Land Where My Fathers Died [Hardcover]

Joe Edd Morris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2002

Joe Edd Morris takes us back to 1954 in his debut novel Land Where My Fathers Died, the story of a young man's search for identity, love and whatever remaining kin he may have in a South that is fast becoming so much folklore.

Incarcerated six years in a Mississippi state penal farm for a crime he didn't commit, Jo Shelby Ferguson is released a few weeks after a car accident has taken what he thinks to be the last members of his family. The only earthly possession left to him is a trunk. Among the family heirlooms stored there, Jo Shelby finds a cache of old letters written by his great-great-grandmother. A story unfolds in the chronologically arranged missives: the flight to Mexico with General Jo Shelby of Missouri following the collapse of the Confederacy, countless trials and tribulations, the ineluctable confrontation with the Juaristas.

With only forty dollars in his pocket, an old Navy Colt, his grandfather's Barlow knife, and the name Hacienda Michopa in his great-great-grandmother's abrupt last letter, Jo Shelby strikes out for Mexico, hitchhiking by various conveyances, having scrapes with the crooked arm of the law, meeting the people, and sleeping wherever he finds himself, as he follows the route of his namesake in search of the only family that he hopes against hope still remains.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A young man leaves his Mississippi home to search for his family's legacy in 1950s Mexico in Morris's powerful but derivative debut novel, which echoes Cormac McCarthy's The Crossing in both style and story line. After serving six years for a murder he didn't commit, Jo Shelby Ferguson returns to the plantation town where he used to live and where he has a job offer from the plantation owner as well as romantic opportunity with the man's daughter. But when he discovers a collection of letters written by his great-great-grandmother, chronicling the Mexican adventures of his namesake, a 19th-century general whose "new little south" colony was destroyed by the Juaristas in 1866, he decides to journey to Mexico to find the hacienda that the letters promised would be the family's refuge. He's imprisoned again, though, when the Mexican police discover him carrying a family artifact, an ancient ball-and-powder gun that doesn't even fire. Ferguson's battle to outlast the brutal Mexican prison authorities is a familiar story, but he receives some intriguing assistance from a fellow inmate named Ramon Garcia, a former professor and landowner who helps arrange his freedom and then steers him toward a meeting with Garcia's mother and his beautiful daughter, both of whom help Ferguson in his quest. That quest makes for a truly memorable literary journey, with Morris combining a strong plot with first-rate characters and some elegiac writing about the link between families, the land and its history. The parallels to McCarthy are so noticeable that they rob the book of its uniqueness, but Morris's obvious talent shines through from start to finish.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

First novelist Morris, a Mississippi pastor-turned-psychologist who also writes poetry and short stories, tells a poignant tale of a young man's search for identity. In 1954, Jo Shelby Ferguson is released from a Mississippi prison after a six-year incarceration during which his parents and grandfather died, leaving him a trunk filled with family memorabilia. Taking from the trunk only pictures, letters sent by his great-great-grandmother from Mexico, and an antique Navy Colt, Jo Shelby strikes out for Mexico in search of the family he has never met. The journey is a patchwork of good times and bad, including travels through idyllic country and touching stories of good deeds and friendships, as well as a month in a Mexican jail and many encounters with crooked law officers and petty criminals. This beautifully upbeat and enduring novel is recommended for all ages, especially in areas with large Hispanic populations. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Context Books (May 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189395627X
• ISBN-13: 978-1893956278
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,406,374 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book which reads like a classic, May 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Land Where My Fathers Died (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! WHAT A STORY!, July 4, 2002

By 

John W. Ames (Sarasota, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Land Where My Fathers Died (Hardcover)

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?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Memorable Saga, June 11, 2002

By 

Jerry W. Griffith (Merced, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Land Where My Fathers Died (Hardcover)

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.