2005 book 15

andy duncan's beluthahatchie and other stories
the mysterious john m., fellow avid reader, left this for me to read. and i have to say, i enjoyed it pretty thoroughly. duncan, who has local ties, only missteps in the two stories where he writes in dialect--although the title story, about a blues guitarist who takes a train to the suburbs of hell and runs into the devil, is engaging enough to get past this. his stories are a mix of fantasy and dark humor and romance and history and good ol'-fashioned mountain music--highlights for me were "the executioner's guild," about a traveling electric-chair operator, "the premature burials," about a wife who makes her husband promise to be buried with her when she dies, "the map to the homes of the stars," about cars and lost childhood and things of that nature, and "liza and the crazy water man," about a girl from the carolina mountains with an amazing singing voice. if those descriptions don't give you the hint, i'll point out that duncan's stories really have a surprising range, meaning that most readers could find something enjoyable in here somewhere. thanks for the recommendation, john; i'll return the book tomorrow. :)