Esther, a teacher at the local college, lives at home with her elderly parents in the town she grew up in.  Her drive to work takes her past the cemetery where her brother is buried.  That drive is both comforting and troubling to her, for Esther spends much of her time thinking about the past: the men in her life (brother, first love, ex-husband), the parental advice she ignored, and how her town has and hasn’t changed.  Esther’s life has stalled out, until one day when she notices an attractive man tending the cemetery lawn. Tentatively, Esther begins to make changes in her life, making room in her heart for someone new.

This is the second novel by Ms. Duncan set in fictional Milton, based on Marion in McDowell County (not to be confused with the real Milton, N.C., which is in Caswell County).

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: August 31st, 2009 under 2000-, 2009, Duncan, Julia Nunnally, McDowell, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places.
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Drops of the Night, a North Carolina novel set in 1988, is the story of Nora Lynch, a childless farmer’s wife who faces her husband’s jealous rages and intentions to sell the family farm – a plan that threatens the only lifestyle Nora has known. She also confronts a growing attachment to a stranger who enters her life through her husband’s gambling. Drops of the Night is set in fictional Milton, based on Marion in McDowell County (not to be confused with the real Milton, N.C., which is in Caswell County).

Check this title’s availability in the UNC Library Catalog.

Posted: April 14th, 2008 under 2000-, 2006, Duncan, Julia Nunnally, McDowell, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places.
Comments: none