David Connerley Nahm's Ancient Oceans of Central Kentucky
OK, so, full disclosure: David is a friend of mine, and is honestly one of my favorite people, so even though he asked me to be objective, this is still basically a rave review (I'm not the only one who likes it! It was included in Library Journal's galley guide for ALA Midwinter, so I hope all my librarian friends grabbed a copy). The protagonist is Leah, who runs a nonprofit aimed at helping low-income women and children, and who is haunted by the disappearance of her younger brother years before. It's really the narrative voice that's center stage here--telling not just Leah's story (jumping back and forth in time), but that of the women she works with, the kids she grew up with, her family, and honestly, that of the whole town. I think the best word to describe the writing here is EVOCATIVE. David (sorry, I really can't do the professional "author-last-name" reference for someone I know) really nails the atmosphere here. It's very atmospheric! (The interstitial illustrations of seashells or like those magnified pictures of grains of sand or fossils or whatever they are really add to this, and help highlight the unique nature of the story.) I thought this was VERY well-done. And I think I'm being objective when I say that. A/A-.
__
The author mailed me a galley to review! This book will be released in August.
No comments:
Post a Comment