Coiled in the Heart

By Scott Elliott

Book Overview

Seven-year-old Tobia Caldwell is the last in a line of proud, Southern aristocrats. As his parents struggle to oust neighbors from what was once Caldwell land, Tobia fights to keep intruders away from what he considers his creek. So when boy-and-girl twins Ben and Merritt move in on his turf, Tobia takes drastic measures-and leads Ben to a deadly snake. What was once a little boy's revenge turns into a guilty secret that nags at Tobia for years. But when, as a young man, he falls hard for Ben's surviving sister, that secret might be too much to bear.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425197018
• ISBN13: 9780425197011
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: BlueHen
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.9" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

An Accidental Reward

This novel came my way in an accidental way. My daughter, a freshman at the time at Western Kentucky University, was invited to read the novel as a part of the "One Book, One Campus, One Community" initiative. She passed it along to me shortly after the event was staged. What an in-your-face reminder of mid-list gems! "Coiled in the Heart" reminds the reader of the serpent lore present in Appalachian studies. Woven through the novel are questions of accountability, culpability and guilt, entertainingly and expertly told. Scott Elliott was billed as a "bold new Southern voice" when the novel was released. Belatedly writing this review is a kick in the pants to see what he's been up to; it's sure to be a worthwhile read that's hopefully taking Elliott beyond mid-list.

Very Good...Possibly Great

This is one of the better books about Old South/New South questions I've read. It's also timely and prescient in its ecological conceit--a father son team tear down and basically recycle cluster mansions in an attempt to return the land to its natural state. The attempt is financed by money earned from an investment in a computer company. The book does an excellent job of raising big questions in elegant prose. It's also filled with wonderful, complex characters (including a cameo from a snapping turtle named Eddie) and some fantastically drawn female characters. The book passes with flying colors the important (for me) literary test of evoking a wide range of complex emotions in almost every scene. In some ways the book reminds me of Gatsby but it also calls to mind some of the work of really good "Southern" writers like Walker Percy, Peter Taylor, and Robert Penn Warren. I could see this being a great addition to a survey of Southern Literature. One of the better contemporary novels I've read (Southern or just American) in some time.

New American classic

Elliott's characters are rich with emotion and detail without being overwrought. Not only is this an entertaining read, but it has something important to say about being human. A must read!

Snakes Alive

The pivotal scene at the river, to name but one highlight, is unforgettable. Elliott is a fine writer.

A Wonderful Read

I knew nothing about this book until I saw it featured in a book review of our Sunday newspaper. I am very glad that I purchased and read this book.This new author has not published some "spy or mystery" novel as so many other authors need to do; rather, he has purlished a wonderful book about conflicts of people, young and old, parents and children, children and children, and man and woman. His descriptons of the places and characters of his book are detailed and wonderful and keep the reader in "visual" contact with the story. The emotions of the characters and the subtle twists of fate are very believable by the reader.This is a wonderful read. It is a great change from the standard and mostly predictable books that are now being published and affords the reader with an enjoyable story and time spent with the characters.It is unfortunate that this novel is a first time book by an unknown author. If it was published by a more famous author it would receive the attention it deserves. I just hope that Mr. Elliott does not attempt to revert to standard story lines in his next book, one that I will be anticipating.