A World Made of Fire

by Mark Childress

"Mark Childress is an artist with an ear comparable to Eudora Welty's. I haven't read a Southern novel since Losing Battles that has given me such pleasure.” - Harper Lee. An extraordinary burst of praise greeted Mark Childress's enthralling first novel, "A World Made of Fire." Set in Alabama at the turn of the century, it tells the story of Callie Bates and her adoring children; the preacher-husband leaving in a buggy after the wedding and returning with spiteful sermons about the children Callie gives birth to year after year in his absence. It is the story of the secret visitor who is the radiant element of Callie's life; of the tragic Christmas Day of 1909; and of the children who survive it - Jacko, believed to have magical powers because he was saved from the fire in his mother's arms, and young Stella, blighted by the sorrow she has witnessed. The poetic, non-comic novel that launched the career of the author of "Crazy in Alabama" and "One Mississippi."

Genres: Fiction

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Mark Childress was born in Monroeville, Alabama. He is the author of the novels A WORLD MADE OF FIRE, V FOR VICTOR, TENDER, CRAZY IN ALABAMA, GONE FOR GOOD, ONE MISSISSIPPI, and GEORGIA BOTTOMS. Childress has received the Harper Lee Award for Alabama's Distinguished Author, Thomas Wolfe Award, the University of Alabama's Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Alabama Library Association's Writer of the Year. He is a staff member and a director of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. He has lived in Ohio, Indiana, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, California, Costa Rica, and currently lives in Key West, Florida, where he is writing his eighth novel and a film script.

Reviews

[Reid]

This books starts off well, with an interesting story and well-drawn characters. About a third of the way in, though, it devolves into an odd mysticism that the author seems incapable of either delineating or sustaining. There is no plausibility to the character of the "boy touched by fire", and no deeper meaning lurking in the darkness of evil which seems to surround this town. One wonders if Childress is not another in a long line of young Southern writers who hope to claim Faulkner's crown; if so, he is not up to the task, and perhaps should content himself with simple storytelling until his craft is a bit more honed.

In all fairness, this is a first novel, and 25 years old. He has written more since; perhaps he has a better grasp at this point and I should give him another chance. His prose is sharp and strong, and his characterizations sure, even where his story is weak. My guess is that his later novels were much better.

[Gwen]

I enjoyed the first half of the book, by the end I was getting tired of it and didn't like the direction it took. I felt confused some of the time.

[Carol]

When I was in college I heard the author give a reading from this at my dorm and was so enchanted I bought the book on the spot. More than 20 years later I still think Childress is underrated as a fine Southern writer. He should be a lot more famous than he is.

[Sara]

Eh. This book started out with a lot of promise... then went downhill from there. By the end, I had no idea what was going on.

[Summer]

This book is so, so awful! I hated it. There were a lot of themes of hoodoo (however you spell it) and witchcraft and all these crazy symbols...I had to read it for Alabama lit and was then forced to give a presentation on this awful thing.
But I feel like I need someone else to read it so I can discuss...so maybe I would recommend it to my friends, even though it is so crappy.

[LInda L]

Started out OK, but quickly deteriorated into weird. Then got worse.

[Libby]

I have read all of Mark's newer books and have loved them. When I found this one and realized it was a much earlier work, I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I didn't care for it at all.

[Anna]

I really like this author. This book is not for the squeamish, but I couldn't put it down. Loved his characters, esp. the southern dialects.

[Nancy Baker]

I’m glad I read other books by Childress before this one or else I probably wouldn’t have read anything else by him.

[Jered]

Started off so strong...
...then fell to shit. Disappointing.

[Martina Clark]

Loved loved loved this book. To be sure, it is a dark and delicious tale, but one that reminds me why a good writer is such a treasure and, certainly, Mark Childress is not only a good writer, but an extraordinary writer. Highly recommend!

[Tuluka]

Interesting, had to go back and re-read again to "get" it all. But, enjoyed it.

[Elli]

Picked it because it looked interesting, but it was super weird. Had a hard time getting into it but made it too far to stop, so I finished it haha. Kinda dark.

[Ajcc]

F 813.54 CHIL

[K.T. Archer]

I enjoyed the story line and the unexpected twists kept me turning the pages.

[Lucinda Mcintyre]

A good first novel - - but i like his later funnier stuff better.

[Patricia]

I really enjoyed this story. It's my second Mark Childress book and I have liked them both!