KDL Recommends

Visible Spirits: A Novel

ISBN: 0375725776

Title: Visible Spirits: A Novel

Author: Steve Yarbrough

KDL Description:

In 1902, small-town Loring, Mississippi, is torn apart by the escalating rivalry between a black postmistress and the prodigal son of a fallen plantation family.

Amazon Description:

In 1902, in a small community deep in the Mississippi Delta, nearly a generation after the end of slavery, events obscured by time but impossible to forgive or forget echo in the lives of blacks and whites alike. As bound together by history as they are separated by mutual distrust, the citizens of Loring face present tensions as they look toward an uncertain future.

Into this charged atmosphere rides Tandy Payne — prodigal son of a prominent planter and brother of the current mayor, and a dissolute gambler looking to reclaim the family estate. When he takes advantage of a perceived slight from the town’s black postmistress, the ensuing clash with his principled brother results in a harrowing confrontation. Fueled by dark and brutal memories, their familial dispute quickly spreads through the countryside. Steve Yarbrough confronts character with morality, reason with blood, in this moving novel that explores the farthest boundaries of human nature.