Synopses & Reviews
A darkly comic debut novel by an independent bookseller about an idealistic young farmer who moves his family to a Mississippi flood basin, suffers financial ruinand#8212;and becomes increasingly paranoid heand#8217;s being framed for murder.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;It all began with a simple dream. An ambitious young environmental scientist hoped to establish a sustainable farm on a small patch of river-bottom land nestled among the Mississippi hills. Jay Mize convinced his wife Sandy to move their six-year-old son away from town and to a rich and lush parcel where Jacob could run free and Jay could pursue the dream of a new and progressive agriculture for the twenty-first century. He did not know that within a year heand#8217;d be ruined, that flood and pestilence would invade his fledgling farm or that his wife and son would leave him to pick up the pieces by himself.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;When Jay Mize discovers a corpse on his property, he is sure his bad luck has come to a head and he is being framed. Were Jay in his right mind, he might have reported the body to the police at the very same moment they were searching for a missing tourist from Ohio. He might have not dragged the body back to his farm under the cover of night and spent hours disposing of it. But Jay Mize is not in his right mind. His mounting paranoia is accelerated by a hot-rod local deputy, nosing around with questions about the missing tourist and making dark comments about Jayand#8217;s estranged wife Sandy. Itand#8217;s enough to make an honest man a maniacand#8230; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;Drawing on elements of classic Southern noir, dark comedy, and modern dysfunction, Jamie Kornegayand#8217;s novel is about the gravitational pull of one manand#8217;s apocalypse and the hope that maybe, just maybe, he can be reeled in from the brink. Readers will and#8220;applaud the arrival of an exquisitely deranged new voice to American fictionand#8221; (Jonathan Miles, award-winning author of andlt;Iandgt;Want Notandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Dear American Airlinesandlt;/Iandgt;).
Review
and#8220;Let us stand, brothers and sisters, to applaud the arrival of an exquisitely deranged new voice to American fiction. Dig your hands into this andlt;iandgt;Soilandlt;/iandgt; to find gutty and peppery writing, an almost recklessly bold imagination, audacious empathy, and a story so twisty and volatile that nearly every turn feels electrifyingly unexpected. This rough-n-tumble model of Southern literatureand#8212;the vehicle of choice for the late greats Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, Harry Crews, and William Gayand#8212;has felt stalled on the roadside for several years now; Jamie Kornegay just pulled up with some big-ass jumper cables.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Jonathan Miles, author of andlt;Iandgt;Want Notandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Dear American Airlinesandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Jamie Kornegay's novel andlt;Iandgt;Soilandlt;/Iandgt; heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice. This book is atmospheric 'as all get-out,' as my grandmother might have said, and it crackles with intensity. It's everything I want a novel to be, a fine story well-told with characters I won't forget, set in a world so real you can smell it and taste it. Kornegay's something special." andlt;BRandgt; and#8211;Steve Yarbrough, author of andlt;Iandgt;The Realm of Last Chancesandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Mississippi has done it again, given us yet another brilliant writer. Welcome, Jamie Kornegay, to a long line of kick-ass storytellers. andlt;Iandgt;Soilandlt;/Iandgt; is one of the most memorable novels I've read in years, with a killer story told in killer language. Highly, highly recommended." andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Tom Franklin, author of andlt;Iandgt;Crooked Letter, Crooked Letterandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Jamie Kornegay's prose is as rich and fertile as the Mississippi Delta landscape that spreads across the pages of andlt;Iandgt;Soilandlt;/Iandgt;. It is poetic, both in its language and in the soulful complexity of its characters, all of them fallen and trudging along the hard worn path of redemption on dirty hands and knees.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Michael F. Smith, author of andlt;Iandgt;Riversandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Marked by wry humor, unforgettable characters, and riveting suspense, Jamie Kornegayand#8217;s andlt;Iandgt;Soilandlt;/Iandgt; is a spellbinding Greek tragedy played out against the backdrop of the choked river-bottoms, sprawling fields, and dusty roads of the Mississippi Delta. A brilliant, haunting portrait of the havoc one desperate manand#8217;s decisions and dreams can wreak upon himself and those around him. This remarkable novel springs from rich earth indeed, and the end result is a book that will leave readers reeling.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Skip Horack, author of andlt;Iandgt;The Eden Hunterandlt;/Iandgt;, and andlt;Iandgt;The Southern Crossandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;A darkly droll, epic novel told in a style Iand#8217;d have to call a deceptively swift amble through a most vividly rendered, watery Delta world. Anyone from Coleridge to Twain to Faulkner to William Gay would have loved reading this book, and you will, too.and#8221; andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;Brad Watson, author of andlt;Iandgt;The Heaven of Mercuryandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Aliens in the Prime of Their Livesandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Jamie Kornegay's powerful debut novel, andlt;Iandgt;Soilandlt;/Iandgt;, is just as rich, dark and primal as the title suggests and it is hard not to discuss the various characters' plights without slipping into metaphor as they both literally and figuratively dig and tunnel and turn up all that is buried. This novel is brimming with suspense while continuously locating the fine line separating good from evil. Just as the soil delivers all that is decomposed and lost, it also brings promise of future growth and in this case, it is in the form of the protagonist's son. Kornegay's rendering of hope and innocence against the backdrop of depravity and darkness is admirable andandlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt;moving." and#8212;Jill McCorkle, andlt;Iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/Iandgt; bestselling author of andlt;Iandgt;Life after Lifeandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Kornegay's skillful writing keeps the story gripping and the atmosphere haunting."andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;Kirkus Reviewsandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Kornegay imbues his characters with depth and his story with suspense, but the real star of the book is the pungent and foreboding Mississippi earth itself. A promising debut from an assured new voice in Southern fiction.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;Library Journalandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;Kornegay's keenly observed novel is a bit of a slow burner at first, but it soon builds into a page-turning crescendo and a suspense-filled finale which will make your heart pound and leave you opened-mouthed in horror.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;Western Gazetteandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
and#8220;This marvelous bookresembles the Southern Gothic novels of the past such as the classic EternalFire by Calder Willingham.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt;and#8212;andlt;Iandgt;Smoky Mountain Newsandlt;/Iandgt;
About the Author
Jamie Kornegay lives in the Mississippi Delta, where he moved in 2006 to establish an independent bookstore, Turnrow Book Co. Before that he was a bookseller, events coordinator, and radio show producer at the famous Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi. He studied creative fiction under Barry Hannah at the University of Mississippi. andlt;iandgt;Soilandlt;/iandgt; is his first novel.