{"product_id":"the-vine-that-ate-the-south-9781937512552","title":"The Vine That Ate the South","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWilkes' debut is a rich and heartfelt yarn that resonates as deeply as his music.\" --\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the energy, wit, and singularity of vision that have earned him a reputation as a celebrated and charismatic musician, \u003ci\u003eThe Vine That Ate the South\u003c\/i\u003e announces J.D. Wilkes as an accomplished storyteller on a surreal, Homeric voyage that strikes at the very heart of American mythology.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a forgotten corner of western Kentucky lies a haunted forest referred to locally as \"The Deadening,\" where vampire cults roam wild and time is immaterial. Our protagonist and his accomplice--the one and only, Carver Canute--set out down the Old Spur Line in search of the legendary Kudzu House, where an old couple is purported to have been swallowed whole by a hungry vine. Their quest leads them face to face with albino panthers, Great Dane-riding girls, protective property owners, and just about every American folk-demon ever, while forcing the protagonist to finally take stock of his relationship with his father and the man's mysterious disappearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Vine That Ate the South\u003c\/em\u003e is a mesmerizing fantasia where Wilkes ambitiously grapples with the contradictions of the contemporary American South while subversively considering how well we know our own family and friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"It's a relentlessly fun novel, the literary equivalent of a country-punk album that grabs you and refuses to let go. Wilkes has a perfect ear for the dialect of Kentucky, and his writing is so bright, you can almost see every abandoned shack, every kudzu-covered tree. Sure, it's bizarre, and at points almost gleefully obscene, but it's undeniably one of the smartest, most original Southern Gothic novels to come along in years.\" --NPR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Two Dollar Radio\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/14\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781937512552\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.40h x 5.60w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/12\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2017\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"J. D. Wilkes","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38026017702069,"sku":"9781937512552","price":13.59,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_af55a392-660f-4c4a-9886-8f7b4a5b9c3d.jpg?v=1609189206","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-vine-that-ate-the-south-9781937512552","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}