Land Where My Fathers Died (CL)

by Joe Morris and Joe Edd Morris

Book Overview

Land Where My Fathers Died is the story of a young man's search for identity, love and his place in the world.While incarcerated six years for a murder he never committed, Jo Shelby Ferguson lost his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 189395627X
• ISBN13: 9781893956278
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Context Books
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

WOW! WHAT A STORY!

First time novelist? Unbelieveable for Morris' writing is that of a well disciplined, seasoned writer! The story of Jo Shelby Ferguson catches you and moves you along the search of his family roots. The reader moves with the main character feeling his frustration, his pain, his daring, his adventure, his every move imtimately. The author must have done his homework, especially with the authenticity of the adventure on the river barge and life in the Mexican prison. The skillful and creative use of language, the vivid descriptive scenarios linger long in the reader's memory. Woven through the tale are the moral lessons of determination above all odds, and commitment to the ultimate goal. The story opened a chapter of southern history unfamiliar to me of Yankee birth! For the superior writing and the historical perspective, I am a grateful reader. When is the next novel to appear?

Perfection!

This book brings the character of Jo Shelby Ferguson to life--right from the beginning of the first page. Morris has serious talent and lets it show. He takes Jo Shelby on a believable journey in search of his roots and creates an unforgettable journey from the Mississippi delta to Mexico. It's the (seemingly)true story of a man with an unquechable thirst to find out who he really is, and Ferguson is willing to do anything to accomplish it. Joe Morris' writing is up there with the best of the literary geniuses of the 20th century--F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, and Zora Nealle Hurston, though it is a little faster paced than Faulkner. He (Morris) is sure to come out with other and greater works. He must!

A Memorable Saga

I found "Land My Fathers Died" to offer what many books of today do not. The novel treats readers to a wonderfully intriguing story told with grace and poetic deftness in describing a man's courageous, searching spirit. The descriptions of Mexico's vastness, ts colorful cities and its rapidly changing vistas of montains, deserts and plains are beautifully done and gives the mind many vivid pictures to recall. And one will well-remember the story's people who are given depth and "realnness." I felt the novel really moved along smoothly, with no slow stretches. Morris well shows what he can do with words and plot. I very much look forward to seeing his next work.

A beautiful book which reads like a classic

I picked up this book off the bookstore shelf because the cover and the author's name grabbed me (I'm a big fan of southern literature and I hadn't heard of the guy before). Needless to say, I didn't stop reading from the time I began reading in aisle, to the time I bought the book, through the time I spent on the bus, through my dinner until I slept at 2 in the morning. This book has the makings of a classic--it's that good. The language, reminiscent of McCarthy and Hemingway, guides you through Jo Shelby's quest for identity. Jo Shelby's trip from Mississippi to Mexico, in search of his only remaining kin (descendants of Confederates who fled from the states to Mexico after the Civil War--a historical fact of which I had no knowledge) makes for a gripping and compelling read, wrought with danger and violence (there is a particularly gruesome fight scene in a Mexican prison which I still can't forget) and lessons about the meaning of honor, persistence and hope.I'm amazed that this is a debut because Morris writes as a seasoned writer would--with patience and unpretentious honesty. A classic.