Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2011
304 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
No one knows where the Tufa came from, or how they ended up in the mountains of East Tennessee. When the first Europeans came to the Smoky Mountains, the Tufa were already there. Dark-haired and enigmatic, they live quietly in the hills and valleys of Cloud County, their origins lost to history. But there are clues in their music, hidden in the songs they have passed down for generations....
Private Bronwyn Hyatt, a true daughter of the Tufa, has returned from Iraq, wounded in body and spirit, but her troubles are far from over. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, while a restless "haint" has followed her home from the war. Worse yet, Bronwyn has lost touch with herself and with the music that was once a part of her. With death stalking her family, will she ever again join in the song of her people, and let it lift her onto the night winds?
"The plot is a bit thin, but the slowly unfolding mystery of the Tufa is a fascinating and absorbing masterpiece of world-building." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. This powerful, character-driven drama, set forth in superbly lucid prose, occurs against an utterly convincing backdrop and owns complications enough to keep everybody compulsively turning the pages." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. Elegantly told, this series opener calls to mind the Silver John tales of the late Manly Wade Wellman and should attract a wide readership beyond genre fans." - Library Journal
This information about The Hum and the Shiver was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Alex Bledsoe grew up in west Tennessee. He's been a reporter, editor, photographer and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman, and he now lives in a Wisconsin. Find him online at www.alexbledsoe.com.
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