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Brambleman

by Jonathan Grant (Goodreads Author)

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 39 ratings · 22 reviews

Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man's book about a horrific crime that's gone unpunished for decades. What Charlie inherits is an unwieldy manuscript about the mob-driven expulsion of more than 1,000 blacks from Forsyth County, Georgia in 1912. During the course of his...more

Paperback, 462 pages

Published May 14th 2012 by Thornbriar Press (first published February 5th 2012)

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Sep 26, 2012 Maria Miaoulis rated it 5 of 5 stars

The story is powerful and gripping, and even more so when the reader learns it was inspired by real-life events. Grant deserves much credit for bringing the past to life without regurgitating facts and boring the audience in the process. Although a bit lengthy, he keeps the suspense building throughout the entire book. There’s no way to guess how it will end since you never know what each turn of the page will bring. The main character’s plight is just a never-ending series of misfortunate event...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Melinda Le Baron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adoption, adventure, angels-demons-god, anti-social, black-humor, crime, dancing, death, different-but-good, dramatic, drugs, emotional, evil, happily-ever-after, heavy-satire, historical, insane, medical, netgalley, mystery, murder, moral, police-agencies, prophetical, rape, religious, society, subversive, thriller, twisty-turny-plot, violent

Brambleman is a book with a lot of imagination, a lot of history and a lot of thought put into it. The author has previously written factual historic texts regarding racism in the South, This is version of prose, a poor beleaguered white newspaper editor and writer, who marries into the absolute wrong family, and the events that transpire because of it. They live in the Atlanta George of today, but to God, time doesn't matter at all. Read more and find out what I mean.

PLOT: It is now present day...more Brambleman is a book with a lot of imagination, a lot of history and a lot of thought put into it. The author has previously written factual historic texts regarding racism in the South, This is version of prose, a poor beleaguered white newspaper editor and writer, who marries into the absolute wrong family, and the events that transpire because of it. They live in the Atlanta George of today, but to God, time doesn't matter at all. Read more and find out what I mean.

PLOT: It is now present day in Forsythe County, a basically all white, upscale, area in Gergia, which has quite a history. In 1912, a crime occurred, and all the African Americans were run out of the county by a mob of white people. That forty acres and a mule that was given to African American after slavery, well that land was passed down to their descendents who proudly worked the land. In this book, it is the land that is in question, as the biggest scam in history was perpetrated in Forsythe County, and Charlie Sherman, through Divine Intervention, is the man with the job to not only rat out the County, but rat out his in-laws, to make things right. First, he must finish a dead man's book about the Flight from Forsythe, but will he live to finish the book and get it on shelves, with all the varmints (his inlaws) on his trail, as they try to stop him with shotguns, the law, beatings, and monster trucks not to mention their use of the press in their need to shut him up. Will the book see the light of day? He has God on his side, but if he fails there are some disastrous consequences, so Charlie keeps writing no matter what - his life depends on it. But that is only the beginning of Charlie's trouble. There is so much more... The plot in this book is imaginative, tightly executed, with many different story arcs all under a single over-arching theme. It was very well done. For plot, I give this book, a 9/10.

CHARACTERIZATION: Charlie is the narrator throughout the entire book, so there are no transitions – this is his story, plain and simple. It would have had less power if it had changed character POV instead of being written the was it was. Charlie is a likeable guy, doing the best he can in a world gone suddenly mad – trying to fumble through and do the right thing, even though he has curve balls coming at him from all directions. Assassination attempts become blasé after a while. As a character, I liked him. He helped people, even though it cost him personally. Other people in the book were characterized well too, Minnie Doe, a proud, retired school teacher, living in a rough part of Atlanta – trying to raise her grandson, who was getting into gangs, but who she wanted in school. She was a strong woman, who lived a hard working life. She had pride in what she had accomplished, and took care of her own, or as much as they would let her. Another character that stands out is Redeemer Wilson, a radical reformer for racial injustice, he had been arrested so many times for marches against racism that the number was close to 200. He was elderly, yet drove a red Cadillac at high speed, and had a Hunger House where he fed the poor and homeless with donations from anyone that cared When the press would ask about his past in interviews, he would blow them off, saying “We are here to feed these good people and to give until it hurts on this holiday, so roll up your sleeves and help, or get out of here.” He was not a saint, but did good things for people, and that's what counts. .Everyone was characterized in this novel, even the ladies in the various coffee shops where Charlie wrote. For characterization, I give this novel a 9/10.

IMAGERY; The imagery in this book is most often violent, though there are some wonderful images of loving family and home, that give Charlie hope. A lot of the images are disturbing, carjackings, car crashes, lynchings, beatings, shootings, burnings, blood, violence of all sorts. There is one rape that is nor described at all, just its prelude. That was disturbing enough. Grant does an eerie job of putting images of violence and their aftermath into your head. My favorite images are of Charlie with his children, when they fall asleep on him, after reading a story. Their smell, their hair, their skin, all make him feel the love he has for them, and it overwhelms him, making him so happy, that he doesn't move until they wake the next morning. Being a parent, I completely understand that feeling. You could be in a pretzel shape, and you would still stay there with your children, as long as it took for them to awaken. One of my other favorite images is when Kathleen, the wife of the author, Talton of Flight from Forsythe, gets in a fight with her daughter Angela, who wants to stop the book, but that's against God's plan, so Kathleen smites her with boils on her face, as she has been given the Heavenly power of smiting. One by one they appear on Angela's face, as the two women argue. Big and ugly boils - they pop out, one here, pop, one there, pop, until her entire face is covered. She finally looks into a mirror and screams, then runs out the front door. “That will teach her to mess with me,” says Kathleen, an elderly woman, who didn't like her daughter before, and likes her less now that she is trying to stop Talton's book from coming out. The images in this book illustrate how messed up real humans are; a mixed bag of conflicting emotions and drives. When threatened, like the images of the varmints, they are full of life's little ironies and completely classic, and I'll leave you to discover those images on your own. Hysterically funny and completely over the top, but probably accurate. For imagery, I give this novel, a 9/10.

THE GORE SCORE: This novel rated pretty high on the Gore Score. There was a contract signed in blood that filled up a container that boiled when the Divine Power was unhappy, the protagonist was shot at with a shotgun four times, and hit twice, once rather badly in the face. Once the shooter missed and hit a crow. Once the shooter missed and shot himself, killing himself instantly. The one time Charlie did get shot in the face, the shooter died in a car accident and his body burned. Charlie's van was blown up in an attempted assassination attempt while Charlie was close by, which caused him to be slammed by a dumpster. Charlie was later beaten by a gang of thugs with boards with nails in them and chains and other implements, where he was seriously injured – losing an eye and breaking bones along with more scars. Charlie was also beaten by law enforcement of different types at different times in the name of holding him for 72 hours. John Riggin's detailed death and lynching scene from 1937 is retold by a kid – now an elderly man, who was hiding behind a bush and watched it that day on a trail by the river. A picture was taken of his blackened and burned corpse, hanging from a tree, surrounded by a mob of grinning poor white men from Forsythe. It is a parody of justice, not to mention disgusting all by itself. For a Gore Score, I give this novel an 8/10.

THE DIALOGUE: The dialogue in this book was incredibly well done. Grant had to do not only basic English, but varmint too, and uneducated as well as educated African American early 1900s English, which was not over done. He also had to do modern gansta. Varmint was the funniest of all. Even though these people were Charlie's in-laws, the way they spoke was hilarious. I don't know whether it is accurate or not, but it is funny and added humor to the story. The fact that they went on a television show very much like Jerry Springer, was so perfect, I had to stop ROTFLMAO and catch my breath before I could read some more. What a perfect match. When Shirlene arrived to even the score, we had a battle royale on our hands. Her dialogue was perfect to combat the varmints, with anti-varmint bombshells. Boom! Boom! Boom! All direct hits. When the varmints unwittingly confirmed what she said, there was mayhem on set. WOW! What could be better than varmint war, on White Trash TV? I ask you, can you think of anything more demeaning and degrading then discussing deep personal issues like incest, mutant children, rape, and child endangerment in front of millions of people LIVE on the AIR and then getting into a fist fight about it? I can think of worse things, but, they are unmentionable in polite company, so I won't say anything about them. For dialogue, I give this novel, a 9/10.

THE PACING: This book had a constant flow throughout it that kept you turning the pages. When Flight from Forsythe was completed, you thought the novel would be completed, but you were wrong, you were only half way done. Charlie had much more to do. He had misunderstood his contract, and had to get to work on something else, so you had half a book left to get the rest done. The second half of the book went as fast as the first half. There were as many shootings, beatings, and threats, if not more as the first. He continues to write, and delve into the history of Forsythe, but into a particular bit of history that pertains to the varmints, which means he is in a lot of trouble with the in-laws when this particular book comes out. The pacing in the entire novel is smooth and quick, with no transitions, it makes it easy to move from chapter to chapter. This was definitely a page turner, while we follow Charlie, who fumbles from one disaster to another trying to help people the best way he knows how, even though his circumstances are diminished, he still helps others. As a narrator, Charlie, is a good source of information, a person of some honor, trying to be an ascetic, he lives to write until his books are complete and then hides out until the fallout from his books are over. For pacing, I give the novel, a 9/10.

THE ENDING: The ending of the book was a surprise to say the least. The surprise started about two thirds of the way through the book, when Charlie did something unexpected, but very generous. This deed had repercussions, and was later described as his “Kyptonite” by a Divine agent. He renegotiated his deal, which meant more people lived, including him. The ending was a rather jaw drop moment, but if you sit and think about it, it is what his life prepared him for. It was just an unusual way for Charlie to become what he eventually became. Of course, he can't tell anyone, that would be against the rules. As the MARTA bus pulled up in front of his house to take him to his new destination, I was amazed at the other people on the bus and other physical condition, but then it all made sense. Empathy is a powerful emotion. You need it to help people who have hit hard times, and if you haven't been there yourself, how can you relate? The ending was a nice touch after all the violence, upset and death that the book had in it. The various story arcs closed out nicely, and the over-arching theme was taken care of quite well. Nobody came out unscathed, but that's the way that life works. For ending, I give this book a 10/10.

THE UPSHOT: Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely. I abhor violence, but I believe that the violence in this book was needed to illustrate the points that the author was trying to make, as well as to make the historical points necessary from the past to show how badly a small percentage of people behaved, and why they did what they did. There is no excusing their actions. What they did was horrific. To protect their ill-gotten gains, even almost a century later, these people would go to any lengths to keep their actions quiet – including murder. This book was a wild ride through history as well as a wild ride through the present where varmints still reside. It is scary to think that people like this still exist in this day and age. I recommend this book to people who love historical fiction, as well as people who love action/adventure, mystery, books about books, about African American History, books about conspiracies, good human interest stories and a thumping good read. The final score for this novel is a 55/60, a mid 5 stars, and well deserved. (less)

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May 11, 2012 Krista (CubicleBlindness Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This author really puts his main character through a lot in this story. Those are really the best type fo reads, you really don't know how they are going to make it out ok.
Charlie is down on his luck being called a failure in life by his wife and kicked out of the house. A man by the name of Trouble-literally, offers him a deal that sounds too good to be true, finish a book that was left unfinished by a professor.
As Charlie delves deeper into the events that occurred in the book, he focuses on...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4, author-chain, to-review, kindle

Charlie a stay home Dad and ‘wanna’ be writer finds himself out on his ear after his wife discovers pornographic images on his computer. Wandering around with nowhere to go and feeling depressed Charlie finds himself on a bridge contemplating suicide. In an ‘It’s a Wonderful life’ moment a disturbance saves him from himself, when he goes to investigate he finds a person engulfed in flames. The burning man turns out to be ‘Trouble’ a strange character who says he is ‘here to help’. Trouble introd...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Jmgj2012 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jonathan Grant's Brambleman grabbed my attention before I opened the book. I live in Atlanta, so when I discovered that the novel included some not-so-pretty history of Forsyth County, I knew I had to read it. Brambleman took me on a journey that surprised me. Maybe a better description would be a roller coaster adventure – just when I thought the ride was calming down, it would start taking another loop-de-loop.

Charlie Sherman, a struggling writer and stay-at-home dad, gets kicked out of his h...more Jonathan Grant's Brambleman grabbed my attention before I opened the book. I live in Atlanta, so when I discovered that the novel included some not-so-pretty history of Forsyth County, I knew I had to read it. Brambleman took me on a journey that surprised me. Maybe a better description would be a roller coaster adventure – just when I thought the ride was calming down, it would start taking another loop-de-loop.

Charlie Sherman, a struggling writer and stay-at-home dad, gets kicked out of his house. As the newly homeless Charlie, unsure of what lies ahead, waits for coffee in a diner, along comes Trouble. And yes, that's with a capital “T”. Trouble, a character both unpleasant to look at and smell, enters Charlie's life with a BOOM, and everything changes. The changes seem to fall in the “positive” column at first. He's offered a job editing a dead professor's manuscript, Flight from Forsyth, about whites driving blacks from Forsyth County. He's given a place to stay. However, just when things seem to be going well, things start going not-so-well.

Charlie goes on the ride of a lifetime, and I, the reader, held on and rode along. With Charlie, I learned much about crimes against black citizens in Forsyth County – not only back in 1912, but up to 1987 (a year which saw Oprah Winfrey fly down and do a show about the racial tensions at the time). As Charlie gets closer to the truth, his life is endangered and the lives of countless others (the innocent and not-so-innocent) are turned upside down.

While Brambleman is a novel, there is much truth among its pages. I don't want to give away too many details, because it's worth taking the ride yourself. Charlie learns more than he set out to learn, not just about Forsyth County history, but about himself. One sentence from the book's prologue comes to mind: “This time, she asked for vengeance, justice, companionship, completion, and closure.” Indeed, Brambleman deals with all that, and more. Highly recommended.
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Apr 03, 2012 Elizabeth A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

“I’m not from around here, and I’ve been places you’ll never want to go. Unless you’re even stupider than you look.” - Trouble

Charlie Sherman’s been accused of worse things than being stupid. His wife, in fact, kicked him out of the house for being a failure as both a writer and father, though that porn he inadvertently set as the desktop on his computer certainly didn’t help matters.

While at a diner trying to figure out exactly what his next step is Charlie meets a mysterious stranger known onl...more “I’m not from around here, and I’ve been places you’ll never want to go. Unless you’re even stupider than you look.” - Trouble

Charlie Sherman’s been accused of worse things than being stupid. His wife, in fact, kicked him out of the house for being a failure as both a writer and father, though that porn he inadvertently set as the desktop on his computer certainly didn’t help matters.

While at a diner trying to figure out exactly what his next step is Charlie meets a mysterious stranger known only as ‘Trouble.’ Despite that ominous moniker, Trouble actually hooks Charlie up with a job finishing the massive, jumbled manuscript a recently deceased local professor never quite completed. As a bonus, Charlie can also live in the basement of the professor’s widow’s house while working on the project. Life may have handed Charlie lemons, but he’s found a way to make lemonade. Yeah, if only it was that easy.

First there’s the matter of the manuscript’s topic, the horrific events of 1912 in which the whites of Forsyth County, Georgia engaged in intimidation, arson, and lynching to drive the black population from their homes. Much of the resulting “vacant” property was subsequently seized by white families, one parcel of which is now worth nearly $20 million dollars in the highly upscale – and lily white – Forsyth. When in the course of working on the book Charlie discovers the rightful heir to that property things get seriously complicated, with Charlie put in the position of either walking away or opening an enormous can of worms.

There’s also the highly disturbing fact the contract Charlie signed regarding the book project seems to be changing on its own; he doesn’t remember there originally being a clause in there about the project being a success or he would forfeit his life, and he’s damn sure he signed in ink, not blood. What has Charlie gotten himself into?

Like his first novel, Chain Gang Elementary, Jonathan Grant’s highly ambitious and engaging second novel, Brambleman, once again took me somewhere I wasn’t quite expecting. Though the book presents a tremendous amount of historical information about the events of 1912, by constructing the story around the premise Charlie is himself working on a text about the events – a book within the book – it all flows naturally. Indeed, as he did in Chain Gang Elementary Grant demonstrates once again that he is particularly adept at weaving hard-edged sociopolitical topics into the fabric of his fictional narrative without being heavy-handed, never sacrificing his storytelling to “just the facts.”

Brambleman goes far beyond “just the facts” actually, as there is a decidedly supernatural element to the tale, one that becomes more pronounced as the story unfolds. In fact, before you know it Grant has taken what initially appeared to be the simple story of a down on his luck writer and turned it into a reflection on personal spirituality, vengeance, and destiny. Because of the topics it touches on, both fact and fiction, Brambleman is not exactly a “beach read” kind of book. What Brambleman is, however, is an extremely well-written book that will both entertain and inform. And you can’t really ask for more than that now, can you?(less)

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Jan 24, 2013 G.d. Brennan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Imagine Neil Gaiman and Flannery O'Connor collaborating on a story about the legacy of a true-life ethnic cleansing in rural Georgia. Better yet, imagine that story being told by someone with both of those authors' greatest skills--Gaiman's deft and believable blending of the supernatural and the realistic, O'Connor's sharp eye for the South's gritty underbelly--and a wicked sense of humor that easily surpasses either of those authors. Imagine that, and you'll have a chance of picturing "Bramble...more Imagine Neil Gaiman and Flannery O'Connor collaborating on a story about the legacy of a true-life ethnic cleansing in rural Georgia. Better yet, imagine that story being told by someone with both of those authors' greatest skills--Gaiman's deft and believable blending of the supernatural and the realistic, O'Connor's sharp eye for the South's gritty underbelly--and a wicked sense of humor that easily surpasses either of those authors. Imagine that, and you'll have a chance of picturing "Brambleman." (Of course, you probably still won't come close, because Grant's skills are such that this story unfolds unpredictably, with a number of delightful turns of fate that keep the reader guessing, and enthralled.)

The story begins with a struggling author, Charlie Sherman, getting kicked out of his house after his wife caught him behaving like (as he later puts it) "Onan the Barbarian." He ends up living in the basement of a dementia-addled woman, reworking the unpublished manuscript of her late husband, a scholar who'd been exploring the expulsion of African-Americans from Forsyth County, Georgia in 1912. Shades of "Sunset Boulevard" and "Misery," perhaps, but what might have been a self-contained and derivative story arc for a less ambitious author ends up as just the opening of a full, rich and epic work, part history lesson, part satire about race and class in 21st century America, part exploration of the nature of faith and God and good and evil.

I usually hate, hate, HATE books whose protagonist is an author. But Grant did an awesome job with his--he's unafraid to make Charlie look too good or too bad, unafraid to show both the ridiculous fantasies (a hot hookup with the cute coffee shop barista, and maybe a friend of hers as well) and the pathetic realities (attempting to conceal from said barista that one is broke and living in a van) that can plague the undiscovered author. (Hopefully he won't stay that way; there's so much to love about this book that I really hope it finds a wider audience. Describing lynchings and mob justice in Georgia in 1912, for instance, one character observes that "black subjects were lucky if they were considered innocent until proven arrested.") I've reviewed several books by up-and-coming authors that left me dreading the reading, but this one kept me eager for more; I often found myself standing on the "L" platform in the cold Chicago winter, grasping my Kindle in gloved hands and turning pages with my nose so I could finish a chapter. It was just that compelling. And not only is it relentlessly readable, it's probably the best entertainment value you'll find this year. What more can you ask for?(less)

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Jul 01, 2012 Marcy Theobald rated it 5 of 5 stars

I REALLY enjoyed this book. Very much a page-turner. I couldn't wait to read the next chapter, and the next, and the next...

Jonathan Grant’s Brambleman is historical fiction, taking place in Forsyth County in my backyard of Cumming, GA. It was interesting, to say the least, learning about what's happened here in the county I've lived in for almost 15 years. More accurately, I was appalled to learn that Oprah's visit here in the late 80's was the tip of Forsyth's history-making iceberg. Lynching...more I REALLY enjoyed this book. Very much a page-turner. I couldn't wait to read the next chapter, and the next, and the next...

Jonathan Grant’s Brambleman is historical fiction, taking place in Forsyth County in my backyard of Cumming, GA. It was interesting, to say the least, learning about what's happened here in the county I've lived in for almost 15 years. More accurately, I was appalled to learn that Oprah's visit here in the late 80's was the tip of Forsyth's history-making iceberg. Lynching was an acceptable practice here in the early-to-mid 1900's, served by the hands of whites who didn't appreciate the hard working blacks in their community doing jobs better than them, without complaint and for less money. Moreover, they didn't like that blacks owned property, so Forsyth's whites ran them off their lands and out of the county and took over black-owned land as their own.

This is not to say that blacks were completely innocent, but when made a criminal, Forsyth's white residents took it upon themselves to serve justice their way when they could get away with it, which was apparently often and bloody.

Grant interweaves Forsyth’s true history with the fictional story of a man, Charlie, who is newly separated from his wife, whose family resides in Forsyth County on land now (in our decade) worth millions. This novel contains a bit of magic -- think George Bailey and his angel savior in It's A Wonderful Life, but with a much darker slant -- that comes and goes with a character Charlie names Trouble. Trouble helps Charlie find a job and place to live, both with an elderly woman whose late husband wrote a hefty historic digest revealing Forsyth county’s nasty little secrets but died shortly after finishing it and not coincidentally one week after participating in the Forsyth march (on the side of justice) in the late 80's. Charlie's job is to edit and publish the tome, which ends up uncovering lots of nastiness about his backwoods in-laws, ‘the varmints’. And this is just the beginning of our journey.

Grant's Brambleman is a history lesson, an awakening (yes, blacks still have it tough), and a wild ride of a story. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, and if you appreciate endings wrapped up in nice, neat packages, you’ll enjoy it, as well.
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Oct 12, 2012 Bill Thibadeau rated it 4 of 5 stars

Katy and Elizabeth White have written fantastic synopses of this book on Shelfari.com so I fortunately do not need to compete with them (phew).

This book does indeed tackle a difficult historical event of the early 20th century - rampant treatment by whites of blacks as sub-human. The author does an excellent job of bringing people of different backgrounds into a well crafted novel.

Even though the book is long, it is not difficult to stay engrossed. The story, while difficult at times due to sub...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Naomi rated it 1 of 5 stars

**REVISED REVIEW...REVISED REVIEW...REVISED REVIEW**

Read my full review @ http://bit.ly/SNDcjJ

Although, I generally liked this storyline...really liked this storyline, I found that the book was too long. Now, not that I don't regularly read 500+ page books, but normally the story flows. I found that parts of this book was almost written as "fluff" to expand the book and didn't bring any meaning to the storyline.

This book deals with some pretty horrific events frequently in a graphic manner. But...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Kathy Bochonko rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book centers around the racial history of Forsyth County GA, where I have lived for 10 years. A friend recommended it so I bought it mainly due to the historical aspect of the book. Honestly I had no idea the main plot line. It was very interesting to read about some of the horrific things that happened here in the early 1900's but none of that was surprising. What was surprising, however, was the strange storyline that actually really sucks you in. I like it when I am consistently wrong ab...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: pretty much anybody

Recommended to Katy by: Jonathan Grant

Shelves: ebook, librarything-win, net-galley

Book Info: Genre: Literary Fiction Reading Level: Adult

Disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this novel from the author through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review. I later received an offer for it through NetGalley, which I accepted.

Synopsis: Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man's book about a horrific crime that's gone unpunished for decades. Wha...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Linda Bsss rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Wonderful Feel Good Story About Justice That Came After More Than Seventy Years! Charlie Sherman, A Struggling Wanabee Author Was Thrown Into A Seventy Year Old Murder And The Theft Of Several Black Owned Farms Conducted By Racist Men That Were Jealous Of The Farmers In Forsyth County, An All White County As Every Black Man Was Hung Or Beaten And Run Out Of Town. Charlie Was Supernaturally Chosen To Edit A Book More Than Twenty Years After The Author Died. The Tome Wasn't Very Organized And Ma...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Jody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Got this book from LTMG and found it to be one of the better gets from this group. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of it and the delayed determination of the main character to complete his task despite mounting odds against.
I was born in the early 60's and though I wasn't completely aware of it then, I am still stunned thinking back on the amount of discrimination still going on then. I was unaware of the historical happenings that are at the center of this novel but was moved by them.
I...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received this novel from NetGalley.

this novel was hard to get into and incredibly long and detailed. It took a very long time to develop into the great novel it is and that caused it to drag on painfully.

The characters are all self centred and crude, the children being the only ones who are likeable and easy to relate to, especially Romy.

this is a great novel, once you get past the halfway mark. it is clever and evokes questions and shock from the reader. it is alarming how black people were...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because it was about Forsyth County in the early 1900's thru the 1990's. Having moved here from NY, it looked like a good historical fiction read. While it did have a ton of facts regarding the county, there were many (almost too many) other things going on - relationships, supernatural entities, etc. Overall, the story kept me interested enough to at least skim and get it done.

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Jun 02, 2012 Marty rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent but long read about a many who makes a pact with an avenging angel. It was very well written and interesting regarding some history of the Civil Rights movement.

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Apr 21, 2012 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

Fantastic story that will keep you turning pages all day and make you forget about the time passing in front of you. Cant wait to see a film adaptation of this work, since it will make a good and intriguing film. This is a must read.

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Jul 19, 2012 Liza rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another excellent story by Mr. Grant. It took me a while to get through it but it was worth it.

The cast of characters were vast. It was two books in one, which is what it is. By the time Charlie starts the second book, you almost forget there was a first. But it all worked itself out in the end, good or bad, for some.

I know this is probably a bad review but this book was an excellent read. I might have finished it sooner if I had an actual eReader instead of my phone lol.

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Jul 29, 2012 Sue Kelso rated it 4 of 5 stars

What an extremely bizarre but good book. Lots of woo woo...

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Jan 08, 2013 Helen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing!! Not what I was expecting but a happy surprise!!

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Sep 24, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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Apr 02, 2013 Kay Fitch is currently reading it

Jan 08, 2013 Melissa Ingalls marked it as to-read

Jan 01, 2013 Tina Stevens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dec 31, 2012 Serena! marked it as to-read

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Addicted to Book ...: Brambleman by Jonathan Grant	1	3	Nov 22, 2012 05:23pm

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About Jonathan Grant

Brambleman author Jonathan Grant is an award-winning writer and editor (The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia).

His firstnovel, Chain Gang Elementary (Thornbriar Press), tells the tragicomic story of a war between a reform-minded PTA president and an authoritarian principal. A Thousand Miles to Freedom, his screenplay based on the real-life adventures of escaped slaves Willia...more

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The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia

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