A river runs through it: Amy Greene’s “Long Man”

Photo by Adam Green

Set in 1936 as the Tennessee Valley Authority floods a mountain valley to bring electricity to the region, a young mother must confront leaving the place she knows and an uncertain future as her family land slips beneath the new lake. When her 3-year-old daughter goes missing, a divided community must come together and race the rising waters to find the child before it’s too late.

Greene is regarded as one of the best young chroniclers of contemporary Appalachia. Her first novel, Bloodroot, described as a Southern Appalachian Wuthering Heights, was a critical and commercial hit. Long Man dramatizes historical events that are still controversial today and raises issues that will resonate strongly with contemporary mountain communities. Publishers Weekly declared: “Greene’s enormous talent animates the voices and landscape of East Tennessee so vividly, and creates such exquisite tension, that the reader is left as exhausted and devastated as the characters in this unforgettable story.”

Amy Greene will read from and discuss Long Man at Malaprop’s on Sunday, March 9, at 3 p.m. Free.

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About Rich Rennicks
Rich Rennicks is a freelance writer living in Asheville, NC. He provides advice for those traveling to Ireland at www.atriptoIreland.com.

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