Requiem by Fire: A Novel
Caldwell follows up the well-receivedCataloocheewith this homespun effort about a close-knit mountain village's fight to keep the land its inhabitants have spent their lives cultivating. In 1928, the residents of Cataloochee, N.C., are given an ultimatum by the National Parks Commission to either resign their farmland for a price, or remain, but have their property leased back to them by the government. At the core of this conflict is Silas Wright, a farmer who locks horns with the Parks Commission, disputes both of the options offered, and refuses to succumb to governmental demands. Attorney Oliver Babcock is also making rounds about town securing agreements to negotiate as well. Wright contemplates a lawsuit against the commission, for which longtime resident Jim Hawkins is now enlisted to be a warden of the park to come. Mild melodrama ensues as the government removes residents from their homes, a mysterious death occurs, Hawkins contends with an unhappy family, and the town fire-starter gets up to his old tricks again. As in his debut, Caldwell again attributes rich historical background to a dizzying array of colorful, authentic Southern characters in an unhurried story about resiliency and the unifying power of community.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.