Powerful short novel about a small Wisconsin town threatened by an epidemic in the years after the Civil War, centering around the man who is constable, undertaker, and church deacon, as he attempts to hold together a shattered world.
One reviewer said it "reads like the amazing, unrelenting love child of Shirley Jackson and Cormac McCarthy". I'm not sure I could say anything more accurate.
Jacob, the book's protagonist, takes seriously his responsibility for the laws, the bodies, and the souls of his neighbors in the town of Friendship. As a terrifying scourge overtakes them, he finds himself drawn in different directions by these sometimes-competing duties, as well as by his love and concern for his wife and small baby.
As Friendship descends into a hell of death and violent panic, Jacob is also haunted by his past as a soldier and by the terrible secret he brought home from the battlefield.
Not a "fun" read, but certainly one you won't forget quickly.
One reviewer said it "reads like the amazing, unrelenting love child of Shirley Jackson and Cormac McCarthy". I'm not sure I could say anything more accurate.
Jacob, the book's protagonist, takes seriously his responsibility for the laws, the bodies, and the souls of his neighbors in the town of Friendship. As a terrifying scourge overtakes them, he finds himself drawn in different directions by these sometimes-competing duties, as well as by his love and concern for his wife and small baby.
As Friendship descends into a hell of death and violent panic, Jacob is also haunted by his past as a soldier and by the terrible secret he brought home from the battlefield.
Not a "fun" read, but certainly one you won't forget quickly.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
