Southernmost

April 1, 2018

The metaphor of a flood often signifies the cleansing of old ways, thus allowing for new paths to open. In this new work from House (A Parchment of Leaves), set in a rural Tennessee valley, brothers Luke and Asher are estranged after Luke comes out as gay and, faced with condemnation, leaves home. Some years later the Cumberland River floods and the community is decimated. In the aftermath, Asher, a preacher, offers housing to a gay couple, for he now sees that all people are children of God. For this, he is rejected by his family and his church. He flees, along with his son, to find and to reconcile with Luke. They journey to Key West, where, with help from some folks (possibly angels in disguise), Luke and Asher forge a new relationship. This dialog-driven portrait of a family in pain is lightened by the presence of a dog, as well as descriptions of the sensory wonders of the United States' southernmost point: the scents, the sounds, and the changing, enchanting colors of the skies over Key West. VERDICT House's tale will strike a chord with those who have taken their own arduous path to acceptance, just as it may bring enlightenment to those who are trying to understand the experience of others.--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2018
A road novel that mixes warmth, empathy, tragedy, and hope.Southern novelist House's (Eli the Good, 2009, etc.) new book is a paean to the wisdom of the heart and the remarkable ability of humans to listen to that wisdom despite a lifetime of believing (or preaching) intolerance. The novel opens in the wake of a catastrophic flood that all but destroys a small Tennessee town, as seen through the eyes of Asher Sharp, a Pentecostal preacher. Asher and his 8-year-old son, Justin, save a neighbor from his house as it literally floats down the river; they are aided by two gay men who have recently moved to the area and who lost their home in the flood as well. Asher is moved by the couple's selflessness and offers them shelter in his own house, but his archreligious wife cannot abide it. The event shakes Asher sufficiently enough to make him question the foundations of his faith and everything he stands for, and as he begins to preach the gospel of tolerance and open-mindedness, he loses the respect of his congregation and the support of his wife, who attempts to wrestle full custody of Justin from him. At the end of his rope, Asher hops in his Jeep and makes a late-night run for Key West--with Justin in tow. There, he hopes to find and make amends with his estranged brother, Luke, whom Asher hasn't spoken to since he came out as gay 10 years ago. All of this unfolds in a third-person voice redolent of the rich dialect native to the characters in the story; House has an unsurpassed ear for dialogue, and his prose is spare, fluid, and naturalistic throughout. After such a dramatic beginning, the story slows a bit as Asher and Justin arrive in Key West and get settled into a clandestine existence, but the propulsive pace picks up soon after, as the novel speeds toward its conclusion.A brave tale of human generosity and the power and peace that come from heeding the courage of one's convictions.

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May 21, 2018
House (Eli the Good) tackles themes of forced change and faith succumbing to fear in this suspenseful narrative about a father and son navigating personal and spiritual upheaval. After years of work and worship in a rural Tennessee evangelical congregation, pastor Asher Sharp begins to doubt his faith when he alone offers help to a local gay couple in the wake of a devastating flood. His new tolerance is met with hostility and confusion by his congregants and family members, leading to a crisis in his marriage and a sudden separation from his only son, Justin, a quiet, thoughtful nine-year-old. Unwilling to let Justin live with his mother, Asher’s increasing panic leads him to abscond with his son to Key West in search of his estranged brother, Luke. As father and son search for Luke, they find sun, solace, and new friends. The novel’s early sections are burdened by clichéd interactions between Asher and his wife and congregation; some depictions of Asher’s crisis and Tennessee’s faithful are cartoonish, and Justin’s maturity and wisdom stretch the limits of plausibility. But after Asher and Justin’s journey takes center stage, House brings Key West to life. The Sharps’ blossoming affection for the town and its residents contrasts poignantly with their tense, tenuous circumstances. Although it starts slowly, the story leads to a seemingly inevitable yet suspenseful climax that will leave readers floored. House’s fine moral drama pleasingly mixes spiritual reflection and a story of personal healing with brilliant descriptions of summer days in languid Key West.

Starred review from May 15, 2018
House's (Coal Tattoo, 2004) latest begins with the rising waters of the Cumberland River, a flood that causes an epiphany in pastor Asher Sharp. His sermon on acceptance and love and the wrongness of homophobia, though, loses him his church, his marriage, and, worst of all, his son, Justin. Desperate, he kidnaps Justin and heads to Key West, hoping to find his brother, Luke, whom he abandoned because of his own stubborn righteousness. That said, one doesn't read a Silas House book for the plot. His storytelling is rich, but also spare, with descriptive passages that engage all five senses without overstating the profundity. And his characters?Asher, who is coming to terms with his own cowardice; Justin, a tenderhearted boy who doesn't share his father's crisis of faith, but doesn't share his religion, either; even Shady, a stray dog who becomes a touchstone for Justin?are so complicated and real that it's a shame to have to put the book down. References to indie music, viral videos, and antigay county clerk Kim Davis place the book in context and may grease the wheels of some good book-group discussion. Most of all, Southermost is a reminder that life is hard, and it is beautiful.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)