The Lost Saints of Tennessee: A Novel [Hardcover]

Amy Franklin-Willis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2012

With enormous heart and dazzling agility, Amy Franklin-Willis expertly mines the fault lines in one Southern working-class family. Driven by the soulful voices of forty-two-year-old Ezekiel Cooper and his mother, Lillian, The Lost Saints of Tennessee journeys from the 1940s to 1980s as it follows Zeke’s evolution from anointed son, to honorable sibling, to unhinged middle-aged man.

After Zeke loses his twin brother in a mysterious drowning and his wife to divorce, only ghosts remain in his hometown of Clayton, Tennessee. Zeke makes the decision to leave town in a final attempt to escape his pain, throwing his two treasured possessions—a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his dead brother’s ancient dog—into his truck, and heads east. He leaves behind two young daughters and his estranged mother, who reveals her own conflicting view of the Cooper family story in a vulnerable but spirited voice stricken by guilt over old sins and clinging to the hope that her family isn’t beyond repair.

When Zeke finds refuge with cousins in Virginia horse country, divine acts in the form of severe weather, illness, and a new romance collide, leading Zeke to a crossroads where he must decide the fate of his family.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Pitch-perfect . . . In her powerful debut, Franklin-Willis expertly crafts a Southern novel that stands with genre classics like The Prince of Tides and Bastard Out of Carolina. . . . A measured, slow-burning book, with complex, compelling characters and secrets that reveal themselves slowly. A beautiful novel from a talented new author, The Lost Saints of Tennessee proves that in great literature, as in life, we must always expect the unexpected." —Bookpage

"Compelling . . . It is the natural voices of Franklin-Willis's characters and the Southern setting that carry this novel. . . . The author's honest prose rises from the heart. . . . Leaves the reader rooting for the characters until the novel's last page."—The Boston Globe

"Sensitively told."—The New York Times

"Anyone who’s ever left home and regretted it—or, for that matter, stayed home and regretted it—will find much here to savor, as will those whose family ties consist of the kind of cracked emotional currency Zeke and Lillian have exchanged most of their lives. . . . [The Cooper's] interactions are . . . brusque, impatient, angry, down-to-earth, sorrowful—they’re a loving but realistic bunch, their attempts to reach each other crusted over with failure. But they don’t give up. What most embodies this spirit, and anchors this vivid, faithfully drawn family history, is Lillian and Zeke’s 25-year-old estrangement, on one side sadly accepting, on the other, fiercely judgmental—both ready to set the record straight. . . . Though the reader is left to evaluate whose side is more sympathetic, it’s clear that only the two together can make up a whole, one that offers hope — and maybe just a little bit of sainthood after all."—Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Skillfully chronicles the misadventures of a poor small-town Tennessee family . . . Written in homespun but accomplished prose . . . An impressive first novel."—Star-Tribune (Minneapolis)

"Poignant . . . Franklin-Willis plumbs the depths of family dynamics, compassionately depicting her characters as they struggle with situations over which they have no control." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Franklin-Willis's well-rendered debut charms."—Publishers Weekly

"Rich in spot-on references: readers will taste the cornbread, shiver at the snow on the mountaintops, and be warmed by the Cooper family's love and loyalty through good times and bad."—Shelf Awareness

“The gifted novelist, Amy Franklin-Willis, has written a riveting, hardscrabble book on the rough, hardscrabble south, which has rarely been written about with such grace and compassion. It reminded me of the time I read Dorothy Allison’s classic, Bastard out of Carolina.”—Pat Conroy

“The Lost Saints of Tennessee is a joy—a wonderful, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting story about the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood and the human will to survive. I was deeply moved by it and equally impressed.”—Elizabeth George

“Franklin-Willis has grace on the page.”–Dorothy Allison

“Amy Franklin-Willis’s characters speak with graceful authenticity. The Lost Saints of Tennessee moves from sadness to understanding, through a landscape full of small mysteries and large truths. Franklin-Willis proves herself a writer of promise and talent.”—Mark Childress

“Franklin-Willis has endless compassion for her working-class southern characters. . . . [An] uplifting story of one man’s attempt to make a better life for himself and his family.”—Booklist

“I was in love with The Lost Saints of Tennessee all the way through. Every page. It was the most satisfying book I’ve read in a long time.”—Catherine Ryan Hyde

“In her splendid debut novel, The Lost Saints of Tennessee, Amy Franklin-Willis delivers a tender, lyrical tale about one broken man’s search for forgiveness, healing, and the real meaning of family. Her words ring true on every page and compel us to follow in step as Ezekiel Cooper journeys from the life he has known to the one he so desperately craves.”—Susan Gregg Gilmore

“Amy Franklin-Willis has given us a first novel full of great love, pathos, and change. A rich and compelling tale of a large family and the complexities of the human spirit, you will not want to put The Lost Saints of Tennessee down. It is a completely satisfying read.”—Jeanne Ray

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; First Edition edition (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802120059
• ISBN-13: 978-0802120052
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An eighth-generation Southerner, I was born in Birmingham, Alabama. I received an Emerging Writer Grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation in 2007 to complete The Lost Saints of Tennessee, a novel inspired by stories of my father's childhood in Pocahontas, Tennessee. I currently live on the West Coast with my family.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "Unhappy Families are Unhappy..." January 3, 2012

By James J. Kane VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"You running away from something?"
Moses Washington to Ezekiel Cooper in The Lost Saints of Tennessee

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Leo Tolstoy in Anna Karenina

Set in southwestern Tennessee and the countryside around Charlottesville, Virginia, Amy Franklin-Willis' soon-to-be-released novel The Lost Saints of Tennessee (Atlantic Monthly Press) is a story about running away from something...and running to something and even... someone. The main character of the story, a forty-two year old man named Ezekiel Cooper, is a man who is running from tragic loss of a brother and a marriage; a mother who betrayed her family and who is dying; and the pain and confusion of a life that has not turned out the way he, and others, had hoped it would.

Zeke, and his family's, story of loss, betrayal, pain, hope rekindled, unresolved conflict, and second chances is sketched out by Willis in a tight but very matter-of-fact first person narrative as the reader is walked, mainly by Zeke but also his dying mother, Lillian, through 40 years of family history and secrets through flashbacks. The result is a tale that will grab the reader's heart as s/he responds with both high regard for and profound frustration with Zeke and his choices. And along side the theme of running away; of pain; of deep grief; there is the theme of forgiveness - and the choice whether to forgive or not.

I find Franklin-Willis' characters to be human in all of their foibles and failings and yet also in their aspirations to break out of their (often) self imposed limits due to their adolescent choices, addictive habits, the cultural of deference to parental wishes (for the most part), and the debilitating effects of their secrets (and sins). They truly are "lost saints."

What I like about this novel is Franklin-Willis, an eighth generation southerner, has captured in a simple way, the deeply spiritual aspect of small town rural south while juxtaposing, in a kind and honest way, the deeply human aspect of the characters and the tensions between the two. Faith, in a God who is very personal to them, is woven through the story and is confirmed, I think in the second chances given to Zeke by Zeke's ex-wife, his Virginia girlfriend, his oldest daughter, and even Zeke himself.

I give this novel five stars and found it worth the time to read.

Disclosure: I received an uncorrected proof of this book via the Amazon Vine program in exchange for review of it. I was not required to write a positive review.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lost And Found Family February 5, 2012

By Jeanette TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

When the word gets out, this book is going to find an enthusiastic following among fans of Southern domestic fiction. It follows the fortunes and misfortunes of the Cooper family from the 1940s through 1985. The 1985 sections are told in the present tense.

The story opens in 1985 with Zeke Cooper, age 42, leaving his Tennessee hometown with the intention of committing suicide. He blames himself for the death of his twin brother Carter 10 years ago, and for the subsequent divorce from his wife Jackie. Instead of killing himself, he finds a haven with relatives in Virginia. This gives him the distance he needs to reflect on his mistakes and get some perspective on his family and its history.

Zeke narrates the story, with a brief section mid-book giving his mother Lillian a chance to tell her story. The family has seen more than its share of tragedy, sometimes self-inflicted and sometimes just bad luck. Teen pregnancies, infidelities, financial setbacks, substance abuse, deaths, divorces, and disease have taken their toll over the years.

Through Zeke's eyes we see his lifelong devotion to Carter, his twin whose brain was damaged by a childhood illness. We also see Zeke's stubborn refusal to forgive his mother for something she did 25 years ago -- something many of us might have done in her situation. When she faces a health crisis, Zeke must decide if he has punished her long enough.

Amy Franklin-Willis has put her all into the crafting of her first novel. Her prose flows beautifully and never gets bogged down. She knows her characters and has carefully worked out the complexities in their relationships.

More dramatic tension and less predictability would have made this a stronger, more convincing story for me. For all the heartache and hardship the characters suffer, the resolutions come a bit too smoothly. Once I got into the rhythm of the story, I could begin to guess way ahead of time what decisions the characters would make and how each situation would play out.

Were I a Southerner, I probably would have given the book four stars. It will appeal to readers who enjoy family dramas with a small-town Southern flair.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Twins March 3, 2012

By Mary E. Sibley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Jackie is Ezekiel Cooper's ex-wife. It is a high school reunion. Jackie's new husband's name is Curtis. Zeke's brother Carter is dead. He suffered death by drowning ten years earlier. Jackie claims that Zeke doesn't understand that he's not special.

Carter and Ezekiel were twins. Zeke resents his mother for not paying attention to Carter when he was alive. Buying enough snacks to leave town with his dog, someone tells Zeke he just needs a new beginning. The man talking to Zeke lost two children. His brother Carter had a real home with Zeke and Jackie. Zeke's mother felt the boys, not the girls, had a chance to get out of Clayton. When he was two, Carter nearly died of the measles. Later Zeke was told he was different from Carter.

Zeke learns relatives in Virginia he hasn't seen for more than twenty-five years have problems of their own. Zeke spends an impromptu evening with Elle Cummings, a neighbor of his Virginia relatives, when a tornado challenges the smooth functioning of his cousin's farm.

The setting for the book is regional, the talk seems to be standard English on the page, but the syntax is telling. The concerns of the characters include religion and family and community functioning, typical regional concerns. At a point in the book the narrative shifts from Zeke to his mother. She had wanted to be singer, but succumbed to the blandishments of Carter Cooper Sr. She was only fifteen when she became pregnant with her first child, Violet. Presently the mother, Lillian, is esconced at the Preserve Nursing Home.

The world portrayed in the book is one of moonshine, revenuers, and violence, at times. As in any story, resentments and misunderstandings pepper the plot. Southern etiquette has a role, too, preventing the characters through their diffidence, from understanding the emotional forces driving them forward.

The author is described as an emerging writer on the book jacket. The excellence of this book, its charm, its wisdom, negate the idea that here is anything about this undertaking that indicates it is the work of a neophyte. The author is clearly someone to watch.