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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
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 first novel.
Compare and contrast how the sheriff's family was affected by and coped after child's death against Stump's family.
Should Adelaide have done more than she did to ward off the preacher's influences? Would it be reasonable to expect her to do more than she did, given that she was a old woman, living alone with no family around?
"A Land More Kind Than Home"by Linda P. (see profile)04/20/15
Members of our book group like this book across the board. We found it skillfully and beautifully written, voice of the characters authentic, description showing a strong sense of place, a dramatic... (read more)
This is an interesting read. It brings up many interesting topics, some of these being religion and upbringing. It is told by three different narrators. The story is released in small enticing tidbits... (read more)
"The audio book captured the characters perfectly!"by Gail R. (see profile)02/13/15
I do not know if the print book would come across as magnificently as the audio book, but the readers, Mark Bramhall, Lorna Raver, and Nick Sullivan, perfectly captured the spirit of the cha... (read more)
"Worth a read and good for discussion"by Barbara L. (see profile)03/31/14
Set in a small NC mountain town in the 80s, where social and community life often revolves around the church, this book watches how loss affects families, how a sinister and manipulative preacher can pray... (read more)
"A Land More Kind than Home"by Laurel E. (see profile)03/31/14
A Land More Kind than Home is about family and each member's response to the circumstances which life presents it. I'm a fan of southern literature and its gothic appeal, but this novel's incredibly slow-moving... (read more)
"A land more kind than home"by Marlo J. (see profile)01/23/14
