World Made of Fire (Paperback)

by Mark Childress (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In rural Alabama, in the decades before World War I, a coming of age can happen in many different, disturbing, and delightful ways. "That rarest of finds, an unsentimental coming-of-age story (that is) also an engrossing mystery".--"San Francisco Chronicle".

From the Inside Flap
"The ambivalence of fire--as evocation of glowing love and furious destruction--permeates this stunning first novel by Mark Childress, a young Southern writer who gives fresh expression to his region's literary preoccupations. A World Made of Fire is set in rural Alabama in the decades before World War I . . . Childress has created a wholly believable world. The landscapes are forceful and the characters deeply felt. . . . A World Made of Fire probes varieties of tenderness and love, principally from the viewpoint of [a] young girl, Estelle Bates, whose literary forebears include Lena Grove in Faulkner's Light in August. . . .Childress dramatically traces her course, keeping the violent and the tender elements in a tense, remarkably effective balance. . . . Reading it is rather like staring for a good long while into the coals of a fire; in that concentration of energy, many things can be learned."
--Newsday

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Product Details

• Paperback: 283 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Ballantine Books Trade pbk. ed edition (April 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345419049
• ISBN-13: 978-0345419040
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,204,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Never Put It Down, January 27, 2009

By	obsessive reader (PA) - See all my reviews

Riveting, I couldn't put this book down. Wonderful historical setting and a very dark look at rural america. What makes this so scary is it is completely believable. The characters could be sitting in the room with you. Fast paced. At times it does slip into language of that time which is difficult for some but flows nicely with the tone of the book. One of my favorite reads this year.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this one!, November 10, 2008

By	S. Suire (Baton Rouge, LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A World Made of Fire (Paperback)

Well, I was warned that this one would not be as comedic as other Mark Childress novels, but I still found myself giggling quite often. You can not help but fall in love with Stella, who manages to always stay positive and keep family, however messed up it is, above all else. The relationship between Stella and Jacko (yes, weird old Uncle Jacko from One Mississippi!) was so touching and their discourse flat out cracked me up. I'm always ready to read more of Mark Childress, and this early novel of his was no let down!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps my all-time favorite novel, May 14, 2008

By	George T. Wilson (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am thrilled to find this book is again readily available since it is one of my favorite gifts to new friends. If you're a fan of Southern Gothic, you will fall into the world of Jacko and his associated characters like a mayfly into sorghum molasses. Childress's ability to focus the reader upon the tiniest detail and then expand the vision, in only a few sentences, to encompass the universe is mind-blowing. Read this book. It's unique, compelling, challenging and moving. You will be so glad you did.