Drifting South [Paperback]

Charles Davis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A teen imprisoned in 1959 for crimes he didn't commit finds bittersweet justice more than 20 years later in Davis's second Southern gothic (after Angel's Rest). Benjamin Purdue grew up the son of a prostitute in Shady Hollow, a remote Blue Ridge Mountains outlaw settlement. He had hope in the form of Amanda Lynn Jennings, a pretty girl with a dangerous secret, but that, like everything else, withers after he shoots a man in self-defense and gets sent to prison for it. In 1980, when Ben gets out of prison, he heads home and discovers the town he remembers has been replaced by a ritzy housing development. Only the cemetery remains with tombstones noting his family members' deaths. Craving answers and longing to find Amanda, he embarks on a harrowing journey of self-discovery. Davis's depiction of Ben's quest to recoup the life stolen from him is enhanced by a gritty first-person narration that's hypnotic and haunting as Ben learns you can't fence sunshine. (Dec.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Mira; Original edition (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778325423
• ISBN-13: 978-0778325420
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Story Teller, January 28, 2009

By 

B T "Nothing's Up!" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drifting South (Paperback)

Charles Davis is definitely a good story teller. He is fantastic with words and paints a picture of the story very well; from the beginning describing Benjamin Purdue's birth, to the end where Davis finalizes Benjamin's story. The characters were captivating and the author did a good job making the characters colorful and realistic. The descriptions made me feel like it would be fun to meat the characters and visit the town of Shady.

Although Davis is creative with his words and story line, I only gave it 3 stars for a few reasons. One main reason is that I felt like the author left some things in the story unresolved. I won't go into detail as I don't want to give away those story lines but I would like to emphasize that they left me wondering if the author forgot to address some things later.

The other reason for the 3-stars is the part where Benjamin met the God named Helen. The whole story line of that event seemed like such a huge derailment from the theme of the story that it took me off guard. That being said, it seemed like the author had more of an agenda to put forth than a reason for this departure because there was no moral to that part of the story. Furthermore, I found it odd that Benjamin spent so much time reading the Bible and out of no where the God he meets is named Helen!? After so much time reading the Bible, wouldn't Benjamin have questioned the dream based on the fact that his dream gave God a gender and an earthly name?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars starts off a bit slow, but....., March 23, 2009

By 

J. Frank - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drifting South (Paperback)

At first I wasn't quite sure if I would like this book. I thought it started out quite slow. The author writes a lengthy description on the early life of the main character, Benjamin Perdue. So if you pick up this book...don't put it down. Once the storyline gets going, you will be surprised in the twists and turns. It makes for a good, interesting read. I do have to agree, though, with the previous reviewer. There were a couple of things that he left hanging that I still wonder about. I hate when that happens.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Moving, December 10, 2008

By 

VAsportsmanNC "Trippster" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drifting South (Paperback)

I don't read very often happen to find this book waiting on a plane fell in love never set it down. Very moving in a sense that good always follows evil. MUST READ