Bells of Moses Henry

by Peter Skinner

Pursuing the adventures of Willie Graves, a seven-year-old mulatto boy who is accused of murdering his father, the novel sweeps across the landscape of Virginia--from his mother's bordello in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 097899745X
• ISBN13: 9780978997458
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Birch Brook Press
• Length: 366 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A deeply human tale of sadness and redemption

Skinner has written a beautiful coming of age story, poetic, rich, and deeply affirming. The story centers around young Willie Graves, seven years old, on the run from the law after the tragic aftermath of his learning that his mother does rather more than just book keeping for the local whore house. We follow Willie up and down rural Virginia of the 1950s, as he moves on foot and by train-hopping from downtown Charlottesville through barrooms and train yards up to the apple orchards of Winchester and down to the dark mystic reaches of the Dismal Swamp. Early on Willie is befriended by a love burnt loner, Stick, whose journey dovetails and intertwines with Willie's own. What makes the book so remarkable to me is how Skinner can keep this hard, violent, racist world in view from the perspective of a seven year old boy, and never flinch, and never cloy. The arc of the story is quite lovely: the world of the story is broad, and complicated, but coheres around the longing of a young boy for connection and forgiveness, and the gentle humanity of an old bell ringer who appears but infrequently in the book, but whose presence, along with Stick's, keeps Willie's world from flying apart.

The story plays out with an utterly fascinating and entertaining writing style

Virginia is a state with a long and diverse history and has produced some diverse characters as well. "The Bells of Moses Henry" is a novel filled with such intriguing, realistically human characters. Set in the University of Virginia, the story plays out with an utterly fascinating and entertaining writing style. For fans of literary fiction or just those searching for a look into the soul of Virginia, "The Bells of Moses Henry" is a top pick.