Austin’s semi-autobiographical, linked story collection follows the misadventures of Avery Colt as he struggles to survive in North St. Louis alongside his family. Learning the best way to slaughter a goat, rebuilding his family’s corner market, and reckoning the weight of a revolver are a few of the challenges Avery faces. As he matures through each page, Avery takes control of his circumstances and attempts dangerous feats of alchemy. Charged with urgency and emotion, Austin’s prose faithfully renders a community determined to overcome crisis with strength, dark humor, and plenty of heart.
Austin’s semi-autobiographical, linked story collection follows the misadventures of Avery Colt as he struggles to survive in North St. Louis alongside his family. Learning the…
"After school, custodian Oliver Nix investigates a strange sound coming from the boys' locker room. What he finds rocks this suburban Atlanta community. Langley, a sophomore, claims she was forced, but Kevin, the accused, insists on his innocence while plotting his path out of town. His mother, Grace, defends her son despite having made a similar accusation twenty years before. Eleanor, Oliver's daughter, tries to reconcile her loyalty to best friend Langley, who created the rules for lying, with her unrequited love for Kevin. Rules for Lying follows the characters through a police investigation that makes them question their memories, allegiances, and actions, all while hiding secrets of their own."
"After school, custodian Oliver Nix investigates a strange sound coming from the boys' locker room. What he finds rocks this suburban Atlanta community. Langley, a sophomore,…
The novel traces the life of African-American Brewster McAtee, a hardworking and innovative carpenter, as he struggles for his dreams to own land and build a home and respectability in rural Alabama. When the Civil Rights Movement explodes, he is drawn into the core of the conflict, where he and his family face the ultimate loss from which they may never recover.
The Civil Rights Movement in the South represents one of American history’s most important, bloody, and terrifying periods. Seven Laurels takes place during that time, encompassing the years between 1954 and 1994. The novel traces the life of African-American Brewster McAtee, a hardworking and innovative carpenter, as he struggles for his dreams to own land and build a home and respectability in rural Alabama. When the Civil Rights Movement explodes, he is drawn into the core of the conflict, where he and his family face the ultimate loss from which they may never recover.
The novel traces the life of African-American Brewster McAtee, a hardworking and innovative carpenter, as he struggles for his dreams to own land and build a home and…
