A World Made of Fire

by Mark Childress

Book Overview

"The ambivalence of fire--as evocation of glowing love and furious destruction--permeates this stunning first novel by Mark Childress, a young Southern writer who gives fresh expression to his region's literary preoccupations. A World Made of Fire is set in rural Alabama in the decades before World War I . . . Childress has created a wholly believable world. The landscapes are forceful and the characters deeply felt. . . . A World Made of Fire probes...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394536347
• ISBN13: 9780394536347
• Release Date: September 1984
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 283 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Crazy in Alabame Before Everything Went Crazy in Alabama

Very hard to put down, very character driven, mystical to some extent but not in an implausible way -- it is like twenty-first century hindsight can explain what is going on while the characters understandably attribute so much to fate, religion, or some fear that a little crippled boy holds magic in his mind. That makes for an interesting book that takes the reader to a completely different place that then feels oddly familiar. The author of Crazy in Alabama and One Mississippi started it all with this one, but it really does not read like a first novel. It is complete in its own right, even though one of the more interesting characters -- the uneducated but intuitive bent-legged Jacko -- reappears some three generations later in One Mississippi too, in more humorous fashion. This one is set almost a century ago but places the reader right there, right then, in a way that is not distracting but immersive. I note that one the first reviewers was, of all people, Harper Lee -- and she really liked it. That is a good thumbs up, I'd say. NB. I bought the Kindle edition.

Wow! Never Put It Down

Riveting, I couldn't put this book down. Wonderful historical setting and a very dark look at rural america. What makes this so scary is it is completely believable. The characters could be sitting in the room with you. Fast paced. At times it does slip into language of that time which is difficult for some but flows nicely with the tone of the book. One of my favorite reads this year.

Loved this one!

Well, I was warned that this one would not be as comedic as other Mark Childress novels, but I still found myself giggling quite often. You can not help but fall in love with Stella, who manages to always stay positive and keep family, however messed up it is, above all else. The relationship between Stella and Jacko (yes, weird old Uncle Jacko from One Mississippi!) was so touching and their discourse flat out cracked me up. I'm always ready to read more of Mark Childress, and this early novel of his was no let down!

Perhaps my favorite all-time novel

I am so excited to find this book is back in print since it is one of my favorite gift items to send to new friends... if you are a fan of Southern Gothic, you'll fall into the world of Jacko and his associated family of characters like a mayfly into sorghum molasses. Childress's facility for focusing the reader on the tiniest detail then expanding it to encompass the universe in only a few short sentences is mind-blowing. This is a fabulous book, and you'll be so glad you read it!

Childress is SO misunderstood by his critics

I can't believe that the reviewer below so totally missed the point of "A World Made of Fire." It's rather silly to criticize an allegory for being allegorical .... and to complain of the use of "Creole" and "Cajun" dialects in a novel very clearly set in Alabama shows us where he or she is coming from.My advice to Childress fans: check out this remarkable first novel. It contains the seeds of nearly all his themes: tragedy, family, religion, and the supernatural. A wonderful book.