Staff Pick
I'm from Kentucky, so I was eager to see what Chris Offutt had to say for us hillbillies. In truth, neither Offutt nor myself is from the hills, but we are still defined by them – our heritage, our stories, our mythology, the very identity given to us by the outside world. It's what we seek and what we run from at the same time. These stories and the characters Offutt creates are damn good. He's a skilled writer who doesn't sentimentalize his subject, doesn't make poverty or violence seem cliché, doesn't for one second let you forget that he knows what he's talking about. This book harbors humor and heartbreak, deep despair and blinding ignorance, with enough room for faith and love in a place still forgotten and in the face of an existence most of us know nothing about.
Recommended by Rebecca, Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Riveting, often heartbreaking stories that take readers through country that is figuratively and literally unmapped. These stories are set in a nameless community too small to be called a town, a place where wanting an education is a mark of ungodly arrogance and dowsing for water a legitimate occupation. Offutt has received a James Michener Grant and a Kentucky Arts Council Award.
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