In Majors's (
Wonderdog) bloated, frenetic third novel, two young East Tennessee brothers born into extreme wealth struggle to keep their secrets under wraps. J.T. Cole, a fast-driving banker, wants to put Glennville, Tenn., on the map by having the city host a world expo, while his younger and more sophisticated banker brother, Roland, has his heart set on running for the coveted governorship. A successful fairground event nets the brothers some serious cash, much to the chagrin of investigators keeping a close eye on the bankers' shady loan practices. For the duration of the novel, both men are consistently unlikable, cheating on their sassy, perceptive, fedup wives and pushing their weight around their respective territories. By the time J.T.'s wife, Corrine, rightfully throws him out, federal agents descend on the thieving bankers, and a plane disaster shakes everyone up, readers will be too exhausted to care. This sprawling effort is a jumble of excessive exposition and sentence fragments that could have been a lively, spirited tale of greed corrupting absolutely.
(Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
The Millionaires, with its wry, sophisticated narrative voice, a voice in full control, is the best, most fully accomplished new novel I have read in perhaps three years. . . . It is serious business and it is very good. (
Tuscaloosa News )
This expansive, smoothly flowing novel offers a rich look at family dynamics and overweening ambition. (
Booklist )
Major's depiction of a Tennessee evening is reminiscent of James Agee's hypnotic
Knoxville: Summer of 1915. (
The New York Times )
Since the new rich often get short shrift in fiction. . . Mr. Majors's approach is actually refreshing . . . Giving us profligate bankers who borrow badly,
The Millionaires is a timely work. (
The Wall Street Journal )
Majors pairs a cast of likable characters with a strong setting, elements that set this novel apart. (
Library Journal )
[There are] flashes of absolutely brilliant prose. . . This is a story of the New South, and of the politics, the financial shenanigans, and the competitive mind games that bring wealth and power to a handful of determined men. [Majors's] description of the beautiful Appalachian mountains is a plus. (
The Midwest Book Review )
Remarkable and very timely...the story of two small-town brothers who rise to dangerous big-city heights is as big and ambitious as the physical book itself. (
Bookpage )
It's the kind of book that is both entertaining and thought-provoking and there are no loose ends, no unfinished plot lines. It has a clear message and focus. It's literature, and serious readers will want to tackle it. (
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) )
(A) deftly rendered look at the modern South and contemporary America... Scenes that require it burst at the seams with Majors's poetry. (
Anniston Star )
An engrossing story about ambition and integrity...Majors deserves ample applause for his storytelling and character-drawing skills. (
Raleigh News and Observer )
A sprawling, smart, fast-moving insider novel by author Inman Majors, who knows his way around politics, Tennessee Style. (
Memphis Magazine )
(A) fine example of what happens when the Old South meets the New South. (
Richmond Times Dispatch )
(A) deeply Southern tale of power and corruption. (
Birmingham Magazine )
A stirring story. ...
The Millionaires reads like today's headlines, complete with a dynamic back story. (
Roanoke Times )
Like the best of books,
The Millionaires grants its subjects their humanity, and leaves you pondering the imponderable. (
OpEd News )
Inman Majors has wandered into a wild territory previously wholly owned by Robert Penn Warren and established squatters' rights. (Michael Lewis, author of
Moneyball and
The Blind Side )
A knowing social novel, ruthlessly alive. Inman Majors may know everything. (Mark Costello, author of
Big If )
Majors's prose often kicks your head back in outright admiration. What a hell of a writer. (Brad Watson, author of
The Heaven of Mercury )
The Millionaires is a novel of the New South, that near-mythical place where a good old boy—to his astonishment—can grow money more readily than tobacco leaves. (
Charlotte Observer )
