Mississippi Flyway [Paperback]

Nel Rand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 22, 2007

In the lush literary tradition of such acclaimed Southern writers as Flannery O’Connor and Katherine Anne Porter comes an extraordinary tale of one woman’s search to uncover a past full of haunting family secrets.

Thirty-one-year-old Ellie Moon intends to use the summer of 1967 to regroup after her recent divorce. When her estranged father, Tiny, unexpectedly shows up at her Missouri home and asks her to go with him to New Orleans, Ellie seizes the chance to get away—and to maybe understand why her father abandoned his young family twenty years ago.

Father and daughter follow the Mississippi River flyway from St. Louis to the Big Easy, dodging a crazed Kentucky sheriff hell-bent on catching Tiny and running into an eccentric cast of colorful characters. In the midst of late-night poker games, eating contests, and a near-drowning in the Mississippi River, Ellie’s proximity to her father triggers blurred recollections of being dirty, of washing her hands again and again but never feeling clean. And when the images snap into focus, Ellie remembers the dark secrets she hid from herself since childhood.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nel Rand was born a stone’s throw from the Mississippi River in St. Louis and grew up in Kentucky and southern Illinois. Mississippi Flyway is her first novel, and she is currently working on a collection of short stories. Rand lives near Portland, Oregon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse Star (October 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583482849
• ISBN-13: 978-1583482841
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,739,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

NEL RAND was born a stone's throw from the Mississippi River, in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in southern Illinois and Kentucky. She recently moved from a remote cabin in the woods to the small community of Cornelius, Oregon. Her first novel, Mississippi Flyway, was an award-winning finalist in the 2007 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award. She is working on a collection of short stories and a mystery that goes back to her southern roots.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Start for New Writer, March 14, 2007

By 

S. Freeman "hatz44" (Harrah, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mississippi Flyway (Paperback)

The first two chapters of Mississippi Flyway move slowly, as if both main character and author are struggling to find their inner voices. Ellie's inaction stems from her senses being thrust into `lockdown position.' Rand is just trying too hard, as a new writer must, I suppose. Once the adventure begins, the reader is transported to flyways and byways reminiscent of Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Finn's Mississippi. The pace becomes lively, the plot intriguing. Descriptions are downloaded high-speed: here's a one-room shack beside Kentucky Lake, here's a no-nonsense '67 Chevy pickup sporting twelve pairs of shoes and boots.

From back roads to childhood places revisited, the reader experiences life, and life's questions, alongside Ellie and Tiny. The provincial flavor of Mississippi Flyway reminds me of one of Barbara Kingsolver's shorter novels; the inner journey of Ellie Moon calls to mind The Secret Life of Bees. Mississippi Flyway is a good read, and a good introduction to a promising writer. A solid 3 1/2 stars!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flying with Ellie Moon, January 5, 2006

By 

George Evans (Forest Grove, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mississippi Flyway (Paperback)

Mississippi Flyway is a powerful work from first-time novelist Nel Rand. It begins with young Ellie Moon running to Mass, afraid to be sent to Hell for another of her many infractions. Her Catholic Church serves pastries and issues rules, but for Ellie's corrosive internal pain, it has nothing to offer. Ellie must find her way to wholeness herself. In her case, that means in the company of her father, the gigantic Tiny Moon, who has previously deserted the family after inflicting the psychic pain Ellie carries with her, affecting everything she does. Like the innocent Huck Finn who rafts down the same river, learning as he goes, Ellie makes her own journey, meeting an assortment of characters-gamblers, con men, hustlers, a voodoo queen, and the unforgettable psychopathic sheriff who follows them, driven by a pathological need to revenge himself on Tiny when he finds him. As we follow the journey and the river to New Orleans, we are kept in suspense. Will the sheriff exact his revenge before Ellie can find the strength and wisdom to assuage her pain? The river carries many secrets and will divulge them only to those who are deserving. Readers who make and complete this journey with Ellie will find themselves similarly rewarded

5.0 out of 5 stars River of Return, January 27, 2012

By 

Arletta Dawdy "reader and writer" (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mississippi Flyway (Paperback)

When Ellie's father returns from his long abandonment of her,he convinces her to join him in his meanderings into their past along the wild Mississippi. In a state of emotional turmoil, Ellie joins Tiny Moon, hoping to understand why he left the family so many years ago. As they make their way from St. Louis to New Orleans, Ellie uncovers the many threads of her life and they begin to weave together, some with great pain. Along the way, Tiny foils a sheriff at his own con, wins his wrath and sets Tiny and Ellie on the run. Rand is a poet in prose. Her writing punctuates the raw emotions, amazing adventures and ultimate outcome of the journey. She brings her characters to vivid life with word choices that build on one another. Rand is a recent Willa finalist for her second publication: THE BURNING JACKET. I believe MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY is also deserving of honors.