Wednesday 17 December 2014

BARGAIN BOOK: Then Like The Blind Man by Freddie Owens


Now available as a BARGAIN BOOK is THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN: Orbie's Story by Freddie Owens (Click for UK, Australia, Canada or India purchase) Why not download a copy now?
 


BOOK DESCRIPTION

"Every once in awhile, you read a book in which every element fits together so perfectly that you just sit back in awe at the skill of the
storyteller. Then Like the Blind Man is one of these books." ----The San
Francisco Book Review----

Received the IndieReader Discovery Award for Best in Literary Fiction and Kirkus Review's STAR for a novel of exceptional merit.

IF YOU WANTED TO DESTROY SOMETHING WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SAVE IT TOO?

A storm is brewing in the all-but-forgotten back country of Kentucky. And, for young Orbie Ray, the swirling heavens may just have the power to tear open his family's darkest secrets. THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN: Orbie's Story is the enthralling debut novel by Freddie Owens, which tells the story of a feisty wunderkind in the segregated South of the 1950s, and the
forces he must overcome to restore order in his world.

Nine-year-old Orbie already has his cross to bear. After the death of his father, his mother Ruby has off and married Victor, a slick-talking man with a snake tattoo. Orbie hates his stepfather more than he can stand, a fact that lands him at his grandparents' place in Harlan's Crossroads, Kentucky. Orbie grudgingly adjusts to life with his doting Granny and carping Granpaw, who are a bit too keep on their black neighbors for Orbie's taste, not to mention their Pentecostal congregation of snake handlers. Soon, however, he finds his worldviews changing, particularly when it comes to matters of race religion and the true cause of his father's death.

Equal parts Hamlet and Huckleberry Finn, THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN is certain to resonate with lovers of literary-historical fiction, particularly in the grand Southern tradition of storytelling.

  • Violence & Magical Realism
Events are rendered from Orbie's vividly fragmented point of view. His growth in understanding and courage - as he confronts first hand the realities of civil rights violations, domestic and child sexual abuse, religious violence and even murder - can be felt throughout the book.

A feeling of otherworldliness permeates the story, and its symbolism is omnipresent and beautifully handled. Realism becomes magical, as nothing is ever precisely what it seems.

  • Sex Addiction & Abandonment
Orbie's mother, a susceptible woman, quickly remarries, leaving Orbie and his younger sister at the mercy of Victor, who resolves to leave him at his sharecropping grandparent's place, a dirt farm in Kentucky, while the family sets off for Florida.

With no end to his stay in sight, Orbie settles into routines all but unthinkable weeks before. He forms a strong bond with Willis, the stunningly talented, physically disabled black boy and protege to the uncanny shaman, Moses Mashbone.

  • Boy Meets World
Inevitably, he finds himself drawn into Moses' teachings. As he begins to tap his own mysterious powers, his mother and stepfather return, throwing his world back into chaos. Can he discover the truth about his father's death in time to protect all he holds dear? And can he do it without being damaged by his own hatred and violence?

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