Overview
Disguised by a name she found on a tombstone and accompanying a Vietnam vet she met in a graveyard, an unconventional young snake-handler who talks to the dead returns to the ghosts of her childhood home in 1967 Arkansas …
Fans of Delia Owens, Barbara Kingsolver, Kelly Mustian, and Quinn Connor will be captivated by this haunting Southern debut about found family, folk magic, the long shadow of trauma, the salvation of human connection, and the transcendent beauty of nature.
Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes. In her travels, she’s wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now for the first time in a decade, she’s allowed her winding path to bring her to the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse, a place hallowed in her memory.
She intends only to visit briefly—to pay respects to her buried loved ones and leave. But a chance meeting with a haunted young Vietnam vet reconnects her with the remnants of a family she thought long gone, and their union becomes a catalyst for change and salvation. An abused woman and her daughters develop the courage to fight back, a ghost finds the path away from life, and a sanctimonious predator becomes the prey. In the process, Genevieve must choose between her longing for meaningful connection after years as an outsider and her equally excruciating impulse to run.
Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind, the power of names, and the ties that bind. It is both harrowing and triumphant, a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry.
Review
Genevieve Charbonneau has wandered throughout the South, escaping a mental hospital in Alabama, working for a Louisiana circus, and dancing at a hoochy-kootch in Texas. Now she is visiting the site of her grandmother’s Arkansas farmhouse. She runs into a haunted young Vietnam vet and reconnects her with the remnants of a family. However, she soon discovers she may have to make a decision to run or fight!
Y’all, this story made me mad, sad, and yes, murderous! Trust me when I say I wanted to kill the father/preacher/abuser! The control this man had on his family…
To say this story is going to stay with me for a while is an understatement. And the way the author weaves in ghosts is brilliant. And yes there are snakes…not my favorite. But in true southern, religious fashion, this is a brilliant addition as well. Just makes the story more creepy, compelling and authentic!
There are quite a few characters, each with their own issue, and the narrators, Zura Johnson, Matt Godfrey, and Laura Jennings, are OUTSTANDING!
Need a haunting story which will have you gasping for air…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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