VIRGINIA REELS

by William Hoffman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1978

Set in Virginia or sometimes West Virginia, Hoffman's stories only have the consistency of place, unless you want to count as a theme the nasty revenge-motif that runs through a few. A poor coal-miner and part-time snake-handling preacher gets back at the rich woman who owns the church land and doesn't approve of serpentine necklaces. A grown son spoils his mother's chance at remarriage. A rich and made-good son returns home to grant his old mother her wish to see him ""wetted in the river"" before she dies--and he also tricks his hoity-toity wife into being baptized with him. A young burglar enters a house that he finds to be not quite empty. Only one story breaks free of this pattern of table-turning, and it's Hoffman's best: ""Sea-Treader""--a coastal story about local wariness, the freedom of the sea, honesty, and what shy men dream. Otherwise--a fireless and predictable storyteller.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Univ. of Illinois Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION