A Guide to Fiction Set in North Carolina

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Surry

Lynn York. The Piano Teacher. New York: Plume, 2004.

Miss Wilma, the longtime piano teacher in the fictional small town of Swan’s Knob, N.C. (based on the author’s hometown of Pilot Mountain), lives a life of quiet routine until her rebellious daughter Sarah shows up on her doorstep. It turns out the excitement is only beginning, as Sarah is followed by her ex- husband and her current boyfriend. When a local police officer is murdered, the attention of the town turns quickly toward the new arrivals. The story is told from several points of view, including those of Miss Wilma and of Roy Swann, an aging, affable bachelor who has had his eye on the prickly piano teacher for years.

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

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2004, Mountains, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Surry, York, Lynn.
Comments: none

Mark Slouka. God’s Fool. New York: Knopf, 2002.

Chang and Eng Bunker, the famous nineteenth-century conjoined twins from Siam (hence the term “Siamese twins”) are the subject of this novel. The brothers’ colorful life story is told from the viewpoint of Chang, following them all over the world, from Siam to Paris to stints in P.T. Barnum’s sideshows before they settle down to a quiet life in rural North Carolina. Slouka pays close attention to historical detail and portrays the brothers not as mere curiosities but as human beings, writing near the end of the novel about the close relationship between Chang and one of his sons.

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

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2002, Docufiction, Historical, Slouka, Mark, Surry.
Comments: none

Elizabeth Flock. Me & Emma. Mira Books, 2005.

Carrie Parker, the eight-year-old narrator of this novel, does not have an easy life. She and her sister Emma live in a poor family in Toast, N.C. Their father has recently passed away and their new stepfather is abusive to both girls, becoming especially violent when drunk. Carrie’s mother sees the problems, but can’t afford to leave, and the girls are left with seemingly nowhere else to turn.

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

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2005, Flock, Elizabeth, Surry.
Comments: none