Mary Oliver travels from Washington, D.C. to her hometown, the fictional Elm City, N.C., to spend time with her aunt Maureen in the fall of 1918 with the nation at war and a deadly flu pandemic sweeping the country. Maureen’s troubles, it turns out, are much more immediate. Her cold and cruel husband has reduced her to a quiet and cowering existence and Mary takes it upon herself to save her aunt. Drawing from the example of strong women in the family’s history, and with the help of caring relatives, Mary and Maureen plan their escape.

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Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2004, Coastal Plain, Gibbons, Kaye, Historical, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Wilson.
Comments: none

As Have You Heard opens, Jerry Chiffon is dressed in woman’s clothing and pointing a gun at a well-known conservative North Carolina senator. The story of Chiffon’s life unfolds as several narrators, all residents of the fictional Eastern North Carolina town of Branch Creek, struggle to understand what has happened. Chiffon felt uncomfortable as a gay man in a small, conservative community and left for New York as soon as he could. He has just returned home to recover from the death of a lover when he makes his attempt on the life of the senator. Ferrell is from Black Creek, in Wilson County.

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

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under 2000-, 2004, Coastal Plain, Ferrell, Anderson, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Wilson.
Comments: 3