For me, I will hold this book in the same regard with Flannery O'Connor. Darkly wonderful.

The cover blurb reads, "... as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'" Well, maybe when Cormac McCarthy was in Junior High, and if Harper Lee's book was a '50s screenplay rather than one of the major works of the 20th century. I enjoyed the book well enough, but only in the same way I'd enjoy a direct-to-video drama. From the pretentious Thomas Wolfe quote from which the title is derived (that has absolutely no connection to the narrative), to the formulaic shoot-'em-up ending, this book is a mere imitation of the hype it received. There was a lack of character development. For instance, what was it in Julia's upbringing/inner world/psychological deficiencies that compelled her to involve herself romantically with Chambliss? This is a key component to understanding the story, and the reader is offered almost nothing to account for her bizarre choice. I would also have appreciated a deeper exploration of why Ben made such a conscious decision to be such a different husband and father than his dad. Some loose ends were left dangling as well. Early in the novel, Julie scolds Jess for being too inquisitive about his father's interactions with some other men. Why? Was Ben involved some nefarious and secretive dealings? All in all, a disappointment.

This was a good read, but it certainly is a melancholy book. I left me feeling sad; the ending tried to be hopeful but it didn't quite make it there.

Read this book because it is the 2018 Spokane is Reading selection—which I learned of only recently. It's a powerful story, well told. I found myself looking up from the book because I could smell the cigarette smoke drifting through the screen door from the back porch that only existed in the story. And making cornbread and beans for dinner (sadly, I had no cabbage for slaw).

Perhaps it resonated with me because I was able to identify strongly with the characters, rural setting, and time. Jess could have been one of my classmates and friends.

The only disconnect I had was the spacial direction. I pictured a right turn where the author described a left. The river flowed the opposite direction in my mind. A winding road up the side of the mountain went around the left side in my mental version, not the right.

I rarely give a book five stars. It means: I'd like to read this again.

I do enjoy Southern Gothic. While I'm certainly no expert on dialects, the voices of the three narrators seemed right on to me, and I easily settled into the flow. Small town, tragedy, religious zealotry, old midwife who represents the town conscience... It's all good.

This was a very engaging book, especially for its strong character development. I am looking forward to reading Wiley's next book.

Loved the different voices this story was told in, from the sheriff to an old woman from the community to 9 year old Jess.

I'm glad I listened to this one. The actors' accents were authentically southern and it made the book really come alive.

I'm torn about how to rate this book. It's very well written portraying the culture of the area, spoken accents, and the horror that religion can be. I'm sure that my view of religion kept me from just barely keep from exploding. There are few likable characters; I think there are only two adult characters. Those would be the police captain and Adelaide.

If you choose to read this, keep your Xanax handy.