Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
229th out of 599 books
—
1,403 voters
Provinces of Night
by
William Gay
The year is 1952, and E.F. Bloodworth has returned to his home - a forgotten corner of Tennessee - after twenty years of roaming. The wife he walked out on has withered and faded, his three sons are grown and angry. Warren is a womanizing alcoholic, Boyd is driven by jealousy to hunt down his wife's lover, and Brady puts hexes on his enemies from his mamma's porch. Only Fl...more
348 pages
Published
(first published 2000)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,351)
I’m going to go with the best way I know to put this. If you took what I love about Cormac McCarthy, and what I love about Justified, and what I love about home, the center of that Venn diagram is this book.
Meaning, there wasn’t a pleasure center in my brain this didn’t light up like Cleveland. Meaning, if there were any folks I’d bring to life out of a book it’s the Bloodworths out of this one.
First read August 2011
* * *
January 2013:
If this was my favorite book of 2011, and my favorite book of...more
Meaning, there wasn’t a pleasure center in my brain this didn’t light up like Cleveland. Meaning, if there were any folks I’d bring to life out of a book it’s the Bloodworths out of this one.
First read August 2011
* * *
January 2013:
If this was my favorite book of 2011, and my favorite book of...more
12 likes · like · see review
view all 7 comments
this here will be the 1st story from gay for me...
there's a couple quotes at the beginning of this one...one from Cormac McCarthy's Child Of God, 1973:
were there darker provinces of night he would have found them.
so that's where the title comes from, hey?
and another from richard "rabbit" brown, james alley blues, 1927:
sometimes i think you're just too sweet to die
sometimes i think you're just too sweet to die
another time i think you oughta be buried alive.
there is a prologue
the dozer took the...more
there's a couple quotes at the beginning of this one...one from Cormac McCarthy's Child Of God, 1973:
were there darker provinces of night he would have found them.
so that's where the title comes from, hey?
and another from richard "rabbit" brown, james alley blues, 1927:
sometimes i think you're just too sweet to die
sometimes i think you're just too sweet to die
another time i think you oughta be buried alive.
there is a prologue
the dozer took the...more
Let us now sing the praises of William Gay, which I have done twice before over the last months. But never enough. This occasion is Provinces of Night, the most challenging and profound of the now-trio of works that have fallen into my hands.
We are as usual in rural Tennessee, town of Ackerman’s Field. Year 1952. Gay serves up a feast of complex characters and wonderful names. The Bloodworths—E.F., Fleming, Brady, Boyd. There’s itchy Mama, Sheriff Bellewether, Raven Lee Halfacre, Snowwhite Café,...more
We are as usual in rural Tennessee, town of Ackerman’s Field. Year 1952. Gay serves up a feast of complex characters and wonderful names. The Bloodworths—E.F., Fleming, Brady, Boyd. There’s itchy Mama, Sheriff Bellewether, Raven Lee Halfacre, Snowwhite Café,...more
Solid Southern gothic, haunted by McCarthy and Faulker, who linger not as benign spirits clinging to some verbiage, but as belligerent poltergeists who tear into each syllable, infecting each from the inside. That said, it's executed remarkably well. Gay had a way with words so well-developed that I occasionally found myself getting angry at him for being able to turn a phrase so efficiently. My only real problem with this book (aside from some modifiers that seemed to dangle under the weight of...more
William gay was a writer of profound lyrical skill, a master craftsman in storytelling holds a sheer beauty with words and language usage, arranges sentences in a way that makes reading his stories a joy. His words metaphors and similes paint wonderful scenes and thoughts of our surroundings and the human condition.
This story is of discovery and redeeming through loss and love. The characters are memorable and from walks of life that liven the somber soul and broaden some narrow minds.
His charac...more
This story is of discovery and redeeming through loss and love. The characters are memorable and from walks of life that liven the somber soul and broaden some narrow minds.
His charac...more
PROVINCES OF NIGHT by William Gay is just one hell of a good book. Gay introduces the reader to the totally dysfunctional and continually entertaining Bloodworth family and takes the reader on a wild ride through the hills of Tennessee as we uncover what it means to be family, to fall in love, to forgive, and to try to make amends.
With his second published novel Gay relied even more heavily on the Southern Gothic motifs and he does it well. PROVINCES OF NIGHT will keep you laughing as you fall m...more
With his second published novel Gay relied even more heavily on the Southern Gothic motifs and he does it well. PROVINCES OF NIGHT will keep you laughing as you fall m...more
3 likes · like · see review
As I made my way hastily through the opening of "Provinces of Night" in order to meet a deadline for a discussion of the book, I found myself folding back into the text, re-reading lines for the sheer beauty of the images that Gay's language evoked. Slowing my pace to savor the eccentricities of the characters, I was quickly smitten by the clean, honest nature of the youngest member of the Bloodworth family,Fleming, around whom the narrative is constructed. He's an unlikely booknerd of a hero wh...more
I love William Gay's short stories, but this was my first read of one of his novels. At first, I didn't think it worked, seemed like he was better off in the short story form, as there was a lot of characterization but little in the way of linear plot going on.
But ultimately I came away really digging this book, too. There may not be much in the way of a linear plot, but the characters are real and intriguing, the situations fraught with tension and drama, and the writing always breathtaking an...more
But ultimately I came away really digging this book, too. There may not be much in the way of a linear plot, but the characters are real and intriguing, the situations fraught with tension and drama, and the writing always breathtaking an...more
I'm a huge fan of William Gay's work, but on the whole, Provinces of Night missed for me. The writing is good, if a bit of an acquired taste (I lost count of how many times some action is done "impotently"), but the lack of plot really killed the first half to 2/3 of this novel. This novel wasn't that long (under 300 pages) but it felt much, much longer. The story took a long time to get started, and the characters, while well crafted, seemed to kind of meander through the novel and just didn't...more
Dark, with humor. Great characters, solid plot line. Well worth my time (short read so not too much time needed). Language is spare and effective - always appreciate that.
Aug 22, 2012
Jobie Hughes
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Cormac McCarthy and William Faulkner, or lovers of the Southern Gothic style of writing.
This is the second book of William Gay's that I've read (the first was Twilight), and Provinces of Night is every bit as good as Twilight and maybe even better. Sadly William Gay passed away suddenly this past February of an apparent heart attack, but that aside, I'm completely at a loss for why Gay never developed a bigger following. In my opinion, he deserved far more fame and recognition than was given to him. I can't recommend him enough, especially for those who love the southern gothic sty...more
William Gay, how does it happen that you've been publishing for over 10 years and I am just now finding out about you? The Good Reviewer who said, "Horrible people doing horrible things in between the most beautiful descriptions of weather" had it just about right, except that it's not just the weather that Gay puts into such perfect prose--it's everything. His writing is spare, dry, sometimes hilarious, and almost painfully beautiful. I had to get this book from inter-library loan, as my librar...more
Gay's not your pick-up-and-read guy. He's a part of a very idiosyncratic genre (southern lit.), that requires research, familiarization and most important interest towards southern culture to wrap your head around. PROVINCES OF NIGHT was pretty pummeling in that sense, but it was also more visceral and rewarding than TWILIGHT.The saga of the Bloodworth male has a sprawling quality to it and to a certain extent a pathos that I didn't find anywhere else in his books I've read. PROVINCES OF NIGHT i...more
William Gay was an outstanding writer called by some "The Faulkner of Tennessee" and for a good reason. They each shared an interest in the common man of Southern heritage and his foibles. Both take you into a world that you know exists because you've read of it and possibly because you have a cousin who was into drag racing who you had a pretty good idea lived on a different plane than you or your friends.
Gay grew up in Hohenwald, Tennessee, and worked as a painter, dry wall hanger, and carpent...more
Gay grew up in Hohenwald, Tennessee, and worked as a painter, dry wall hanger, and carpent...more
Dark. There's an eerie blend of truth in this novel...as if these unimaginable events actually occurred in the deep hollows of Tennessee's hills. I don't want to believe these characters can exist in reality...that the course of their lives could be so tragic and commonplace at the same time. William Gay doesn't have to convince me. His unrestrained characters, hardened by life's turmoil, convince me. While reading I keep the image of a nearby creek flowing from the mouth of a cave in my thought...more
First of all--and it has to be said--raving fanboy that I am--this book is a gigantic Cormac McCarthy ripoff! And I'm not talking about minor details here, William Gay pretty much stole McCarthy's voice along with the general plot outline of Suttree.
Which is not to say this is a bad book by any means--far from it--but it was something I couldnt get over for the first 100 pages. Which is also kinda unfair, considering a) McCarthy did the same with Faulkner and b) Gay takes everything I liked abou...more
Which is not to say this is a bad book by any means--far from it--but it was something I couldnt get over for the first 100 pages. Which is also kinda unfair, considering a) McCarthy did the same with Faulkner and b) Gay takes everything I liked abou...more
I finished reading this book five days ago, and I am still thinking about what happened after the book ended. I've started and finished other books since then, and as I've read them, I've wondered how the characters of this book would have fit in to other stories. I wonder how the characters of these new books would have interacted with the Bloodworth family. How would they have fit in that tough little corner of south western Tennessee? William Gay is such a good story teller that his people an...more
Southern Gothic at it's best - "Beyond the mothriddled night, their faces were rapt and transfixed, he sang about death as if it were the only kept promise out of all life's false starts and switchbacks, all there was at the end of life's dusty road, his voice told them about calm and quiet and eternal rest. No landlord, no cotton to chop, no ticket at the company store growing like a cancer. Just time itself frozen like leaves in winter ice and nothing in the round world to worry about or dread...more
Provinces of Night is quite simply an extraordinary book. The ideal balance between lyrical tension, singing, singeing metaphors, deeply thought out characters, an unforgettable setting (eastern Tennessee) and descriptions of nature that fit in naturally, poetically, and tragically, woven into the fabric of the lives of the Bloodworth family and others. Loved, loved it. Just finished it today, reading it out by the East River as the cold wind blew in and up the river from the south. Riveting.
Sad, funny, dark interwoven tales of the effed-up Bloodworth clan (at least father, sons, and grandsons--no female children and not much about the wives) in eastern Tennessee's coal country in the 1950s. Drunken debauchery, killin', banjo-playing, and hexes abound, but ultimately it's a beautiful story about love and redemption in the southern gothic tradition.
I read William Gay's "Twilight" a few months ago and loved it. "Provinces of Night" has the same setting and writing style, but is slower...more
I read William Gay's "Twilight" a few months ago and loved it. "Provinces of Night" has the same setting and writing style, but is slower...more
Provinces of Night is a haunting, comical and tragic story that takes the reader into small-town Tennessee. The protagonist, Fleming Bloodworth returns to his family after a 40-year absence, and only his wife knows the truth. His sons tell us about the abandonment at the beginning of the story and we are left to believe their perception as truth, but as the story unfolds, we come to understand what really happened and who he was protecting. The ending was sad - I didn't want it to end this way,...more
Although it starts off with open mimicry of Cormac MacCarthy's voice, the writing is very good. It rises above the caliber of most southern Gothic out there. Gay is quite deft at getting the nuances of being "in the woods" down perfectly. His prose has an eerie quality to it. I look forward to more of his work. "The Paperhanger" is a great example of his style, and one of the best short stories I've read in ten years.
Southern gothic at its finest. Fans of Faulkner and Cormac McCarthy will find much to love here. Some other reviewer described this as "horrible people doing horrible things in between the most beautiful descriptions of weather" and I don't think I can top that. Could have been a 5-star favorite for all the amazing things about it: prose (so rich, evocative), characters, setting (rural Tennessee, mid-century), mood (deliciously ominous and portentous) - but the plot was just a bit weaker than I...more
There are comparisons with Cormac McCarthy and these are valid, but Gay is his own man. Perhpas not as visceral as McCarthy but warmer and with more humour, this is one of his best. A true, majestic piece of southern gothic that'll have you laughing and crying in close proximity. Definitely owes more than a little to the Great Flannery O'Connor too.
Final book club pick of the year. I’m still trying to figure out what the title has to do with the novel itself. It’s about three generations of a particular family in Tennessee, but only the grandfather and the youngest boy are likeable. Flemming’s coming of age and his relationship with Raven Lee Halfacre are the most engaging parts of the book.
May be my all time favorite book! I love Albright and I was so sorry to finish this book. It may not be for everyone but it certainly changes the way I look at writing! Mr. Gay was a genius who worked on his craft for almost fifty years.
I am only sorry I found him too late to actually meet him and hear him read...
I am only sorry I found him too late to actually meet him and hear him read...
I've been in search of Gay's books since reading the short story "Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You?" This haunting story stayed with me for months--I've reread it several times because it's so beautiful. Update: Provinces of Night is perfection. I'm afraid I'm spoiled now for any other piece of contemporary fiction. Every word, every idea is beautiful.
William Gay's writing is absolutely incredible. It's prose you can see, feel, taste, and smell. Wow, just fantastic. This is the first book I read by Gay. The prior book was "The Long Home", and was the book that elicited recognition of his amazing writing ability.
oh wow. i can't believe i just heard about this author. provinces of night is awesome. i read much of it aloud because the writing is so poetic that it warrants being spoken. the story is gritty, sad, heartbreaking, frustrating, and yet hopeful. i will read this book again i'm sure. supposedly there is a movie in the works, but i can't imagine it could do this story justice.
I would give this book 4 and a half stars if i could. One of the best books i have read in a while. Dark writing style that i though was appealing lyrically, yet wasnt too verbose and was very approachable. Great multiple chracter development with a decent, but thin plot. I highly recommned this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
William Gay (b. 1943) was the author of the novels Provinces of Night, The Long Home, and Twilight and the short story collection I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down. He is the winner of the 1999 William Peden Award and the 1999 James A. Michener Memorial Prize and the recipient of a 2002 Guggenheim Fellowship.
More about William Gay...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“don't start talkin about books or quotin poems at them. these is good folks but they ain't real crazy about readin books. just do what i do and you'll be all right.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
