Auraria
Sep 14, 2012
Auraria
Author: Tim Westover
Paperback: 386 pages
Publisher: QW Publishers (March 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0984974806
ISBN-13: 978-0984974801
About the novel:
Water spirits, moon maidens, haunted pianos, headless revenants, and an invincible terrapin that lives under the mountains. None of these distract James Holtzclaw from his employer’s mission: to turn the fading gold-rush town of Auraria, GA, into a first-class resort and drown its fortunes below a man-made lake. But when Auraria’s peculiar people and problematic ghosts collide with his own rival ambitions, Holtzclaw must decide what he will save and what will be washed away.
Taking its inspiration from a real Georgia ghost town, Auraria is steeped in the folklore of the Southern Appalachians, where the tensions of natural, supernatural and artificial are still alive.
Idgie Says:
Brigadoon in the North Georgia Mountains! A man journeys to a small town in the woods to discover it's filled with ghosts, machines that run themselves, talking animals, singing plants and a Princess of some variety (fairy?). He comes to buy land for his boss who has plans for a grand hotel and a giant lake where the current farms and town are. As he proceeds with his plan, throwing money around like mad at the locals, he also becomes enamored of the beauty of the town and the oddball qualities of the inhabitants. I have to say he stays pretty stoic as he continues to run across the mystical/supernatural oddities of the land. I loved when he bought land from a man..........and his ghost wife.
But as he continues through the land, meeting and dealing with everyone, he becomes very torn in his heart as to just what he's helping to destroy. Slowly decisions must be made by him as to how he wants to proceed with his plan.......and his life.
The descriptions are beautiful, the writing is flowing and easy to read, and the story is enveloping. I will say though that I believe the story could have been condensed a bit and remained just as full-bodied.
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Reviewed by Idgie. If you would like to have the Dew review a book, please contact me at dewonthekudzu@gmail.com
