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BULL MOUNTAIN
by Brian Panowich
Putnam, July 2015
304 pages
$26.95
ISBN: 039917396X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

BULL MOUNTAIN tells the tale of a multi-generational feud between brothers in rural Appalachia. Panowich sets the stage in 1949 with brothers Cooper and Riley Burroughs settling the score regarding the future of their land on Bull Mountain. From there, the story weaves back and forth in time, following Cooper's son Gareth in the 70s and two of his sons, Sheriff Clayton Burroughs and head of the family business, Halford Burroughs, up to the present. This is a classic tale of the battle between good and evil, conveying a deep understanding of how the rural isolation and the drug business in Georgia can move men toward the extremes in their personalities. There is a great deal of bloodshed and depravity, and lives seem to count for very little while perceived disrespect counts for a great deal.

Clayton and Halford have maintained a sort of truce based on territoriality and avoidance. Into that taut emotional environment, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agent Simon Holly arrives to set off an armed war between the two brothers. As the book continues, a connection between Holly and the Burroughs is revealed as a motivation for Holly's actions. His manipulation of the brothers is effective as no one recognizes him in this role, except perhaps Clayton's wife, Kate.

This is a very dark book, with brooding characters and the ugliness of lives lived in the midst of the drug and gun-running trades fully exposed. Women are casually mistreated, men face gruesome death on a daily basis, and boys are raised to follow in their fathers' bloody footsteps. There are occasional flashes of light and hope, for instance in Clayton's and Kate's relationship, but they are vastly overshadowed by the moments of darkness of despair. The book ends with a twist, however, that allows the reader some semblance of justice and relief.

This is an amazingly powerful book. The writing is evocative, transporting the reader to a place that is hopefully a foreign landscape. Clayton, in particular, is a multi-dimensional character with whom the reader can relate. Even with the sociopathic characters that seem to populate Bull Mountain, the author provides the background that helps the reader understand how they became what they are, avoiding having them turn into caricatures. Panowich's debut gives us hope for another great Southern noir writer.

§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.

Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, April 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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