The Architect

by James Williamson

Struggling architect Ethan Cotham understands Ben Jonson’s observation, “Art hath an enemy called Ignorance.” Cotham may have just won a prestigious competition to design the new Center for Southern Culture on the banks of the Mississippi River, but now his unconventional ideas must survive attack by the conservative Memphis Board of Design Review. Written with a solid ring of authenticity, the story builds to a suspenseful and tragic climax amidst its setting in Memphis and Mississippi, a region peopled by colorful characters where the past is inevitably in conflict with the present.

363 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

James Williamson, author of The Ravine and The Architect, is a professor of architecture at the University of Memphis. He writes Southern fiction as an avocation.

He was born in Memphis, and is a graduate of Rhodes College. As a student he participated in the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike. During the Vietnam War he served as a naval officer.

Following his military service Williamson obtained two Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a student of renowned architect Louis Kahn. In Philadelphia he also worked as an associate of Robert Venturi.

Williamson has received over 30 architectural design awards at the local, regional, and national levels, and his work has been published internationally. In 2005 he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his notable contributions in architectural design and education.

Williamson "draws on his youth for his second novel, The Ravine. The story provides an intimate look at small-town Mississippi life through the eyes of thirteen-year old Harry, the child of a prominent Memphis family who is staying with his aunt and uncle for the summer. It’s 1958, and virtually all white residents are committed to the status quo. The church, law enforcement, Jim Crow laws, and generations of custom have combined to enforce the separate and distinctly second-class status of the town’s black population.... But he begins to understand racism when he gets a part-time job delivering groceries with Winston, the son of the black couple who work for his aunt and uncle. Eventually, of course, there’s a confrontation: Harry is present when a busload of black college students arrives and asks to worship at the town’s white church. The resulting scuffle leads to truly devastating results—for Winston and for Harry’s own family." -Ralph Bowden, Chapter 16

His first novel, The Architect, was praised by a reviewer as “a thoughtful, moving novel about the realities of building, particularly when style collides with money, politics, and the demands of the less than enlightened… a lively treatise on architecture itself.” A previous non-fiction book, The Central Gardens Handbook (with Carl Awsumb, co-author), is a guide to historic preservation for a local historic district, now in its second edition. In addition, he has had a number of articles published in national and international architectural journals, as well as a cover article for “Tennessee Historical Quarterly” magazine. Williamson is currently at work on a non-fiction book about Louis Kahn.

He lives with his wife in Memphis.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stayed up late to finish this, something a novel rarely inspires me to do. As a Tennessean who's married to an architect, I loved reading about the struggle to create just as my husband has experienced it. As the daughter of a structural engineer, I loved the respect for that profession. The daily life in Memphis was well drawn, and there was some derring do to keep me flipping the pages. Well done!

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written glimpse in the daily trials and creative processes of an architect. The characters are engaging and the plot is interesting.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ethan Cotham is an architect in Memphis, TN. He's a visionary in his field, but struggles with self-doubt. His design wins a competition for the prestigious Center for Southern Culture. Designing it was one thing, now it has to be built.