Wow! Michael Farris Smith has done it again. This book very well may be my favorite of his, and I’ve loved them all. There is nobody who brings to life the plight of the poor, hard working Southerner like Smith. Set in south Mississippi close to the Louisiana border, the land has been ravaged by hurricanes. The storms have wiped out jobs and prosperity as much as they have scarred the land. Smith writes of a family as flawed as you would expect. A daughter ran away from home and years later returns with a four year old her father knows nothing about. And that isn’t even scratching the surface of the drama in this novel. This is a novel of death, depravity, secrecy, and hard living. Generational traumas repeat no matter how hard the characters fight to avoid it. Hopelessness intertwines with hope in a masterful way that few do as well as Smith. If you aren’t reading MFS, you should be. And, this is a perfect place to start.

I am a huge MFS fan and his latest left me just saying, "wow. that was phenomenal." From the character description and development to the Kerouacian stream-of-consciousness style of writing I was taken from the first sentence. I mean, MFS always has the best opening lines and sentences, but this one, I was smitten and couldn't wait to dig in.

I don't want to get into the plot too much because if you're going to read this you'll be familiar with MFS's style of writing and thematic approach, but I will say that this one has some harrowing moments and hold your breaths scenes that just took me away.

Wade, Jessie, Jace, and by extension Holt are remarkable characters who have lived lives (maybe with the exception of Jace) that are unlike anything I've ever seen or known. I do not pretend to know what living in the south entails for those who live there, but the picture that MFS paints is one of natural beauty, but also pain, strife, death, and dreams deferred or altogether forgotten and lost. However, as true to MFS's novels, there is a possible ray of hope at the end. This book had it all and I was there for every second of it.

I highly recommend this book for readers of Southern Goth, Grit Lit, or whatever y'all call it. It is lovely. It's written with a deft hand, includes mesmerizing characters and settings, and every moment that you turn the page there is something there to pull on those heartstrings. This is a 5-star book if I've ever read one.