What do you think?
Rate this book
Southernmost
In this stunning novel about judgment, courage, heartbreak, and change, author Silas House wrestles with the limits of belief and the infinite ways to love.
In the aftermath of a flood that washes away much of a small Tennessee town, evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter to two gay men. In doing so, he starts to see his life anew—and risks losing everything: his wife, locked into her religious prejudices; his congregation, which shuns Asher after he delivers a passionate sermon in defense of tolerance; and his young son, Justin, caught in the middle of what turns into a bitter custody battle.
With no way out but ahead, Asher takes Justin and flees to Key West, where he hopes to find his brother, Luke, whom he'd turned against years ago after Luke came out. And it is there, at the southernmost point of the country, that Asher and Justin discover a new way of thinking about the world, and a new way of understanding love.
Southernmost is a tender and affecting book, a meditation on love, atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
In the aftermath of a flood that washes away much of a small Tennessee town, evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter to two gay men. In doing so, he starts to see his life anew—and risks losing everything: his wife, locked into her religious prejudices; his congregation, which shuns Asher after he delivers a passionate sermon in defense of tolerance; and his young son, Justin, caught in the middle of what turns into a bitter custody battle.
With no way out but ahead, Asher takes Justin and flees to Key West, where he hopes to find his brother, Luke, whom he'd turned against years ago after Luke came out. And it is there, at the southernmost point of the country, that Asher and Justin discover a new way of thinking about the world, and a new way of understanding love.
Southernmost is a tender and affecting book, a meditation on love, atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 26, 2018
745 people are currently reading
13134 people want to read
About the author
Silas House
39 books1,609 followersSilas House is the nationally bestselling author of six novels--Clay's Quilt, 2001; A Parchment of Leaves, 2003; The Coal Tattoo, 2005; Eli the Good, 2009; Same Sun Here (co-authored with Neela Vaswani) 2012; Southernmost (2018), as well as a book of creative nonfiction, Something's Rising, co-authored with Jason Howard, 2009; and three plays.
His work frequently appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Salon. He is former commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered". His writing has appeared in recently in Time, Ecotone, Oxford American, Garden and Gun, and many other publications.
House serves on the fiction faculty at the Spalding School of Writing and as the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at Berea College.
As a music writer House has worked with artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Lee Ann Womack, Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, The Judds, Jim James, and many others.
House is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and is the winner of the Nautilus Award, an EB White Award, the Storylines Prize from the New York Public Library/NAV Foundation, the Appalachian Book of the Year, and many other honors.
His work frequently appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Salon. He is former commentator for NPR's "All Things Considered". His writing has appeared in recently in Time, Ecotone, Oxford American, Garden and Gun, and many other publications.
House serves on the fiction faculty at the Spalding School of Writing and as the National Endowment for the Humanities Chair at Berea College.
As a music writer House has worked with artists such as Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Lee Ann Womack, Kris Kristofferson, Lucinda Williams, The Judds, Jim James, and many others.
House is the recipient of three honorary doctorates and is the winner of the Nautilus Award, an EB White Award, the Storylines Prize from the New York Public Library/NAV Foundation, the Appalachian Book of the Year, and many other honors.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,313 reviews
June 17, 2018
4.5 stars.
"'Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry and as long as we're alive, we can deal with everything else. You know?'"
Shortly after the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage, a flood ravages preacher Asher Sharp's small Tennessee town, leaving many in his congregation homeless or with significant property damage. In the wake of the flood, Asher offers shelter to a gay couple, and they begin to visit his church, which roils his congregation to no end, as many believe the flood was caused by the Supreme Court's decision.
Asher's simple act of kindness emphasizes the cracks in his marriage to Lydia, devout and unyielding in her religious beliefs. But for the first time in a long time, Asher realizes that it is not his job to judge, it is his job to offer kindness, shelter, tolerance. These are qualities he didn't offer his own older brother, Luke, when he admitted his homosexuality—Asher turned his back on his brother and Luke left town, never to return again, although he has sent a few cryptic postcards through the years. This time, Asher is determined not to make the same mistakes by letting hate in his heart.
After delivering an emotional sermon preaching tolerance, Asher's congregation votes to remove him from his job. Lydia files for divorce as well as full custody of their nine-year-old son, Justin. Although his faith that he made the right decision is stronger than ever, he cannot face the idea of only seeing his son on occasional weekends and vacations, but he is unwilling to say he was wrong to call for tolerance and acceptance of all people.
With nowhere to turn, Asher takes Justin late one night and the two flee to Key West, where Luke's postcards were sent from. Asher hopes to reunite with his brother after all these years, and perhaps find peace at the same time. But a journey made in fear of being captured is an exhausting one, and Justin vacillates between wanting to be with Asher and wanting to return home to his mother and grandmother. He doesn't understand why all of the adults in his life can't simply agree with one another so that life could return to normal.
In Key West, Asher and Justin find their place in the colorful community, and learn powerful lessons about faith, trust, belief, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love. But Asher knows in his heart that this happiness must be fleeting, for if he is to teach his son anything beyond not allowing hate in his heart, he must do the right thing and return to Tennessee with Justin.
Is love enough to overcome life's problems, to turn people away from hatred? How do we reconcile the beliefs we've been taught with the way life changes? How do we allow ourselves to let our guard down when we've experienced hurt and prejudice? In his exquisite and emotional new book, Southernmost , Silas House strives to answer those questions.
I thought this was a beautifully written, poignant book, one which really made me think. It's not an unfamiliar story, particularly in these turbulent times where the law says one thing but some people's beliefs cause them to act differently, but it still touches the heart. House's prose is lyrical and his imagery is evocative, and he gives both Asher and Justin distinctive and memorable voices to tell the story.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I found it completely compelling and a very fast read. I have often wondered how members of the clergy deal with reconciling what they've been taught, the words they live by, with the world they live in, and Southernmost captures that struggle, as well as the struggle to belong, to be understood, and to be loved and accepted for who you are, not judged for whom you love.
NetGalley and Algonquin Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
"'Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry and as long as we're alive, we can deal with everything else. You know?'"
Shortly after the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage, a flood ravages preacher Asher Sharp's small Tennessee town, leaving many in his congregation homeless or with significant property damage. In the wake of the flood, Asher offers shelter to a gay couple, and they begin to visit his church, which roils his congregation to no end, as many believe the flood was caused by the Supreme Court's decision.
Asher's simple act of kindness emphasizes the cracks in his marriage to Lydia, devout and unyielding in her religious beliefs. But for the first time in a long time, Asher realizes that it is not his job to judge, it is his job to offer kindness, shelter, tolerance. These are qualities he didn't offer his own older brother, Luke, when he admitted his homosexuality—Asher turned his back on his brother and Luke left town, never to return again, although he has sent a few cryptic postcards through the years. This time, Asher is determined not to make the same mistakes by letting hate in his heart.
After delivering an emotional sermon preaching tolerance, Asher's congregation votes to remove him from his job. Lydia files for divorce as well as full custody of their nine-year-old son, Justin. Although his faith that he made the right decision is stronger than ever, he cannot face the idea of only seeing his son on occasional weekends and vacations, but he is unwilling to say he was wrong to call for tolerance and acceptance of all people.
With nowhere to turn, Asher takes Justin late one night and the two flee to Key West, where Luke's postcards were sent from. Asher hopes to reunite with his brother after all these years, and perhaps find peace at the same time. But a journey made in fear of being captured is an exhausting one, and Justin vacillates between wanting to be with Asher and wanting to return home to his mother and grandmother. He doesn't understand why all of the adults in his life can't simply agree with one another so that life could return to normal.
In Key West, Asher and Justin find their place in the colorful community, and learn powerful lessons about faith, trust, belief, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love. But Asher knows in his heart that this happiness must be fleeting, for if he is to teach his son anything beyond not allowing hate in his heart, he must do the right thing and return to Tennessee with Justin.
Is love enough to overcome life's problems, to turn people away from hatred? How do we reconcile the beliefs we've been taught with the way life changes? How do we allow ourselves to let our guard down when we've experienced hurt and prejudice? In his exquisite and emotional new book, Southernmost , Silas House strives to answer those questions.
I thought this was a beautifully written, poignant book, one which really made me think. It's not an unfamiliar story, particularly in these turbulent times where the law says one thing but some people's beliefs cause them to act differently, but it still touches the heart. House's prose is lyrical and his imagery is evocative, and he gives both Asher and Justin distinctive and memorable voices to tell the story.
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I found it completely compelling and a very fast read. I have often wondered how members of the clergy deal with reconciling what they've been taught, the words they live by, with the world they live in, and Southernmost captures that struggle, as well as the struggle to belong, to be understood, and to be loved and accepted for who you are, not judged for whom you love.
NetGalley and Algonquin Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com, or check out my list of the best books I read in 2017 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017.html.
February 20, 2018
A flood in Cumberland Tennessee, an Evangelical preacher, husband, father to a nine year old and the arrival of two homosexual males looking for succor, all merge in a moment in which for Asher things will never be the same. A crisis of faith, a hard look at ones beliefs, one actions and an act of desperation will cause Asher to do the unthinkable. Trying to make up for his actions in the past, while holding tightly to the only thing he now has of value will send this earnest, loving man to the Florida Keys.
Sometimes if we are lucky we find the right story at the right time, or maybe it finds us. This is an author that has been on my to readlist for quite a while, so given the opportunity I requested and received this advance copy of a book that doesn't come out until June. Religion, and the churches reception of homosexuals has been an ongoing debate. Silas House tackles it here using a very flawed,but loving preacher who cannot longer hold steadfast to the beliefs he has learned and in fact preached all his life. His son Justin, at nine is what I would call an old soul, a boy raised with love but now caught it an unenviable situation. In the Keys they will find acceptance from two women, with their own past ghosts with which to contend, but both are marvelous characters indeed. It is in the Keys that Asher will find what he seeks and the strength to do what is right. The descriptions of the Keys, and I too love it there, are just beautifully described. It is a place where many go to find acceptance.
At time the message may be a bit heavy, sentimentally written but the message is a beautiful one. The characters, full of love and hurt, struggle with many of the things we struggle with, the decisions we make daily that may help or hurt. House has written a novel that may make one question his own opinions, choices and just maybe showed us that it is okay to be human, to struggle, and that things may still work out. Beautiful story.
ARC from Netgalley.
Sometimes if we are lucky we find the right story at the right time, or maybe it finds us. This is an author that has been on my to readlist for quite a while, so given the opportunity I requested and received this advance copy of a book that doesn't come out until June. Religion, and the churches reception of homosexuals has been an ongoing debate. Silas House tackles it here using a very flawed,but loving preacher who cannot longer hold steadfast to the beliefs he has learned and in fact preached all his life. His son Justin, at nine is what I would call an old soul, a boy raised with love but now caught it an unenviable situation. In the Keys they will find acceptance from two women, with their own past ghosts with which to contend, but both are marvelous characters indeed. It is in the Keys that Asher will find what he seeks and the strength to do what is right. The descriptions of the Keys, and I too love it there, are just beautifully described. It is a place where many go to find acceptance.
At time the message may be a bit heavy, sentimentally written but the message is a beautiful one. The characters, full of love and hurt, struggle with many of the things we struggle with, the decisions we make daily that may help or hurt. House has written a novel that may make one question his own opinions, choices and just maybe showed us that it is okay to be human, to struggle, and that things may still work out. Beautiful story.
ARC from Netgalley.
August 26, 2018
This is my first Silas House novel. It definitely won’t be my last. It’s very well written - moves quickly - extremely readable.
The opening scene of the massive flood that sweeps the Cumberland Valley was incredibly vivid - sensationally felt - and realistic......
But it’s the story that follows that weighed ‘massive’ on my mind.
The dialogues & relationships- were gut-wrenching believable: raw honest.
Here’s an example of one that made me think about long term committed relationships in general:
Asher says to his wife Lydia:
“You’re afraid of anybody who’s different. Of anything that’s not your way”.
“I’m at fault because I’ve stayed the same and you’ve changed?”
“He thought for a moment. I reckon so”.
What happens to a marriage when moral differences change drastically? Well, Author Silas House gives us a darn good story to explore this question with many more questions to contemplate.
Many layers to examine in this novel. Great discussion book. I’m a new fan of Silas House
The opening scene of the massive flood that sweeps the Cumberland Valley was incredibly vivid - sensationally felt - and realistic......
But it’s the story that follows that weighed ‘massive’ on my mind.
The dialogues & relationships- were gut-wrenching believable: raw honest.
Here’s an example of one that made me think about long term committed relationships in general:
Asher says to his wife Lydia:
“You’re afraid of anybody who’s different. Of anything that’s not your way”.
“I’m at fault because I’ve stayed the same and you’ve changed?”
“He thought for a moment. I reckon so”.
What happens to a marriage when moral differences change drastically? Well, Author Silas House gives us a darn good story to explore this question with many more questions to contemplate.
Many layers to examine in this novel. Great discussion book. I’m a new fan of Silas House
November 30, 2018
When a small town is hit with a flood, a preacher questions his own morals when his congregation turns away a young gay couple during this time of need.
Faced with being ostracized and losing his son, he kidnaps his son and begins his search for his own gay brother who was turned away by him and his mother many years ago.
A moving, eloquently written story of a father’s love for his child; redemption and forgiveness.
4.5⭐️
Faced with being ostracized and losing his son, he kidnaps his son and begins his search for his own gay brother who was turned away by him and his mother many years ago.
A moving, eloquently written story of a father’s love for his child; redemption and forgiveness.
4.5⭐️
September 15, 2023
"Being afraid of somebody who’s different’ll make an awful meanness come over you."
Acceptance and tolerance. Faith and religion. Marriage and parenting. Silas House does a commendable job of touching on all of these issues in his latest novel, which happens to be my first by this author. The book opens with a catastrophic flooding of the Cumberland River in a small Tennessee town. The flood wreaked its havoc on the heels of the legalization of same-sex marriage by the Supreme Court, leaving many in this town feeling that it was no small coincidence that one followed the other. When preacher Asher Sharp invites two gay men into his home and then into his church, his congregants and his wife are up in arms over the matter.
A decade prior to this event, Asher’s brother, Luke, revealed that he is gay to his family and they all turned against him, including Asher himself. Luke fled and he hasn’t been seen since. This haunts Asher more and more of late; he struggles with his past behavior and regrets his actions enormously. Not only that, he begins to question his faith. As he opens his mind more, he notices the gap between him and wife Lydia deepening. Her unyielding faith becomes more incomprehensible to him, albeit a faith they once shared so staunchly. "The way they thought of God and prayer and worship was so different now that it might as well have been a wide river between them, further widened by floodwaters." Not only their marriage comes into question, but so does the raising of their son, Justin. This little boy will touch your heart as he did mine, no doubt. Caught in the middle as two parents drift apart, Justin may be young in years, but he is a wise old soul. "He was eight, but small for his age, and more like an old man in his bearing and thinking." When the churchgoers overwhelmingly vote to have Asher removed from his position, a passionate speech to his congregants will be used against him in an ugly custody battle with Lydia. As this speech goes viral, Asher may have many supporters across the nation, but this small town is not going to change its views on what they feel is ‘right versus wrong’. In a moment of desperation, Asher commits an act that will cause him to flee to the islands of the Florida Keys, where he hopes to find his brother Luke and the redemption he seeks.
I loved settling on Key West for the remainder of this novel. The descriptions of the island are vivid, and Silas House manages to evoke the feeling of a more accepting community. Here Asher can take the time necessary to reflect on his life’s decisions – both the good with the bad – as he searches for Luke in order to make amends for the betrayal he made all those years ago. The friendship and understanding shared with two kindhearted women allow Asher to further heal and grow. Having fled to the islands from their own troubled pasts, these two allow Asher his privacy while at the same time lending a compassionate ear. How does one reconcile what he thinks is best for his son with what the law requires him to do? "Being a parent was a constant heartache, an endless act of making sure the child was as safe and as happy as a person could possibly be in this life." How does one regain a faith that has been eroded by bitterness, fear and regret? "He thought about a God who had made the trees, and the river, and himself, and Lydia. Where was that God, these days? So far up in the trees Asher couldn’t feel Him anymore? Or just completely gone?"
This was a sensitive and lovely book that will take you on a journey right alongside Asher. His flaws, his regrets, his desires, and his love for his son compel you to side with him and hope for the best possible outcome. Most of all, you can’t help but fall for the little boy. Perhaps if we all viewed life through his eyes, the world would be a better place.
"You’ve got to find the Everything wherever you are. That’s what Justin believes. And that’s why God is the Everything, because there is God in oceans and rivers and dogs and little boys. In Evonas and Lydias and Bells and Ashers and Lukes. In iguanas and frangipani and bougainvillea."
Acceptance and tolerance. Faith and religion. Marriage and parenting. Silas House does a commendable job of touching on all of these issues in his latest novel, which happens to be my first by this author. The book opens with a catastrophic flooding of the Cumberland River in a small Tennessee town. The flood wreaked its havoc on the heels of the legalization of same-sex marriage by the Supreme Court, leaving many in this town feeling that it was no small coincidence that one followed the other. When preacher Asher Sharp invites two gay men into his home and then into his church, his congregants and his wife are up in arms over the matter.
A decade prior to this event, Asher’s brother, Luke, revealed that he is gay to his family and they all turned against him, including Asher himself. Luke fled and he hasn’t been seen since. This haunts Asher more and more of late; he struggles with his past behavior and regrets his actions enormously. Not only that, he begins to question his faith. As he opens his mind more, he notices the gap between him and wife Lydia deepening. Her unyielding faith becomes more incomprehensible to him, albeit a faith they once shared so staunchly. "The way they thought of God and prayer and worship was so different now that it might as well have been a wide river between them, further widened by floodwaters." Not only their marriage comes into question, but so does the raising of their son, Justin. This little boy will touch your heart as he did mine, no doubt. Caught in the middle as two parents drift apart, Justin may be young in years, but he is a wise old soul. "He was eight, but small for his age, and more like an old man in his bearing and thinking." When the churchgoers overwhelmingly vote to have Asher removed from his position, a passionate speech to his congregants will be used against him in an ugly custody battle with Lydia. As this speech goes viral, Asher may have many supporters across the nation, but this small town is not going to change its views on what they feel is ‘right versus wrong’. In a moment of desperation, Asher commits an act that will cause him to flee to the islands of the Florida Keys, where he hopes to find his brother Luke and the redemption he seeks.
I loved settling on Key West for the remainder of this novel. The descriptions of the island are vivid, and Silas House manages to evoke the feeling of a more accepting community. Here Asher can take the time necessary to reflect on his life’s decisions – both the good with the bad – as he searches for Luke in order to make amends for the betrayal he made all those years ago. The friendship and understanding shared with two kindhearted women allow Asher to further heal and grow. Having fled to the islands from their own troubled pasts, these two allow Asher his privacy while at the same time lending a compassionate ear. How does one reconcile what he thinks is best for his son with what the law requires him to do? "Being a parent was a constant heartache, an endless act of making sure the child was as safe and as happy as a person could possibly be in this life." How does one regain a faith that has been eroded by bitterness, fear and regret? "He thought about a God who had made the trees, and the river, and himself, and Lydia. Where was that God, these days? So far up in the trees Asher couldn’t feel Him anymore? Or just completely gone?"
This was a sensitive and lovely book that will take you on a journey right alongside Asher. His flaws, his regrets, his desires, and his love for his son compel you to side with him and hope for the best possible outcome. Most of all, you can’t help but fall for the little boy. Perhaps if we all viewed life through his eyes, the world would be a better place.
"You’ve got to find the Everything wherever you are. That’s what Justin believes. And that’s why God is the Everything, because there is God in oceans and rivers and dogs and little boys. In Evonas and Lydias and Bells and Ashers and Lukes. In iguanas and frangipani and bougainvillea."
September 6, 2018
4.5 Stars
”The rain had been falling with a pounding meanness, without ceasing for two days, and then the water rose all at once in the middle of the night, a brutal rush so fast Asher thought at first a dam might have broken somewhere upstream. The ground had simply become so saturated it could not hold any more water. All the creeks were conspiring down the ridges until they washed out into the Cumberland. There was no use in anyone going to bed because they all knew what was going to happen. They only had to wait.”
Surrounded by loss, and devastation that is only beginning, the flood is catastrophic in its damage, destroying virtually everything in its path in this small town in Tennessee, and leaving many homeless. Justin, son of Asher Sharp, a Pentecostal preacher, finds their neighbors wandering, now homeless, two gay men who have only recently moved into their brand new home. Father, son and their newly dispossessed neighbors, Jimmy and Stephen soon take part in rescuing another neighbor and his daughter who are trapped inside their house which is careening down the river. Justin, being a good mannered young man, had extended an invitation to this couple to stay at their home, with no idea of the repercussions that would follow.
Asher has no problems offering them a room, however his wife forbids it. She says, it’s not right, their lifestyle, and what would the congregation think, he responds ”Not right to help people in trouble?” When she says she doesn’t want them around their son, he questions her reasons, asking “So you wouldn’t want Justin around my own brother?”
And everything Asher has ever believed begins to unravel.
”Asher looked up at all those stars again. It wasn’t right for such a sky to be shining above them when so many people had lost so much. But the sky doesn’t pay a bit of attention to the things that happen to us, the joys or sorrows either one.”
As his wife’s insistence in her views being the right views becomes stronger, her intolerance for people who live outside of her personal boundaries of right and wrong grows more fervent, and the distance between them grows.
Since the flood, looking for a community where they are accepted, Jimmy and Stephen begin to attend the services. As weeks go by, the deacons gather to tell Asher that he must tell them that they are not welcome there. The congregation insists on this, and the following sermon he delivers, will be his last. The final words a heavenly request to ”Help us to love one another as you have loved us, without question, without judgment, without persecution.”
When he stands there, to speak before the assembled congregation, it is to speak to them before they cast their votes to keep or terminate him in his position. After they determine the vote, he asks for permission to say a few words, which develops into an emotional speech about him turning his back on his own brother for being gay, something he regrets. Someone is filming him, and as things eventually go from bad to worse, this video will haunt him.
A journey to the Florida Keys follows, and as such I suppose this would rightly be categorized as a road novel, but the physical journey that these characters undertake goes hand-in-hand with a lovely introspective, emotional journey, a journey of internal growth, and an experience that will strengthen their relationship. A beautifully written story that balances disaster with hope, ignorance and hate with a healthy dose of compassion and love.
This is the first book by Silas House that I’ve read, and I loved it, and can’t wait to read more by this author!
Many thanks to the Public Library system, and the many Librarians that manage, organize and keep it running, for the loan of this book!
”The rain had been falling with a pounding meanness, without ceasing for two days, and then the water rose all at once in the middle of the night, a brutal rush so fast Asher thought at first a dam might have broken somewhere upstream. The ground had simply become so saturated it could not hold any more water. All the creeks were conspiring down the ridges until they washed out into the Cumberland. There was no use in anyone going to bed because they all knew what was going to happen. They only had to wait.”
Surrounded by loss, and devastation that is only beginning, the flood is catastrophic in its damage, destroying virtually everything in its path in this small town in Tennessee, and leaving many homeless. Justin, son of Asher Sharp, a Pentecostal preacher, finds their neighbors wandering, now homeless, two gay men who have only recently moved into their brand new home. Father, son and their newly dispossessed neighbors, Jimmy and Stephen soon take part in rescuing another neighbor and his daughter who are trapped inside their house which is careening down the river. Justin, being a good mannered young man, had extended an invitation to this couple to stay at their home, with no idea of the repercussions that would follow.
Asher has no problems offering them a room, however his wife forbids it. She says, it’s not right, their lifestyle, and what would the congregation think, he responds ”Not right to help people in trouble?” When she says she doesn’t want them around their son, he questions her reasons, asking “So you wouldn’t want Justin around my own brother?”
And everything Asher has ever believed begins to unravel.
”Asher looked up at all those stars again. It wasn’t right for such a sky to be shining above them when so many people had lost so much. But the sky doesn’t pay a bit of attention to the things that happen to us, the joys or sorrows either one.”
As his wife’s insistence in her views being the right views becomes stronger, her intolerance for people who live outside of her personal boundaries of right and wrong grows more fervent, and the distance between them grows.
Since the flood, looking for a community where they are accepted, Jimmy and Stephen begin to attend the services. As weeks go by, the deacons gather to tell Asher that he must tell them that they are not welcome there. The congregation insists on this, and the following sermon he delivers, will be his last. The final words a heavenly request to ”Help us to love one another as you have loved us, without question, without judgment, without persecution.”
When he stands there, to speak before the assembled congregation, it is to speak to them before they cast their votes to keep or terminate him in his position. After they determine the vote, he asks for permission to say a few words, which develops into an emotional speech about him turning his back on his own brother for being gay, something he regrets. Someone is filming him, and as things eventually go from bad to worse, this video will haunt him.
A journey to the Florida Keys follows, and as such I suppose this would rightly be categorized as a road novel, but the physical journey that these characters undertake goes hand-in-hand with a lovely introspective, emotional journey, a journey of internal growth, and an experience that will strengthen their relationship. A beautifully written story that balances disaster with hope, ignorance and hate with a healthy dose of compassion and love.
This is the first book by Silas House that I’ve read, and I loved it, and can’t wait to read more by this author!
Many thanks to the Public Library system, and the many Librarians that manage, organize and keep it running, for the loan of this book!
November 20, 2018
4.5
A small town pastor, named Asher in Tennessee wants to help a gay couple after the flooding of his region and faces prejudices from his church, the town, and his own wife.
He separates from his wife because he realizes the love was never there for him and that she sees things in life different from him.
This is the story of Asher’s own upbringing and relationships with his family, (especially with his older brother who is gay and had left town years ago) a journey to keep his son, and the quest for where God really is.
I really enjoyed it!
A small town pastor, named Asher in Tennessee wants to help a gay couple after the flooding of his region and faces prejudices from his church, the town, and his own wife.
He separates from his wife because he realizes the love was never there for him and that she sees things in life different from him.
This is the story of Asher’s own upbringing and relationships with his family, (especially with his older brother who is gay and had left town years ago) a journey to keep his son, and the quest for where God really is.
I really enjoyed it!
September 13, 2023
Southernmost by Silas House is a Blend of Southern and Family Fiction!
Southernmost is the second book I've read by this author and with simple prose and sensitive topics, it felt familiar to me. This one unfolds in a southern setting and I fell in love with the story and father and son lead characters quickly.
The father is Asher Sharp, an evangelical pastor in small town Tennessee, who has an epiphany brought about by his simple act of kindness shown to two of his neighbors. The repercussions that follow rock his world.
Asher's wife, Lydia turns against him, his congregation shuns and replaces him and, through no fault of his own, things spiral into another incident that goes viral on the internet.
Asher's concern is solely for his son, Justin, but trying to do what's right is tough when the odds are against you. Out of options, Asher makes a decision to protect Justin, at all costs, from the maelstrom he shouldn't be the center of...
Southernmost ignites my emotions and bubbling over they go, once again. Perhaps it's nine-year-old Justin's sensitive nature that's causing my heartstrings to strum. His feelings run deep and, while Lydia thinks it's odd behavior he needs to change, Asher loves Justin exactly the way he is. Watching this tug of war between Justin's parents is heartbreaking and another reason this family is so broken.
Southernmost shows the bold intolerance of the evangelical church. Clearly Asher's journey reflects the author's perspective that deep faith should land on empathy rather than judgement. How refreshing is that, I ask you? Topics of kindness, understanding, forgiveness, and love are also prevalent in this story.
Southernmost is an eight hour listen narrated by Charles Thurston whose southern-accented voicing gives authenticity to this well-written and emotional story.
Southernmost spoke to me in much the same way as Lark Ascending. House's writing style and storytelling is always thoughtful and thought-provoking and I'll never tire of reading his words or listening to him speak about his books. He gives such insight to both the story and characters.
I highly recommend Southernmost to readers who enjoy a blend of Southern and Family Fiction with well-drawn characters and socially relevant themes.
4.5⭐
Southernmost is the second book I've read by this author and with simple prose and sensitive topics, it felt familiar to me. This one unfolds in a southern setting and I fell in love with the story and father and son lead characters quickly.
The father is Asher Sharp, an evangelical pastor in small town Tennessee, who has an epiphany brought about by his simple act of kindness shown to two of his neighbors. The repercussions that follow rock his world.
Asher's wife, Lydia turns against him, his congregation shuns and replaces him and, through no fault of his own, things spiral into another incident that goes viral on the internet.
Asher's concern is solely for his son, Justin, but trying to do what's right is tough when the odds are against you. Out of options, Asher makes a decision to protect Justin, at all costs, from the maelstrom he shouldn't be the center of...
Southernmost ignites my emotions and bubbling over they go, once again. Perhaps it's nine-year-old Justin's sensitive nature that's causing my heartstrings to strum. His feelings run deep and, while Lydia thinks it's odd behavior he needs to change, Asher loves Justin exactly the way he is. Watching this tug of war between Justin's parents is heartbreaking and another reason this family is so broken.
Southernmost shows the bold intolerance of the evangelical church. Clearly Asher's journey reflects the author's perspective that deep faith should land on empathy rather than judgement. How refreshing is that, I ask you? Topics of kindness, understanding, forgiveness, and love are also prevalent in this story.
Southernmost is an eight hour listen narrated by Charles Thurston whose southern-accented voicing gives authenticity to this well-written and emotional story.
Southernmost spoke to me in much the same way as Lark Ascending. House's writing style and storytelling is always thoughtful and thought-provoking and I'll never tire of reading his words or listening to him speak about his books. He gives such insight to both the story and characters.
I highly recommend Southernmost to readers who enjoy a blend of Southern and Family Fiction with well-drawn characters and socially relevant themes.
4.5⭐
August 1, 2018
You know, this just might be the perfect book for our times. If we could all just be accepting and tolerant of people who choose to follow a different path, if we could all be like 9 year old Justin who thinks God can be found in everything, not just a particular religion, or church, or the bible, think of the kind of world we could have. But, alas, a lot of us grow up to become hardened adults who follow the straight and narrow until it becomes a blueprint for hatred and fear.
Asher Sharp was an evangelical preacher who thought he knew what was right until events during a flood in Tennessee made him question himself and everything he always believed. I won't rehash the plot, but I will say that this book was 3 stars right up until he and his son Justin crossed the boundary into Key West and became, for me, a much better book. Throwing off the attitudes and prejudices of Tennessee gave Asher a sense of freedom, and expanded this novel into new territory. There is a lot to think about in these pages and in these characters.
Unfortunately, the people who need to read this book the most will never read this kind of book. A conundrum for our times.
Asher Sharp was an evangelical preacher who thought he knew what was right until events during a flood in Tennessee made him question himself and everything he always believed. I won't rehash the plot, but I will say that this book was 3 stars right up until he and his son Justin crossed the boundary into Key West and became, for me, a much better book. Throwing off the attitudes and prejudices of Tennessee gave Asher a sense of freedom, and expanded this novel into new territory. There is a lot to think about in these pages and in these characters.
Unfortunately, the people who need to read this book the most will never read this kind of book. A conundrum for our times.
October 10, 2018
For the big, deep, spiritual themes it was attempting to examine, it devolved into cliche and superficiality most of the time. Same with the prose itself: beaches and skies and birds and the feeling of God were described in ways I've read a hundred times before. There were writerly ticks that should have been caught in the editing process: all the minor female characters were described as either very overweight or talking in a babyish voice, and every single character randomly called Justin "buddy" and thought of him as "a little old man," as though these were previously agreed upon monikers. There was no action, even when there could have been, should have been. Everything happened off stage: Belle's death, finding Luke, whatever in the hell happened to Evona's son, Justin and Zelda reuniting, Asher going to prison. I mean this is serious shit, but we don't see one second of it happen in real time. Characters were flat, their emotional lives overly simplistic. Sentimentality always won over what's real in this life. Just did not go anywhere new or make me feel anything. I read to the end only because there *was* some weird spark in this thing that I kept hoping would ignite, and it just never did.
October 25, 2018
(4.5) In Silas House’s sixth novel, a Tennessee preacher’s family life falls apart when he accepts a gay couple into his church. We go on a long journey in Southernmost: not just a literal road trip from Tennessee to Florida, but also a spiritual passage from judgment to grace. Reconciliation is a major theme, but so is facing up to the consequences of poor decisions. I found the plotting decisions rewarding but also realistic. The pattern of a narrow religious worldview ebbing away to no faith at all and eventually surging back as a broader and more universal spirituality truly resonates. I loved House’s characters and setups, as well as his gentle evocation of the South. His striking metaphors draw on the natural world, like “She had the coloring of a whip-poor-will” and “The sky is the pink of grapefruit meat.” It’s a beautiful, quietly moving novel of redemption and openness to what life might teach us.
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on the various literary and pop culture references made in the novel.) I also enjoyed this autobiographical essay by Silas House; it provides some useful background to the novel and its themes.
See my full review at BookBrowse. (See also my article on the various literary and pop culture references made in the novel.) I also enjoyed this autobiographical essay by Silas House; it provides some useful background to the novel and its themes.
May 22, 2018
I received this on #netgalley in exchange for my review. A disgraced evangelical preacher finds his religion and community too angry and judgmental. After a divorce, he kidnaps his son and goes to Key West where he hopes to find his estranged brother. These huge transformations happen quickly without much exploration of the cause. Overall, I found the themes, development, characters and the writing to be overly simplistic and sentimental. 2.5⭐️
May 27, 2020
Southernmost is a touching story of judgment, self-realization, acceptance and rejection, and forgiveness. Asher, the fundamentalist preacher is about to travel. He travels with the son he has kidnapped from their home in Tennessee; from the flood-ravaged Cumberland Valley in the heart of the bible belt, to the vividly described city of Key West with its omnipresent ocean and history of tolerance. He is also making a journey of self-awareness. What does he believe? Who is he? Has he been fundamentally wrong? The one thing that he is sure of is his unconditional love for his son, Justin, and the need to protect him at all costs. This need to protect causes him to act irrationally.
While this results in pain for many, including his son, it also allows father and son to experience the acceptance and uncritical love of new acquaintances.
This was a book club selection which I never would have picked myself (perhaps I was making an unfair judgment). The narrow-mindedness of most of Asher's family and congregants is totally foreign to my life and how I was raised, although it is very alive in this country's climate today. Silas House did not stereotype his characters, something that really irrates me; it would have been easy for him to do . This was a fast read with much to think about. I am sure it will be an interesting book club discussion.
While this results in pain for many, including his son, it also allows father and son to experience the acceptance and uncritical love of new acquaintances.
This was a book club selection which I never would have picked myself (perhaps I was making an unfair judgment). The narrow-mindedness of most of Asher's family and congregants is totally foreign to my life and how I was raised, although it is very alive in this country's climate today. Silas House did not stereotype his characters, something that really irrates me; it would have been easy for him to do . This was a fast read with much to think about. I am sure it will be an interesting book club discussion.
September 7, 2018
4.5 stars rounded up - In ‘Southernmost,’ Asher Sharp is in the midst of a transformation; a transformation that will eventually carry him from Tennessee to the southernmost part of the United States, Key West, Florida. A Pentecostal preacher, whose congregation picked him because he didn’t go to seminary, Asher has been following the life that was expected of him. His role as preacher made his mother happy and soothed some of the pain of disappointment she felt in Asher’s older brother Luke’s gay lifestyle. The only thing he has in common with his wife Lydia, other than their beautiful son, Justin, is church. When the novel begins, a huge flood is sweeping down the Cumberland Valley, taking houses, cows, cars, motor homes, dogs, and people with it. This foreshadows the flood that is coming into Asher’s being, washing out the old, leaving devastation, but what will it bring, what will happen after the flood? A homosexual couple, Jimmy and Stephen, help Asher rescue a man and his daughter. Jimmy and Stephen’s house got washed away, but Lydia, knowing they are gay, refuses them shelter that night.
When did Asher’s transformation begin? Did it begin with the postcard Luke sent with a line from the poem ‘The Sandpiper’ by Elizabeth Bishop, or the card on which Luke printed “Everything That Is, Is Holy, from Thomas Merton’s work, or the one on which Luke wrote, “Sometimes the hurt is so deep deep deep” from a Patty Griffin song. All we know is that now Asher can’t pray. Is this a crisis of faith? It seems more like a crisis of identity, but for a preacher, maybe that’s one and the same.
One theme of ‘Southernmost’ is that other people can’t tell us who we are. Sometimes we don’t follow traditional gender lines in who we pick as our lovers. Sometimes fathers are as attached to their children as mothers and are as heartbroken as mothers when they’re separated from their children. Sometimes people like Zelda (Justin’s grandmother, Lydia’s mother), who’ve been told what to do and what to think all their lives will finally get tired of it and all of a sudden they’re thinking for themselves and they’re creating ripples of action out of their own intentions. Sometimes a preacher wakes up and knows that he had it wrong his whole entire life and realizes he’s been spoon feeding his congregation a line of judgment; realizes he’s part of the problem that’s created the bigoted, judgmental world we all live in. All of a sudden he understands that God accepts each of us as the people we were born to be, loves us as we are. It’s his epiphany and it’s going to cost him.
Because I grew up in the Pentecostal Church, this book spoke to me deeply. I loved Justin, who is an extremely sensitive nine year old child. His mother says it’s not normal to be so tenderhearted, but again, Justin is just another variation on what it is to be human. Asher is constantly comparing him to a little old man, because he just seems to know things. Justin looks for God in ‘The Everything,’ which reminds me of Mark 10:15 Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Justin is an engaging boy with his aura of innocence, open curiosity, lively intelligence and his love and acceptance of both his parents and his grandmother. House needed Justin in order to get across a spiritual depth I believe would not have been possible without his character. Highly Recommended.
When did Asher’s transformation begin? Did it begin with the postcard Luke sent with a line from the poem ‘The Sandpiper’ by Elizabeth Bishop, or the card on which Luke printed “Everything That Is, Is Holy, from Thomas Merton’s work, or the one on which Luke wrote, “Sometimes the hurt is so deep deep deep” from a Patty Griffin song. All we know is that now Asher can’t pray. Is this a crisis of faith? It seems more like a crisis of identity, but for a preacher, maybe that’s one and the same.
One theme of ‘Southernmost’ is that other people can’t tell us who we are. Sometimes we don’t follow traditional gender lines in who we pick as our lovers. Sometimes fathers are as attached to their children as mothers and are as heartbroken as mothers when they’re separated from their children. Sometimes people like Zelda (Justin’s grandmother, Lydia’s mother), who’ve been told what to do and what to think all their lives will finally get tired of it and all of a sudden they’re thinking for themselves and they’re creating ripples of action out of their own intentions. Sometimes a preacher wakes up and knows that he had it wrong his whole entire life and realizes he’s been spoon feeding his congregation a line of judgment; realizes he’s part of the problem that’s created the bigoted, judgmental world we all live in. All of a sudden he understands that God accepts each of us as the people we were born to be, loves us as we are. It’s his epiphany and it’s going to cost him.
Because I grew up in the Pentecostal Church, this book spoke to me deeply. I loved Justin, who is an extremely sensitive nine year old child. His mother says it’s not normal to be so tenderhearted, but again, Justin is just another variation on what it is to be human. Asher is constantly comparing him to a little old man, because he just seems to know things. Justin looks for God in ‘The Everything,’ which reminds me of Mark 10:15 Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. Justin is an engaging boy with his aura of innocence, open curiosity, lively intelligence and his love and acceptance of both his parents and his grandmother. House needed Justin in order to get across a spiritual depth I believe would not have been possible without his character. Highly Recommended.
August 3, 2018
“Southernmost” Illuminates the reader to the harsh judgments and prejudges of the Deep South. Taking place in Tennessee, an evangelical preacher comes to a crossroad of his faith when his wife and congregation snub a gay couple. Pastor Asher Sharp has an epiphany when his wife harshly sends packing a homeless gay couple, calling them an abomination. Asher wonders when he lost love and tolerance in his fire and brimstone preaching.
This is a well-written story of a man trying to find his true moral compass. He reflects upon his judgmental life and wonders when he became the judge and jury of people’s life. The prose is beautiful in that I felt sadness and troubled by the attitudes of the characters in rural Tennessee.
Per the title, Asher escapes to Key West to make amends to his gay brother. Legal issues he escaped from in Tennessee complicate his trip there.
Author Silas House writes Asher as conflicted and searching. Asher finds the courage to do the right thing. This is a beautiful story that reflects the undercurrent of our nation and the crossroads that individuals are encountering.
This is a well-written story of a man trying to find his true moral compass. He reflects upon his judgmental life and wonders when he became the judge and jury of people’s life. The prose is beautiful in that I felt sadness and troubled by the attitudes of the characters in rural Tennessee.
Per the title, Asher escapes to Key West to make amends to his gay brother. Legal issues he escaped from in Tennessee complicate his trip there.
Author Silas House writes Asher as conflicted and searching. Asher finds the courage to do the right thing. This is a beautiful story that reflects the undercurrent of our nation and the crossroads that individuals are encountering.
January 31, 2021
After a flood washes away some houses in a rural Tennessee town, the evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter for the night to two gay men. His wife refuses to let them stay since she has religious prejudices. Asher feels guilty because his family and his community condemned his gay brother, Luke, years ago. Luke left Tennessee and his postcards suggest he's living in Key West.
After Asher preaches about tolerance to his congregation, they vote to remove him as pastor. Although Asher had been raised with the same religious teachings as his wife, he has changed and cannot accept her judgemental feelings now. Soon they are fighting for custody of their son, Justin, a sensitive, thoughtful boy.
Asher kidnaps his son and heads for Key West, the southernmost area of the United States. Asher hopes to find Luke and ask for his forgiveness. Two colorful women, an old dog, and the beauty of Key West help heal Asher and Justin. But Justin feels torn between his two parents, both who love him, and difficult decisions have to be made.
"Southernmost" is a beautifully written book about empathy and tolerance for others. It shows a whole spectrum of religious beliefs, including Justin who sees God as "The Everything", to be found wherever you are. The book has a thoughtful theme about trying to do what feels right, even when there is a price to be paid for doing it.
After Asher preaches about tolerance to his congregation, they vote to remove him as pastor. Although Asher had been raised with the same religious teachings as his wife, he has changed and cannot accept her judgemental feelings now. Soon they are fighting for custody of their son, Justin, a sensitive, thoughtful boy.
Asher kidnaps his son and heads for Key West, the southernmost area of the United States. Asher hopes to find Luke and ask for his forgiveness. Two colorful women, an old dog, and the beauty of Key West help heal Asher and Justin. But Justin feels torn between his two parents, both who love him, and difficult decisions have to be made.
"Southernmost" is a beautifully written book about empathy and tolerance for others. It shows a whole spectrum of religious beliefs, including Justin who sees God as "The Everything", to be found wherever you are. The book has a thoughtful theme about trying to do what feels right, even when there is a price to be paid for doing it.
April 30, 2025
Southernmost by Silas House
“Being afraid of somebody who’s different’ll make an awful meanness come over you” is from Southernmost by Silas House.
This is for anyone ProLGBTQ+ but mostly against. I’ve said this for years. Hate is for people who are uneducated to the facts. It isn’t your business. No one is hurting anyone. Don’t judge. Let people be people.
I recommend EVERYONE read this book!
“Being afraid of somebody who’s different’ll make an awful meanness come over you” is from Southernmost by Silas House.
This is for anyone ProLGBTQ+ but mostly against. I’ve said this for years. Hate is for people who are uneducated to the facts. It isn’t your business. No one is hurting anyone. Don’t judge. Let people be people.
I recommend EVERYONE read this book!
April 30, 2018
At university, I took a course in religion with a professor who was ordained and had studied under Karl Barth. He told me that students come into his class with a naive belief and what he taught shook them for they had never viewed their faith community and beliefs from the 'outside'. And, the professor continued, perhaps they will later return to their church and reaffirm it, this time with a deeper kind of faith.
But letting go of what one is taught, the beliefs held by one's community is rare and hard. I watched church leaders endeavor to destroy a church over their perceptions of the denomination's Social Principles as approving sin. It is more common for people to destroy what they fear than to change what they believe.
"None of us can know the mind of God. He's too big for that." Rev. Asher in Southernmost
I was drawn to read Southernmost by Silas House because it is about an Evangelical pastor who realizes that his narrow understanding of what God requires has created hate and bigotry, casting some into the outer darkness, and thus impairing his own soul.
When a flood leaves a gay couple homeless, Asher invites them into his house, a holy hospitality which his wife cannot tolerate. Asher has felt guilt over participating in his family's and community's condemnation of his brother Luke when he came out as gay. When the gay couple comes to worship, Asher tries to lead his flock and his family to an understanding of love and hospitality, but they are recalcitrant. He can only move on, leaving his church and his wife.
Asher's wife Lydia keeps their son hostage, insistent that only she can raise him in the right values now that Asher has 'gone crazy'. In fact, she has been so fearful that gayness runs in the family, she rejects her son's sensitivity and non-violence. Unable to bear separation from his son, Asher rashly kidnaps him, then travels south to the Florida Keys to find his estranged brother. It is time to make amends for his sins.
Asher buys a moment in time alone with his son but knows it can't be sustained. He has to return his son home and face the consequences, hoping his wife will be merciful and not vengeful.
The pacing of the novel is like a symphony that starts with an Allegro and immediate action, then settling into a slower Adagio before rising to a fast-moving Scherzo, and finally, resolves in the manner of Tchaikovsky with a slower, more internalized, final movement.
I was interested by the characters' grappling with what God requires of us.
And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
"Hebrews says to entertain strangers," Asher tells Lydia. "Love the sinner, hate the sin," she responds. "You've gotten belief confused with judgment," Asher responds; "They are our neighbors."
Lydia holds steadfast to what she had been taught, resisting a changing world that tells her what she knows is wrong is now normal. She believes keeping Justin from Asher is a battle for her son's soul.
Asher has come to doubt everything he grew up accepting; "I have been on the road to Damascus," he thinks. His eyes have been opened. Paul had persecuted the Christians, and struck blind on the Damascus road saw the truth and converted to Christianity. Asher's rejection of gays, including his own brother, was blindness. "You can use the Word to judge and condemn people or you can use it to love them." Judging his brother became the seed of doubt in his faith.
Justin has his own faith, a sensitivity for the divine, seeing God in the Everything. Forgiveness is the easiest thing in the world, he believes. Forgetting is the hard part. Justin sees the greater truths and offers us a faith that transcends human institutions.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Final note: Luke tells Asher that he spend time in Grand Haven, Michigan, "in winter the most lonesome place I've seen." Amen! We spent one winter in an even smaller Lake Michigan resort town up the coast from Grand Haven. In winter the businesses closed--except for the bars and a small grocery store that was half open. The houses around us were empty, summer homes. You could walk down the middle of the streets. It was one lonesome place.
But letting go of what one is taught, the beliefs held by one's community is rare and hard. I watched church leaders endeavor to destroy a church over their perceptions of the denomination's Social Principles as approving sin. It is more common for people to destroy what they fear than to change what they believe.
"None of us can know the mind of God. He's too big for that." Rev. Asher in Southernmost
I was drawn to read Southernmost by Silas House because it is about an Evangelical pastor who realizes that his narrow understanding of what God requires has created hate and bigotry, casting some into the outer darkness, and thus impairing his own soul.
When a flood leaves a gay couple homeless, Asher invites them into his house, a holy hospitality which his wife cannot tolerate. Asher has felt guilt over participating in his family's and community's condemnation of his brother Luke when he came out as gay. When the gay couple comes to worship, Asher tries to lead his flock and his family to an understanding of love and hospitality, but they are recalcitrant. He can only move on, leaving his church and his wife.
Asher's wife Lydia keeps their son hostage, insistent that only she can raise him in the right values now that Asher has 'gone crazy'. In fact, she has been so fearful that gayness runs in the family, she rejects her son's sensitivity and non-violence. Unable to bear separation from his son, Asher rashly kidnaps him, then travels south to the Florida Keys to find his estranged brother. It is time to make amends for his sins.
Asher buys a moment in time alone with his son but knows it can't be sustained. He has to return his son home and face the consequences, hoping his wife will be merciful and not vengeful.
The pacing of the novel is like a symphony that starts with an Allegro and immediate action, then settling into a slower Adagio before rising to a fast-moving Scherzo, and finally, resolves in the manner of Tchaikovsky with a slower, more internalized, final movement.
I was interested by the characters' grappling with what God requires of us.
And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
"Hebrews says to entertain strangers," Asher tells Lydia. "Love the sinner, hate the sin," she responds. "You've gotten belief confused with judgment," Asher responds; "They are our neighbors."
Lydia holds steadfast to what she had been taught, resisting a changing world that tells her what she knows is wrong is now normal. She believes keeping Justin from Asher is a battle for her son's soul.
Asher has come to doubt everything he grew up accepting; "I have been on the road to Damascus," he thinks. His eyes have been opened. Paul had persecuted the Christians, and struck blind on the Damascus road saw the truth and converted to Christianity. Asher's rejection of gays, including his own brother, was blindness. "You can use the Word to judge and condemn people or you can use it to love them." Judging his brother became the seed of doubt in his faith.
Justin has his own faith, a sensitivity for the divine, seeing God in the Everything. Forgiveness is the easiest thing in the world, he believes. Forgetting is the hard part. Justin sees the greater truths and offers us a faith that transcends human institutions.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
Final note: Luke tells Asher that he spend time in Grand Haven, Michigan, "in winter the most lonesome place I've seen." Amen! We spent one winter in an even smaller Lake Michigan resort town up the coast from Grand Haven. In winter the businesses closed--except for the bars and a small grocery store that was half open. The houses around us were empty, summer homes. You could walk down the middle of the streets. It was one lonesome place.
August 6, 2018
This book had a very interesting premise, but the writing left me wanting so much more. Most characters were two-dimensional stereotypes. One of the first scenes in the book is of Asher struggling to pray with his devout wife, and this scene then directly leads to his his crisis of faith (the event that sets the plot of the book in motion). The premise is interesting, but the writing is so heavy-handed there's no surprises along the way. The description of the southern town Asher lived in was also nothing but more stereotypes. For example, during a single drive he passed tobacco fields, old people on porches shucking peas, women leaving their weekly trip to the beauty shop, and homophobic signs outside churches. While all of these things may still exist, all of them being mentioned in the span of a few paragraphs just seems so contrived.
Asher also makes so many terrible choices as a father, as a brother, and as a friend. He is well aware of his faults, but long passages about his self-pitying thoughts become so tedious to read. These passages are then often broken up with descriptions of mundane and meaningless events, such as taking naps on the beach. Entire chapters contained mundane details like grocery shopping, that did not move the plot forward or further develop any of the two-dimensional characters.
Spoiler: my favorite moment of the book was when Asher finally meets his long-lost brother, and his brother does not immediately forgive him. This was one of the few moments in the book I didn't see coming a million miles off.
Asher also makes so many terrible choices as a father, as a brother, and as a friend. He is well aware of his faults, but long passages about his self-pitying thoughts become so tedious to read. These passages are then often broken up with descriptions of mundane and meaningless events, such as taking naps on the beach. Entire chapters contained mundane details like grocery shopping, that did not move the plot forward or further develop any of the two-dimensional characters.
Spoiler: my favorite moment of the book was when Asher finally meets his long-lost brother, and his brother does not immediately forgive him. This was one of the few moments in the book I didn't see coming a million miles off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2020
Another Silas House Winner
Great Book about a few tough topics: hate, gay relationships and kidnapping. He weaves life through these challenges like an experienced seamstress. Loved the book.
Great Book about a few tough topics: hate, gay relationships and kidnapping. He weaves life through these challenges like an experienced seamstress. Loved the book.
Read
May 19, 2020Truthfully I haven't finished this, debated on going on with it despite not enjoying it as I thought I would. One of those books whose arguments I like but just can't go on hoping I'd like the next page better than I liked the last. Bowed out at 100 and odd pages, wish I liked it more than I did, but the writing is a bit too soap-operatic for me.
October 20, 2018
In Silas House's latest novel, SOUTHERNMOST, a cataclysmic natural event (flood on the Cumberland River upstream from Nashville) triggers a cataclysmic social event (a rural Pentecostal minister, Asher, offers two homeless gay men shelter, but his straight-laced wife isn't having any of it; nor when he invites them to his church, is the congregation). The plot develops in an unexpected way that keeps Asher at the heart of it, undergirded by Silas House's rich and evocative prose.
I recommend SOUTHERNMOST without apology or reservation. It is that rare kind of novel that combines interesting, if flawed characters; well-crafted writing; and social significance.
I recommend SOUTHERNMOST without apology or reservation. It is that rare kind of novel that combines interesting, if flawed characters; well-crafted writing; and social significance.
June 21, 2018
Really not big on writing reviews, but want to note that this book has some really, beautiful descriptive language that sticks with you. Silas House's characters and the vivid scenes he creates will stay with you well after finishing the book. Plenty of passages I already know I want to go back to. House's descriptions of one character's idea of God resonates deeply with me (and I'm more on the agnostic side of things). If you enjoy a good story and being lost in words, check it out. This was a source of solace during a hard week. Might be that for you, too.
July 16, 2018
I really wanted to love this book. The plot intrigued me: A holly roller preacher has a dilemma when he rescues a homosexual couple during a flood and attempts to welcome them into his house and into his church. His family, his congregation, and town ostracize him. He then goes out on a quest to find his long-lost gay brother (whom he shunned years ago) with his son. A reviewer compared Southernmost to the novels of Wendell Berry (one of my favorites). While there is some beautiful language and interesting God-talk (a nice little nod to Thomas Merton), this novel just had too many problems for me:
- To me, a protagonist must be likable. Asher, the protagonist of Southernmost, is anything but likable. He wants to give up judgment and embrace equality, which is admirable, but he just makes bad choice after bad choice throughout the novel. Is it out of ignorance or selfishness? I'm not sure. Whatever the case, he just comes off as petulant throughout.
- The catastrophic flood at the beginning of the novel sets the plot in motion. However, I feel like the readers are hardly given anything about Asher's change of heart and the transformation that goes on inside of him. In what seems like a few pages there's a flood, he takes in a gay couple, he is ostracized, he runs off with his boy. Then his time on the run seems to be stretched out. Asher seems to just walk away from everything too easily.
- Everything seems too perfect in this novel. I'm leaving this review spoiler free, but just know there are too many points in the novel that just seem totally unbelievable. Too many coincidences and tidy solutions. Also, a nine year old that loves My Morning Jacket? Jason Isbell on the radio (I'm assuming Asher didn't have satellite radio! Ha!)? Road signs that say "GOD HATES FAGS" (I've lived my whole life in GA, SC, and TN and don't think I've ever seen a road sign proclaim this . . . though, I've known people to believe that and proclaim it).
- House has a strange penchant for using "This:" and "Then:" throughout the novel.
- How many times do we need to be told that Asher's mouth was watering? We get it. He's hungry and thirsty.
- To me, a protagonist must be likable. Asher, the protagonist of Southernmost, is anything but likable. He wants to give up judgment and embrace equality, which is admirable, but he just makes bad choice after bad choice throughout the novel. Is it out of ignorance or selfishness? I'm not sure. Whatever the case, he just comes off as petulant throughout.
- The catastrophic flood at the beginning of the novel sets the plot in motion. However, I feel like the readers are hardly given anything about Asher's change of heart and the transformation that goes on inside of him. In what seems like a few pages there's a flood, he takes in a gay couple, he is ostracized, he runs off with his boy. Then his time on the run seems to be stretched out. Asher seems to just walk away from everything too easily.
- Everything seems too perfect in this novel. I'm leaving this review spoiler free, but just know there are too many points in the novel that just seem totally unbelievable. Too many coincidences and tidy solutions. Also, a nine year old that loves My Morning Jacket? Jason Isbell on the radio (I'm assuming Asher didn't have satellite radio! Ha!)? Road signs that say "GOD HATES FAGS" (I've lived my whole life in GA, SC, and TN and don't think I've ever seen a road sign proclaim this . . . though, I've known people to believe that and proclaim it).
- House has a strange penchant for using "This:" and "Then:" throughout the novel.
- How many times do we need to be told that Asher's mouth was watering? We get it. He's hungry and thirsty.
July 22, 2018
A slow-moving gentle novel with some lovely descriptive language. Sadly, I really didn't connect with the characters or feel drawn into the story, which challenges us to treat people with tolerance, especially those that have a different perspective on life. After reading part one, this book lay waiting for me to re-discover it for several weeks. Now that it is due back to the Library, I have skimmed the rest.
May 2, 2018
Another masterpiece by @silashouse <3 <3 <3 such a powerful story of love, transformation, family, and spirituality. Thank you 🙏 “You’ve got to find the Everything wherever you are.”
August 3, 2018
Thoughts in general KINDNESS. More to come but still processing. Struggling with how the protagonist is perceived by me.
October 22, 2018
I’m actually shocked this book is rated as highly as it is... and I wonder if it is part of this societal fetish that we have with religious folks suddenly becoming “enlightened” and good. The book is very sweet and well-written but it is so... not believable... like we’re supposed to believe that this dude just gives it all up because of two men(who aren’t even HUMANIZED in the book, BTW) and full stop changes. Meh. Not only that, the redemption is still found in a pretty typical religious narrative (how fitting that his brother is then a man of god). Not to mention the desperate attempt to weave a heteronormative storyline in to “normalize” Asher. The lessons are just a bit too on the nose and orderly for my taste. That said, I’m glad the story exists and the goodreads reviews prove that it is an important book.
September 29, 2018
This book! I very nearly gave it 4 stars instead, only because of the ending. It almost leaves you...what’s the right word, hollowed out and searching for what to fill that void with. Personally, I think I didn’t want to let these characters go. They made my heart ache in all the right ways. Silas House is an amazing writer. The pace is brisk, but he utilizes language in such a clipped manner that you can feel a character’s suffering with the aid of only a single sentence. One of my favorite books of the year.
June 30, 2018
Complete, unedited thoughts here: https://herewearegoing.wordpress.com/...
Full Disclosure: I bought Southernmost from my beloved local indie, Curious Iguana, because it was blurbed by Garth Greenwell, whose novel, What Belongs To You, remains one of my lifetime favorite books. I did not get a free copy. I do not know the author. I am just a reader devoted to good writing.
Full Disclosure Part 2: To read a novel in which many actions are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bigotry in the current atmosphere when a major political party has embraced legislating hate, bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia into law is, for me, terrifying. I appreciate some people still think gentle education is the answer and cure, I was once a proponent of said approach myself. Now, however, I believe more and more with every passing day and new despicable action committed by the gop and the illegitimate dictator-wanna-be occupying the white house along with his criminal family and jackbooted cronies, that the only answer is revolution. In addition to which, having suffered the results --- physical and emotional --- and compromised existence resulting from such prejudice as is being promulgated by these fascist-republicans, I am, perhaps, more impatient than most with the gentle treatment of the bigoted-villains in this story.
Synopsis: A flood destroys a Tennessee town in tandem with the Supreme Court ruling affirming gay marriage equality. Pentecostal preacher, Asher Sharp's nine-year-old son, Justin, runs toward the dangerous rushing waters in search of his beloved dog, Roscoe, and is rescued --- sort of --- by Jimmy and Stephen, a gay couple recently relocated from Nashville. When Asher offers shelter to the couple whose home has been destroyed, his rabidly-hypocritically-pious wife objects, worried what the congregation will think. Jimmy and Stephen leave, unwilling to stay where they are unwanted, and Asher begins to be plagued by doubts, further exacerbated by memories of his gay brother Luke's departure a decade earlier when their mother held a gun to his head saying she'd rather see him dead than gay, and Asher, too, turned against him in cruel, bigoted judgment, twisting religion into hate.
When Jimmy and Stephen try to join Asher's congregation, its members insist Asher reject them. Asher determines this to be un-christian and cites biblical passages to insist they be welcomed and accepted. When the congregation then votes to oust him as minister, Asher makes an impassioned speech about acceptance which goes viral. He leaves his wife, who sues for and wins sole-custody of Justin thanks to a prejudiced judge and backward court system.
Asher, increasingly disturbed by the abusive brainwashing his son is being subjected to, forcibly removes Justin from his grandmother's home one weekend, inadvertently injuring her in the struggle, and runs with him to Key West putatively in search of Luke, the brother he's not seen nor communicated with in a decade. Along the way they rescue a stray dog, who Justin names Shady, who can't replace Roscoe --- whose body Asher found, never telling Justin he had done so --- but does give Justin something to take care of, a confidante.
In Key West, Asher and Justin and Shady settle in at a guest house owned by Bell, an older semi-recluse, and begin working there along with Evona, another emotional recluse with a mysterious and sad history. Now and then Asher asks someone if they've heard of his brother, and he Vespas the streets of Key West in a magic-realism, less than sincere effort at finding long-gone Luke.
What happens then, what's happened until then, is a story about the shape and the power of beliefs, the cost of constructing one's own personal morality and faith-based on experience and heart-truths, disregarding the droning cacophony of "should must right wrong black white yes no" of many traditional, conservative religions; a system of beliefs all too often used to bully, frighten, and control people in ways that grow hate rather than spread love, using faith as a weapon of punishment, terrorism, and division rather than praise, acceptance, and inclusion.
Asher questions his past and contributions to that culture of despair, and the damage such teachings and preachings have done. At the same time, he sees that forcing Justin to live in hiding, removing him from his home and others he loves is also doing damage. Asher struggles with questions of faith and accountability, and, too, the many shapes of love and the lengths to which people will go in the service of that love, lengths and actions that distort that love into an unrecognizable force of destruction and harm.
Well then. Okay. I get it. I do. And here's what Josh Inocéncio in Spectrum South: The Voice of the Queer South has to say:
"And this is why House’s novel is critical, particularly to southern literature. Written in third person, the story is about a conservative, heterosexual man who must challenge everything he knows to pursue a new sense of what is right."
... and this ...
"With Southernmost, House brings a much-needed message from a palatable point of view. It’s a novel that every gay southerner should read, and then hastily send to any of their kin still struggling with acceptance."
Palatable point of view? I say, forget that noise. At this point in history, when our freedoms are daily abrogated, our lives quite literally threatened, all with the approval --- nay, the cheering on --- of a major political party and 62 million bigot-voters --- for an LGBTQ writer to approach a story from the point of view of a cis-white-male-hetero-villain's perspective in an attempt to mollycoddle the bigoted into considering behaving like decent human beings is nothing less than Uncle Tomism, or, I think we'll call it Uncle Bruce-ism.
Like I said, FORGET THAT NOISE.
I think we've had quite enough stories told from the point of view of straight white men. And when man-of-so-called-god Asher suffers pangs of conscience ten years after calling his brother a derogatory, unprintable name and disowning him, and then has his life inconvenienced for taking baby-steps toward decency, steps mostly self-serving and ill-conceived, none of which constitute actually DOING anything to undo the damage his actions and preaching have done throughout the years, well, you'll have to excuse me if I am less than sympathetic.
Like the brother he finally finds who says that none of what Asher did can be undone, I agree. And so, this isn't me saying the book is poorly written --- that's not the case at all. It moves quickly, speaks in evocative, simple language and Southern-patois with the ring of authenticity, and despite some diminishment of action into cliché and, too, a nine-year-old who is described as an old-soul but who is prescient and empathetic beyond belief, the novel is quite readable.
But, it's a Lifetime-movie in a time when we need a Tony Kushner play. It is appeasement when we need to storm the barricades, and as such --- for me, at least --- it, in part, excuses the inexcusable and unforgivable behaviors and attitudes of the haters, without the hater-in-chief main character doing anything other than feeling a little bad about what he's done. And, in the meantime, managing to hurt his son, his mother-in-law, his brother, and his fellow runaway, Evona, in the process. Typical. The angst and suffering of the cis-het-white-man infects and damages everyone with whom he comes in contact.
Enough. Too much. Rabbit has run one too many times, and Portnoy's complaints are just privileged whining, and everything Franzen induces furious-gag-reflex now. So, out with the perspective of the oppressors, please.
And, one more time, forget that noise.
Full Disclosure: I bought Southernmost from my beloved local indie, Curious Iguana, because it was blurbed by Garth Greenwell, whose novel, What Belongs To You, remains one of my lifetime favorite books. I did not get a free copy. I do not know the author. I am just a reader devoted to good writing.
Full Disclosure Part 2: To read a novel in which many actions are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bigotry in the current atmosphere when a major political party has embraced legislating hate, bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia into law is, for me, terrifying. I appreciate some people still think gentle education is the answer and cure, I was once a proponent of said approach myself. Now, however, I believe more and more with every passing day and new despicable action committed by the gop and the illegitimate dictator-wanna-be occupying the white house along with his criminal family and jackbooted cronies, that the only answer is revolution. In addition to which, having suffered the results --- physical and emotional --- and compromised existence resulting from such prejudice as is being promulgated by these fascist-republicans, I am, perhaps, more impatient than most with the gentle treatment of the bigoted-villains in this story.
Synopsis: A flood destroys a Tennessee town in tandem with the Supreme Court ruling affirming gay marriage equality. Pentecostal preacher, Asher Sharp's nine-year-old son, Justin, runs toward the dangerous rushing waters in search of his beloved dog, Roscoe, and is rescued --- sort of --- by Jimmy and Stephen, a gay couple recently relocated from Nashville. When Asher offers shelter to the couple whose home has been destroyed, his rabidly-hypocritically-pious wife objects, worried what the congregation will think. Jimmy and Stephen leave, unwilling to stay where they are unwanted, and Asher begins to be plagued by doubts, further exacerbated by memories of his gay brother Luke's departure a decade earlier when their mother held a gun to his head saying she'd rather see him dead than gay, and Asher, too, turned against him in cruel, bigoted judgment, twisting religion into hate.
When Jimmy and Stephen try to join Asher's congregation, its members insist Asher reject them. Asher determines this to be un-christian and cites biblical passages to insist they be welcomed and accepted. When the congregation then votes to oust him as minister, Asher makes an impassioned speech about acceptance which goes viral. He leaves his wife, who sues for and wins sole-custody of Justin thanks to a prejudiced judge and backward court system.
Asher, increasingly disturbed by the abusive brainwashing his son is being subjected to, forcibly removes Justin from his grandmother's home one weekend, inadvertently injuring her in the struggle, and runs with him to Key West putatively in search of Luke, the brother he's not seen nor communicated with in a decade. Along the way they rescue a stray dog, who Justin names Shady, who can't replace Roscoe --- whose body Asher found, never telling Justin he had done so --- but does give Justin something to take care of, a confidante.
In Key West, Asher and Justin and Shady settle in at a guest house owned by Bell, an older semi-recluse, and begin working there along with Evona, another emotional recluse with a mysterious and sad history. Now and then Asher asks someone if they've heard of his brother, and he Vespas the streets of Key West in a magic-realism, less than sincere effort at finding long-gone Luke.
What happens then, what's happened until then, is a story about the shape and the power of beliefs, the cost of constructing one's own personal morality and faith-based on experience and heart-truths, disregarding the droning cacophony of "should must right wrong black white yes no" of many traditional, conservative religions; a system of beliefs all too often used to bully, frighten, and control people in ways that grow hate rather than spread love, using faith as a weapon of punishment, terrorism, and division rather than praise, acceptance, and inclusion.
Asher questions his past and contributions to that culture of despair, and the damage such teachings and preachings have done. At the same time, he sees that forcing Justin to live in hiding, removing him from his home and others he loves is also doing damage. Asher struggles with questions of faith and accountability, and, too, the many shapes of love and the lengths to which people will go in the service of that love, lengths and actions that distort that love into an unrecognizable force of destruction and harm.
Well then. Okay. I get it. I do. And here's what Josh Inocéncio in Spectrum South: The Voice of the Queer South has to say:
"And this is why House’s novel is critical, particularly to southern literature. Written in third person, the story is about a conservative, heterosexual man who must challenge everything he knows to pursue a new sense of what is right."
... and this ...
"With Southernmost, House brings a much-needed message from a palatable point of view. It’s a novel that every gay southerner should read, and then hastily send to any of their kin still struggling with acceptance."
Palatable point of view? I say, forget that noise. At this point in history, when our freedoms are daily abrogated, our lives quite literally threatened, all with the approval --- nay, the cheering on --- of a major political party and 62 million bigot-voters --- for an LGBTQ writer to approach a story from the point of view of a cis-white-male-hetero-villain's perspective in an attempt to mollycoddle the bigoted into considering behaving like decent human beings is nothing less than Uncle Tomism, or, I think we'll call it Uncle Bruce-ism.
Like I said, FORGET THAT NOISE.
I think we've had quite enough stories told from the point of view of straight white men. And when man-of-so-called-god Asher suffers pangs of conscience ten years after calling his brother a derogatory, unprintable name and disowning him, and then has his life inconvenienced for taking baby-steps toward decency, steps mostly self-serving and ill-conceived, none of which constitute actually DOING anything to undo the damage his actions and preaching have done throughout the years, well, you'll have to excuse me if I am less than sympathetic.
Like the brother he finally finds who says that none of what Asher did can be undone, I agree. And so, this isn't me saying the book is poorly written --- that's not the case at all. It moves quickly, speaks in evocative, simple language and Southern-patois with the ring of authenticity, and despite some diminishment of action into cliché and, too, a nine-year-old who is described as an old-soul but who is prescient and empathetic beyond belief, the novel is quite readable.
But, it's a Lifetime-movie in a time when we need a Tony Kushner play. It is appeasement when we need to storm the barricades, and as such --- for me, at least --- it, in part, excuses the inexcusable and unforgivable behaviors and attitudes of the haters, without the hater-in-chief main character doing anything other than feeling a little bad about what he's done. And, in the meantime, managing to hurt his son, his mother-in-law, his brother, and his fellow runaway, Evona, in the process. Typical. The angst and suffering of the cis-het-white-man infects and damages everyone with whom he comes in contact.
Enough. Too much. Rabbit has run one too many times, and Portnoy's complaints are just privileged whining, and everything Franzen induces furious-gag-reflex now. So, out with the perspective of the oppressors, please.
And, one more time, forget that noise.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,313 reviews