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A Cry of Angels - (Brown Thrasher Books) by Jeff Fields (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- It is the mid-1950s in Quarrytown, Georgia.
- About the Author: JEFF FIELDS was born in Georgia and attended high school in Elberton, which inspired the fictional setting for A Cry of Angels.
- 392 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
- Series Name: Brown Thrasher Books
Description
About the Book
Fields's exuberantly defined characters and his firmly rooted sense of place earned this novel an intensely loyal following. Its republication, three decades later is cause for celebration. Set in the mid-1950s in Quarrytown, Georgia, it portrays a place where hope's last refuge is a boardinghouse of malcontents who dream of a better life.Book Synopsis
It is the mid-1950s in Quarrytown, Georgia. In the slum known as the Ape Yard, hope's last refuge is a boardinghouse where a handful of residents dream of a better life. Earl Whitaker, who is white, and Tio Grant, who is black, are both teenagers, both orphans, and best friends. In the same house live two of the most important adults in the boys' lives: Em Jojohn, the gigantic Lumbee Indian handyman, is notorious for his binges, his rat-catching prowess, and his mysterious departures from town. Jayell Crooms, a gifted but rebellious architect, is stuck in a loveless marriage to a conventional woman intent on climbing the social ladder.
Crooms's vision of a new Ape Yard, rebuilt by its own residents, unites the four-and puts them on a collision course with Doc Bobo, a smalltown Machiavelli who rules the community like a feudal lord. Jeff Fields's exuberantly defined characters and his firmly rooted sense of place have earned A Cry of Angels an intensely loyal following. Its republication, more than three decades since it first appeared, is cause for celebration.Review Quotes
Heartwarming . . . We find ourselves wondering why delightful novels like this aren't written anymore, and grateful that this one has come along to fill the void.
--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt "New York Times"A Cry of Angels has sparkle, gusto, pathos, comedy, and drama . . . written with an expertise that must be ranked among the finest.
--Chicago Sun-TimesA Cry of Angels is thoroughly delightful and the best pure fun a novel has given me for some time . . . the little town and its people are completely alive.
--Washington PostA complicated but compelling story . . . well-crafted work . . . It is a southern story in setting and in the voices, but it is a universal and timeless story as well.
--Northeast Georgia LivingA flooded-with-life novel with a story to tell and characters to be cherished . . . replete with love, adventure, loyalty, pride, laughter, and violence . . . with a tremendously satisfying climax.
--Boston Sunday GlobeA humdinger . . . even better than To Kill a Mockingbird . . . funny, touching, and gripping.
--Chicago Daily NewsAn authentic cry of American innocence . . . The author seizes the reader with a southern gift for story-telling and never lets go.
--Time MagazineWarm . . . Fine . . . Brilliant . . . A triumph! The characters are larger than life. . . . The plot roars into high gear immediately and races through twists and turns that leave the reader gasping. . . . An enormously comforting novel.
--New York Times Book ReviewAbout the Author
JEFF FIELDS was born in Georgia and attended high school in Elberton, which inspired the fictional setting for A Cry of Angels. He currently lives in Atlanta. After working for many years in television and radio, Fields now writes full-time.