Youre not going to be living here full-time, right?
Lola asks her estranged cousin, Billie, whos returned to their Delta-adjacent hometown after a 30-year absence.
You dont want to be hanging around with folks still mad they lost the Civil War.
Credit: HarperCollins
Coughing on whiskey, Billie responds, Oh my God.
Lola shoots back: Girl, Im serious.
Lola and Billie are cousins, sure, but they havent seen each other in decades.
Their immediately recovered shorthand doesnt quite negate the emotional distance and unsettling mystery that now exist between them.
The approach is effective, if a little deceptive.
Billie merely needs to step outside her fathers shabby shack to summon centuries of a communitys pain.
Even the homes dusty confines are evocative of worlds and tragedies beyond Billies family.
Where is chapter 1?
Why is it undiscovered?
Billie gets closer to those around her so you can reach the truth.
But her single-mindedness gets in the way of character complexity.
Benzs gift for structure is undeniable, however.
Her sprawling cast glistens with distinct cadences and perspectives that combine for a satisfying, affecting whole.
Family, land, power The Gone Deadtackles big topics intimately.
Perhaps its most unique element as a Southern novel is its potent underlying melancholy.
On the exhale, listen closely.B+
More book reviews:
