Eden Rise
"Robert Norrell has summoned the exemplary storytelling voices of both Harper Lee and John Grisham, then swirled them into one of the best Civil Rights-era novels I've read since Lewis Nordan'sWolf Whistle. Mr. Norrell knows the landscape, the people, and the inexorable beliefs of 1960s Alabama." George Singleton, author ofThe Half-Mammals of Dixie"Robert J. Norrell'sEden Riseoffers a dramatic and beautifully written examination of racial injustice and violence in the South during the tumultuous 1960s. InEden Rise, Norrell demonstrates that he's not merely a profoundly insightful historian, he's a first-class novelist as well." John Gregory Brown, author ofDecorations in a Ruined Cemetery"Norrell is widely recognized as one of the nation's leading scholars of Southern and African American history. Not surprisingly his novel about a young Alabama college student caught in the middle of a violent racial altercation in the early 1960s captures the time and place with perfect pitch." Dan T. Carter, Education Foundation University Professor Emeritus, University of South Carolina"Norrell draws upon his expertise as a historian as well as personal experiences in this gripping tale set in his native Alabama. He provides an acute assessment of a small town where the mean-spirited outnumber the well-intentioned and fat lies often triumph over the lean truth." William Heath, author ofThe Children Bob Moses Led"A noted scholar of Southern history and of U.S. race relations, Norrell is also a fine fiction writer. His [Eden Riseis a] painfully realistic and haunting tale." Allen Wier, author ofTehano"Norrell's greatest achievement inEden Riselies in using his firm grasp of the grand tumultuous sweep of history to anchor and enrich his sensitive portrayal of those who were caught up in it." --James C. Cobb, Spalding Distinguished Professor of History, University of Georgia