazon's Savings

September 22, 2011 Liz Garrigan’s Dear John letter to Amazon in today’s edition of Chapter 16 is an unvarnished call for book lovers to put their money where their mouths are and support their local bookstores instead of buying books online. Garrigan argues that Amazon’s refusal to collect the state and local sales taxes that other bricks-and-mortar stores collect–taxes that support local schools, police and fire departments, and other civic necessities–amounts to a “powerful incentive for customers to let their fingers do the clicking.”

A Dark Horse No More

September 21, 2011 In 2010, when Jaimy Gordon won the National Book Award for her sixth novel, Lord of Misrule, small-press loyalists and below-the-radar-fiction lovers found good cause for celebration. The novel is now out from Vintage in paperback, along with a re-release of Gordon’s previous title, Bogeywoman—a very different but equally brilliant work in which Gordon’s talent for inventive narrative voice is on dazzling display. Gordon answered questions from Chapter 16 via email prior to her reading at Vanderbilt University in Nashville on September 22. The event is free and open to the public.

A Dark Horse No More

The Lady Vanishes

September 16, 2011 Emily Maxwell is nearing the end of life. Her beloved husband Henry has preceded her in death; her children have moved away and begun families of their own. In her old Pittsburgh neighborhood, Emily is the last of a faded generation, her remaining friends as decrepit as herself. This may not sound like the premise for a dramatic and engaging novel, but read on. With Emily, Alone, the sequel to his bestselling Wish You Were Here, Stewart O’Nan proves to be a master of wringing the profound out of the everyday. In her taken-for-granted-ness, Emily emerges as a powerful protagonist whose inner life is remarkably—and perhaps typically—intriguing. O’Nan will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.

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