Beautifully written - if you want to read a book aloud, this is a good one to do that with, But the characters didn't draw me in.

Such a brilliant addition to the genre of Southern novels and family drama in particular. Beautiful writing and beautiful story.

Published by Grove Press on July 10, 2018

The New Inheritors combines a love story with a family drama that focuses on a couple of decades in the lives of people who are family by blood or marriage. It is the third in a series of connected novels, but the story is self-contained. Some of the story is a tale of sibling rivalry, or at least siblings who have homicidal intent. Another aspect of the story addresses an outsider who joins the family but is never part of it. The novel echoes Dickens in its juxtaposition of wealth and poverty, of innocence and those who prey on the innocent, but The New Inheritors is far from a melodrama.

A child named Isaac is born in a New Orleans tenement. His mother, caught up in religious fervor, takes him to Tallahassee in 1891 to await the end of the world. They are accompanied by a woman who loves Isaac’s mother but, because she loves Isaac more, rescues him from the clutches of a religious cult. Fate separates them and, at age four, Isaac encounters religion again, this time at a Baptist school where charity is accompanied by the belief “that behind each life was a sin-steeped story ending in either redemption or damnation — more often, the latter.”

A bit later in the story, having been adopted by the Pattersons, Isaac is back in New Orleans. Thanks to a capsized sailboat, he finds himself on the private island of the Woolsacks, a rich family consisting of a Prussian husband, his Cuban wife, and their three children. Much of the story’s drama centers on the Woolsack family.

By 1914, Isaac is getting involved with Kemper Woolsack, who is a bit of a mess, like many rebellious children of wealthy and judgmental parents. With a bit of help, Isaac is able to study art. He shows promise until World War I when the zealots in Biloxi who take note of Isaac’s refusal to register for the draft delay any hope that Isaac might have for a better life. The bulk of the story finishes in 1919, although the novel ends with glimpse of the characters’ futures.

Key characters in addition to Isaac and Kemper include Angel Woolsack, who hides his secrets by reinventing himself; Rule Chandler, who is smarter than a black man in the South is allowed to be at the end of World War I; and Red Woolsack, whose resentment that his sister Kemper controls part of the family fortune becomes a driving force toward the novel’s end.

The New Inheritors is a solid novel, but it never quite soars in the imagination. Its evocative prose captures the spirit of the early twentieth century and its characters are convincing, but the wandering plot at times seems lost. The story appears to be headed toward a powerful moment that, upon arrival, is surprisingly subdued. Kent Wascom’s robust prose and strong characterization is a sufficient reason to admire The New Inheritors, but the prose masks a detachment from the story’s potential power. None of that dissuades me from recommending The New Inheritors to readers who admire the beauty of language for its own sake.

RECOMMENDED

Not every book can appeal to all readers, and though I can see the merits of this book - and the descriptions were lovely - the story just did not resonate with me.

It's definitely not a bad book - just not for me.

Rich, lush, realistic, thoughtful, fascinating ..... books don’t get much better than this! This was a fabulous and satisfying read!

This book was made up of an incredible cast of characters. At the center was Isaac Patterson whose life takes him from the streets of New Orleans, to an orphanage in Florida, and eventually to live along the coast of Mississippi. He was a talented artist, and his character was loosely inspired by Walter Anderson.

The book was populated with many vivid personalities including con men, murderers, merchants, and the military. In addition to the Gulf Coast, parts of the book were set in Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua.

This book was the third volume in a series of five books planned by Kent Wascom. This worked very well as a stand alone novel - however, I can hardly wait to read the first two volumes. This was a really fine read. Put it on your to read list now!

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I had not read the first two books so found myself struggling a bit in the beginning of this tale of the Woolsack family. Set in 1914, this tells the story of Isaac and Kemper who live in the deep South but also moves in Central America. Kemper's brothers have a lot of issues, which pull this into more relevant and topical territory. It's a well written and intriguing historical fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Exquisitely and luminously crafted, this new novel is the first I’ve read by Kent Wascom but won’t be the last. A rambling family saga set primarily in the early 20th century South, it offers unforgettable characters. I confess I lost some threads about halfway through, but I’m glad I stuck with it. One for the ages.

Overall very interesting story! I wasn't the biggest fan of the plot and the subject matter although I found the story engaging throughout, there were some points where the story lagged in the plot.

I was eager to review this novel after reading all the publicity for it. Unfortunately, it failed to hold my attention. I couldn't buy into the characters or the plot. After about forcing myself to read about half of the book, I put it down. Best wishes to the author, though. I hope that my dissatisfaction is in the minority and that others find the novel more to their liking.

Kent Wascom apparently burst onto the literary scene as something of a wunderkind at the early age of 26. And I haven’t read it, or its sequel. But this, his third one, somehow attracted me on Netgalley. Not an immediately apparent attraction, since I usually stay away from the south, in fiction and real life and New Orleans specifically (Wascom’s subject of his previous works) holds no appeal whatsoever. And yet…read this one I did. And I’m impressed. From a purely literary perspective, as a life long reader, as someone who loves books, words, sentences weaved out of them, cadences and rhythms of them, the striking effect of a well turned out phrase…this book is a thing of beauty. Wascom’s writing has an undeniable artistry to it, all the more appropriate since this is a tale of an artist, different medium, visual, oils, more of a modernist, but still…art is art. the new Inheritors spans a lifetime, from late 19th well into the middle of the 20th century, covering so much more than mere biographical events, although those alone would be enough for a book. And yet, the events never overtake the narrative, the substance seldom matches the style, and consequently the book is incredibly dense and intensely verbose. So that’s the flip side of that coin…the writing is gorgeous, but rambling, discursive, occasionally exhausting, the sentences built like dreamboats, but long, long winded, strenuous even. One of them was just over two kindle pages long, making it quite possibly the longest sentence I’ve ever read. So if that sort of thing is off putting to you and if you prefer more dialogue or action driven pots, this book might frustrate. This one is more for a slow, low simmering, leisurely paced mood. It’s dark, heavy, features some terrific meditations on the nature of existence and thus obviously not a particularly cheery read, but it’s a powerhouse of a historical fiction and comes dangerously close in subject and execution to the prototypical great American novel. I’m glad to have read it. Some books are fun, some are works of art and variety is always welcome. Thanks Netgalley.

I did not enjoy or invest in the characters. It was such a shame, because the plot and writing style were more lovely. However, when I read, characters are everything, and without that foundation nothing else really matters to me.