A Quirky Tale of Revenge and Ruin

Pickett’s Charge by Charles McNair (Livingston Press, 2013, 350pp.)

A fantastically quirky tale of revenge and ruin, Pickett’s Charge is set in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement, and chronicles the efforts of 114-year-old Threadgill Pickett, the last surviving Confederate sympathizer, to seek out and murder the last surviving Union soldier—even if he has to escape from the nursing home to do it! As he sets out on his cross-country journey, he meets a cast of outrageous characters along the way. Although the story may be limited by its heavy use of local landmarks and city names that only Alabama residents would recognize, it’s still a finely layered psychological story.

See my author interview with Charles McNair, published in Weld for Birmingham, here.

An Original Take on a Lesser-Known Biblical Figure

Noah’s Wife by T.K. Thorne (Chalet Publishers, 2009, 366pp.)

All Christians are familiar with the Biblical story of Noah, the boat-maker. God forewarned Noah of a cataclysmic flood and told him to build a massive ark. The neighbors made fun--but in the end? The ark floated. They didn’t. Thorne’s debut novel recreates this tale through the eyes of Noah’s wife, Na’amah. An eccentric young woman, Na’amah desires nothing more than to live the simple life of a shepherdess. While most people dismiss her all too quickly as an oddball, she finds love and support with the two men who appreciate her for her unique nature: the gentle Noah, who is several years her senior, and Yanner, her childhood friend who is desperate to win her love. When Na’amah rejects Yanner’s efforts in favor of Noah, Yanner turns to her angry, malicious older brother, Tubal, for help. Noah’s Wife greatly benefits from Thorne’s decision to tell the story in first person. Na’amah’s voice flows through the novel to produce a work that is both imaginative and original. In addition to being graced with a quick-witted, resourceful heroine, the novel also boasts a cast of sympathetic and complex supporting characters. This creative take on a little-known Biblical figure, along with its prehistorical setting, will appeal to fans of The Mists of Avalon and The Clan of the Cave Bear.

Click on the cover for image source.

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