by Glenn Taylor
For giving me time to write, and for so much more, I wish to say thank you to my wife, Margaret, without whom I would be completely lost. And to Reece and T-Bird, I say thank you for being the boys and the best friends that you are. I am grateful to my parents, Carol and Maury Taylor, who hail from Marion and Mingo Counties, respectively. From the beginning, they have given support in all its forms. My father is particularly worthy of acknowledgment, as he inspired in me, through his own genuine interest in remembering his people and their place, a similar interest. I could never thank him enough for that, for such interests are rare these days.
About the Author
M. Glenn Taylor was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia. This is his first novel. His stories have been published in literary journals such as Chattahoochee Review, Mid-American Review, Meridian, and Gulf Coast, among others. He teaches English and fiction writing at Harper College in suburban Chicago, where he lives with his wife and two sons.
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Copyright
Blue Door
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
www.harpercollins.co.uk
Published by Blue Door 2010
FIRST EDITION
First published in the USA by Vandalia Press 2008
Copyright © M. Glenn Taylor 2008
M. Glenn Taylor asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition © DECEMBER 2009 ISBN: 978-0-007-35799-4
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Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue
BOOK ONE 1903-1921
Dedication
ONE The Woman Could Cure Ailments
TWO Here Came a Man
THREE Climbing And Digging Came Natural
FOUR Frank Dallara Fashioned A Tool
FIVE Beast Eye And Something Else
SIX Then Came More of Sorrow and Anguish
SEVEN Folks Could Fall Hard
EIGHT Who Among Us Has Read The Signs
NINE Women Shook And Shivered
TEN The Powerful And The Ones Beneath
ELEVEN Folks Will Dust You Quick As Look At You
TWELVE Here Came A War Or Two
THIRTEEN They Had Grips On Them
FOURTEEN Strange Days And More Of The Same
FIFTEEN Who Has Worn And Who Has Broken?
BOOK TWO 1946-1961
Dedication
SIXTEEN It was Regimented Living
SEVENTEEN They Would Stare
EIGHTEEN Radio Saturday Night
NINETEEN A Piker Had No Home
TWENTY You Carried What You Could
TWENTY-ONE Wide Vision Running
TWENTY-TWO Writing Came Natural
TWENTY-THREE Kennedy Had A Way
TWENTY-FOUR Discovery Had Its Way
BOOK THREE 1989-1993
Dedication
TWENTY-FIVE The Tri-State Dump
TWENTY-SIX Man Attacked, Man Robbed
TWENTY-SEVEN Goddamn Son Of A Bitch
TWENTY-EIGHT Boys Should Have Gotten Their Educations
TWENTY-NINE Ewart Smith Spoke In A Dream
THIRTY A Man Took It All To The Stage
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Prologue
BOOK ONE 1903-1921
Dedication
ONE The Woman Could Cure Ailments
TWO Here Came a Man
THREE Climbing And Digging Came Natural
FOUR Frank Dallara Fashioned A Tool
FIVE Beast Eye And Something Else
SIX Then Came More of Sorrow and Anguish
SEVEN Folks Could Fall Hard
EIGHT Who Among Us Has Read The Signs
NINE Women Shook And Shivered
TEN The Powerful And The Ones Beneath
ELEVEN Folks Will Dust You Quick As Look At You
TWELVE Here Came A War Or Two
THIRTEEN They Had Grips On Them
FOURTEEN Strange Days And More Of The Same
FIFTEEN Who Has Worn And Who Has Broken?
BOOK TWO 1946-1961
Dedication
SIXTEEN It was Regimented Living
SEVENTEEN They Would Stare
EIGHTEEN Radio Saturday Night
NINETEEN A Piker Had No Home
TWENTY You Carried What You Could
TWENTY-ONE Wide Vision Running
TWENTY-TWO Writing Came Natural
TWENTY-THREE Kennedy Had A Way
TWENTY-FOUR Discovery Had Its Way
BOOK THREE 1989-1993
Dedication
TWENTY-FIVE The Tri-State Dump
TWENTY-SIX Man Attacked, Man Robbed
TWENTY-SEVEN Goddamn Son Of A Bitch
TWENTY-EIGHT Boys Should Have Gotten Their Educations
TWENTY-NINE Ewart Smith Spoke In A Dream
THIRTY A Man Took It All To The Stage
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Copyright
About the Publisher
