Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Men of Steel

Riding the rails with Howard Bahr in Pelican Road

When an author establishes a stellar reputation for one kind of book, he takes a risk if he turns to new subjects, as Howard Bahr has done in Pelican Road. A former professor of English at Motlow State College in Tullahoma, Bahr acquired a slew of excellent reviews and awards for his first three novels, each featuring characters haunted by the horrors of the Civil War, particularly the vicious Battle of Franklin. So fans may be apprehensive to learn that his new book skips ahead seventy-five years and portrays not soldiers but men who rode the rails in the golden age of steam.

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The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon

The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon

The Collected Stories of Caroline Gordon

Caroline Gordon
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
368 pages
$15

“[Caroline Gordon] is great on getting things there so concretely that they can’t possibly escape. … That is real masterly doing, and nobody does it any better than Caroline. You walk through her stories like you are walking in a complete real world. And watch how the meaning comes from the things themselves and not from her imposing anything.”

Flannery O’Connor, from The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor

Saints in Limbo

Saints in Limbo

Saints in Limbo

River Jordan
WaterBrook Press
352 pages
$13.99

“River Jordan’s Saints in Limbo is a compelling story of the mysteries of existence and, especially, the mysteries of the human heart.”

Ron Rash, author of Serena

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen

Susan Gregg Gilmore
Three Rivers Press
304 pages
$14

“If I had to make a comparison, I would compare Susan Gregg Gilmore to Fannie Flagg, but Gilmore more than holds her own. This is an unusually engaging novel by a very fine writer who knows exactly what she is doing.”

Lee Smith, author of The Last Girls

Cottonwood Spring

Cottonwood Spring

Cottonwood Spring

Gary Slaughter
Fletcher House
416 pages
$24

“Author Gary Slaughter’s previous books Cottonwood Summer and Cottonwood Fall established the identity of the small town of Riverton MI during the mid-1940’s. He’s created in the characters of two 10-year-old boys, Jase and Danny, a vehicle that helps guide readers through the landscape of Riverton during the war years. … Operating with the innocence and resilience of children, the pair always manages to save the day. They also help others in the town find a way to feel grateful despite the many problems and worries that still affect them.”

Ron Wynn, Nashville City Paper

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