Silas houses new book southernmost tells the story of asher sharp an evangelical preacher who sees. In silas houses southernmost, a pastor grapples with the evolution of his beliefs. After a violent flood tears through their town, asher provides shelter for a gay couple despite the religious conservatism of the area. His latest book is southernmost june 2018, which has. He is also a music journalist, environmental activist, and columnist. Silas house is the new york times bestselling author of six novels and one book of creative nonfiction. Jennifer haigh, author of heat and light in this stunning novel about judgment, courage, heartbreak, and change, author silas house wrestles with the limits of belief and the infinite ways to love.
There are characters and points of view to which he, and his readers, are more sympathetic. This is a novel of painful, finally revelatory awakening, of fierce love and necessary disaster, of the bravery required to escape the prison of our days, to make a better and more worthy life. Houses writing often appears in the new york times. At a time when generosity seems in short supply and everyone can. Clays quilt, a parchment of leaves, the coal tattoo, eli the good, and same sun here. Silas house is the nationally bestselling author of five novelsclays. He is a frequent contributor to the new york times and a former commentator for nprs all things considered.
House is a member of the fellowship of southern writers and is the winner of the e. They weather the storm of prejudice, but when saul temporarily moves away to work a better job, his younger brother makes advances. Silas house, a man born and raised in the hills of eastern kentucky, is the author of three novels, including the muchballyhooed clays quilt. Im a longtime fan of silas house, and this book stands out to me. In silas house s moving new novel, a pastor wrestles with a crisis not just of faith, but of all the apparent certainties of his life. Silas house discusses his new novel southernmost intro by. Among the book s honors are the weatherford award in appalachian literature and a longlisting for the carnegie.
Yet this generous act is met with derision from the town, leading asher to question his life choices in this heartbreaking but lovely meditation on love and fear in all its permutations. If youre a reader who likes first to absorb a book jacket, with its laudatory quotes and quick summary. Clays quilt, a parchment of leaves, the coal tattoo, eli the good, and same sun here, and somethings rising. Clays quilt is a powerful novel lovingly and masterfully pieced from the lives of the residents of free creek, kentucky. Novelist, activist, and educator silas house discusses his book to be released later this year that focuses on parenthood, his work as an advocate for environmental and gender equity causes, and.
His latest book is southernmost june 2018, which has been long listed for the carnegie medal for excellence in fiction and was a top ten southern bestseller. Silas houses most recent book is southernmost, a literary pageturner about an evangelical pastor who kidnaps his own son after standing up against intolerance in a small rural community southernmost is a meditation on love and its consequences in a quickly changing america. House graduated from eastern kentucky university with a ba in english, specializing in american literature. Years ago, asher rejected his gay brother, and now the country is in fierce debate over marriage equality. Houses next book, the coal tattoo 2004, was a finalist for the southern book critics circle prize as well as winning the appalachian writers association. The hurting part 2005, this is my heart for you 2012, and in.
Silas house s new novel takes on universal themes by kim thomas k entucky author silas house first learned that language has power while sitting on the porch with my parents and aunts and uncles, hearing them tell stories that brought the past alive. Southernmost opens with a devastating flood in cumberland valley, tennessee. Critically acclaimed author silas houses a parchment of leaves was named kentucky novel of the year and won a special achievement award from the fellowship of southern writers. Could it be divine punishment for the supreme courts legalization of gay marriage. The story begins as asher, a pentecostal pastor, contends with a devastating flood. House s silas house is the nationally bestselling author of five novelsclays quilt, 2001. In 1917 rural kentucky, saul sullivan marries a beautiful cherokee woman named vine. He is the winner of the storylines prize from the new york public library, the appalachian book of the year, the. In silas houses southernmost, pastor grapples with. Southernmost by silas house reading guidebook club. Silas house is the author of five novels, including a parchment of leaves. To read more about silas house and his work, check out his website.
See all books authored by silas house, including clays quilt, and a parchment of leaves, and more on. Novelist, activist, and educator silas house discusses his book to be released later this year that focuses on parenthood, his work as. Silas dwane house born august 7, 1971 is an american writer best known for his novels. On capturing the rural south and loving in a fraught political climate. A frequent contributor to the new york times and a former commentator for nprs all things considered, house is a member of the fellowship of southern writers and is the winner of the nautilus award, the appalachian writers associations book of the. In silas houses latest novel, southernmost, asher, an evangelical preacher in a small tennessee town, offers shelter to a gay couple after their home is destroyed in a flood. Kentucky author silas house reads from his new novel, southernmost.
Silas house is the author of five novels, including the new york times bestseller a parchment of leaves. Ashers generosity is influenced in part by the immense guilt that remains from. Pandora january 27, noon common readsame sun here foley middle school berea, kentucky february 26 appalachian voices event with robert kennedy, jr. Southernmost is a novel for our time, a courageous and necessary book. Silas house biography silas house is the author of five novels, including a parchment of leaves. The first four novels of kentucky author silas house follow that pattern. Preceding contributors involve jesmyn ward, lauren groff, bret easton ellis, celeste ng, t. The book explores the collision of gay rights and fundamentalist. Silas house has 26 books on goodreads with 47623 ratings.
Boyle, dana spiotta, amy bloom, aimee bender, heidi julavits. Author silas house on faith and new novel southernmost. Silas house books list of books by author silas house. Silas houses characters are as real to me as my own family. But in his latest book, southernmost, house plunges readers into the life of asher sharp at the very moment it cracks open. Born in 1971, silas house, a musician as well as writer, is from eastern kentucky and still lives and works in his hometown of lily, kentucky. Armed with this phrase, we say our goodbyes, and, after a brief lunch at noodle nirvana where i tried houses recommended offthemenu special, i departed for lexington. His work in nonfiction has centered on eradicating the savage, crippling practice of mountaintop removal mining, which. Silas house is the nationally bestselling author of five novels, three plays, and a work of creative nonfiction. This is a novel of painful, finally revelatory awakening, of fierce love and necessary disaster, of the bravery required to. His novel southernmost will be published in june 2018. Silas houses new novel southernmost follows asher sharp, an evangelical preacher in tennessee struggling with his fundamentalist beliefs. Kentuckybased national bestselling author silas house has a new novel about to hit bookstores. In southernmost, novelist silas house tells the story of asher sharp, a young preacher living in rural east tennessee with his wife, lydia, and their adolescent son, justin.
In silas houses moving new novel, a pastor wrestles with a crisis not just of faith, but of all the apparent certainties of his life. Jennifer haigh, author of heat and light this contemporary spiritual journey is also a love story and a classic road novela chasefilled with unrelenting suspense all. He is a frequent contributor to the new york times and a former commentator for nprs all. Kentucky author silas house and his new novel southernmost. Vaswani 2012as well as a book of creative nonfictionsomethings. Whether working, playing, laughing, praying, driving, crying, singing, fighting, dancing, hollering, or loving, these people do it passionately and with every fiber of their beings. But in his latest book, southernmost, house plunges readers into the life. Letitia montgomeryrodgers interviews silas house, author.
The book tells the story of evangelical minister in a small tennessee town who loses his job, his wife, and custody of his son after giving a sermon defending the rights of gay people. Author silas house blogs about writing, the writing life, books, movies, nature, religion, politics, and other things that generally concern conscious people. Enter the world of silas houses southernmost with an open mind and a clear slate. Of faith and floods silas houses new novel takes on universal themes by kim thomas entucky author silas house first learned that language has power while sitting on the porch with my parents and aunts and uncles, hearing them tell stories that brought the past. Kentucky author silas house reads from his new novel youtube. His writing has been published multiple times in the new york times as well as in publications such as newsday, narrative, oxford american, paste, and many others.
Houses fiction is known for its attention to the natural world, working class characters, and the plight of the rural place and rural people. Best food writing, 2015 and new stories from the south, the years best. In silas houses sixth novel, a tennessee preachers family life falls apart when he accepts a gay couple into his church. Kentucky writer silas house on southernmost, sexuality and his faith journey.
Letitia montgomeryrodgers interviews silas house, author of southernmost we see it playing out politically in the way trumps rural base is ridiculed as deplorable by the coastal elites, and the usvsthem scare tactics used by the national rifle association to. The novel opens in the wake of a catastrophic flood that all but destroys a small tennessee town, as seen. That is one of the many reasons southernmost is a novel for our moment. He has written a play, the hurting part, and is debuting another this year. This is a novel of fierce love and necessary disaster, of the bravery required to escape the prison of our days, to. Silas houses playlist for his novel southernmost in the book notes series, authors produce and talk about a music playlist that relates in some way to their lately published book. Columbus dispatch in silas houses moving new novel, a pastor wrestles with a crisis not just of faith, but of all the apparent certainties of his life. House is the author of the bestselling books clays quilt, a parchment of leaves, the coal tattoo, somethings rising, eli the good, and same sun here. This is a novel of painful, finally revelatory awakening, of fierce love. In silas houses moving new novel, a pastor wrestles with a crisis not just of faith. White award, the nautilus award, the appalachian book of the year, the hobson medal for literature, and other honors. His book for middlegrade readers, same sun here, was a finalist for the e. In the end, it is houses generosity that anchors southernmost.
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