false 214340 3 <p>In 1897, an aspiring politician is mysteriously murdered in the rural area of Alabama known as Mitcham Beat. His outraged friends -- &#151;mostly poor cotton farmers -- form a secret society, Hell-at-the-Breech, to punish the townspeople they believe responsible. The hooded members wage a bloody year-long campaign of terror that culminates in a massacre where the innocent suffer alongside the guilty. Caught in the maelstrom of the Mitcham war are four people: the aging sheriff sympathetic to both sides; the widowed midwife who delivered nearly every member of Hell-at-the-Breech; a ruthless detective who wages his own war against the gang; and a young store clerk who harbors a terrible secret.</p> <p>Based on incidents that occurred a few miles from the author's childhood home, <i>Hell at the Breech</i> chronicles the events of dark days that led the people involved to discover their capacity for good, evil, or for both.</p> 207505 2003 Hell at the Breech total:132|5:53|4:50|3:22|2:5|1:2| 132 543 182 27 4 0 false false Mon Apr 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 20:08:56 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 20:15:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 04:55:39 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 14:35:38 -0700 2009 Wonderful novel set in actual events in south Alabama during the 1890's, fictional account of the Mitcham Beat War. I grew up in that area, and find the book fascinating, and the language lush and lyrica...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Sep 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 05 18:37:38 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 17:44:58 -0700 2009
Beautifully written, complex characters.

You won't finish this book with an romantic notions a...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 13 09:26:20 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 09:34:10 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Dec 30 00:21:36 -0800 2008 Mon Jun 29 19:45:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Thu Jan 08 14:36:31 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 14:36:31 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 08:10:22 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 06:55:40 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Aug 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 07:22:48 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 07:41:38 -0700 2008
this is not a spoiler. hell, these people are living in alabama in the 1890s. you better bet they've died by now. but still. tom franklin wants you to know they've died. and he will tell you about their blood (blossoming, spurting, seeping, po...more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jan 16 11:33:18 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 11:44:58 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Feb 09 01:18:47 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 09 01:18:54 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Mar 19 18:19:03 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 19 18:51:41 -0700 2007 Hell at the Breach is the first novel from Ole Miss English professor Tom Franklin - it could be perceived as a Cormac McCarthy knock-off, but it is a well-written first novel, and the rural Alabama setting and its historical context give it some more intrigue. If you read it, please note the symbo...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Aug 24 12:17:23 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 24 12:19:22 -0700 2008
It reminds me a lot of Gillian Welch's song, "One Morning", except it's a novel.]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Mar 22 00:00:39 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 22 00:02:52 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Wed Sep 21 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Feb 29 19:02:05 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 19:02:05 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Mar 27 17:18:33 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 27 16:56:04 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Wed Nov 12 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Aug 04 09:43:35 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 13 19:23:35 -0800 2008 1 Friend of mine has been hounding me to read this--even bought it for my birthday--1 hell of a gift.]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 14:09:51 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 30 09:40:01 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2001 Sun Aug 12 13:13:41 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 12 13:15:25 -0700 2007
Worth reading for its portrait of economic class violence in the old west. And because horses and guns are cool.

]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 26 10:56:57 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 11:57:44 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 10:56:57 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sun Jan 27 21:19:26 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 30 13:54:54 -0800 2008