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A Land More Kind Than Home    by Wiley Cash Amazon.com order for
Land More Kind Than Home
by Wiley Cash
Order:  USA  Can
William Morrow, 2012 (2012)
Hardcover, e-Book
* * *   Reviewed by Barbara Lingens

Wiley Cash has written a very moving story, told by three people whose voices are truly unique. It is the tale of what happens in a small southern town when a preacher of dubious qualification manages to insinuate his way into people's lives.

Jess and his brother Stump are inseparable. Stump is mute, but the two of them are partners in all that is good and bad. At one point Stump sees something that neither one of them can comprehend, and it is this event around which the novel's action revolves. Besides Jess, the other narrators are Adelaide, the town's midwife, who knows much more than she will ever tell; and Clem, the town's sheriff, whose family history forms part of the background of this story.

We never find out more than we are supposed to know, but Cash is able to give us the full story so well through his characters. This is his first novel, and it is amazing how well he has everything in hand, considering the emotional weight the characters carry. Highly recommended.

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