Saratogan Trees

Rating:
Summary: Reviewed for Midwest Book Review
Review: In the early 1940's, Ark Griffith lives with his mother and brother, Crackers, in a small cotton mill community in Alabama. Ark's father died when Ark was small, and his Uncle Boyd has stepped into his father's shoes, making himself available to the family and acting as surrogate father to Ark and Crackers. Next door lives their cousin, Nell, who is mentally slow and shunned by some of the villagers. When a young child is found drowned, the townspeople at first assume the wild Buckalew boys are guilty, which leads to a tragic showdown. Suspicion begins to mount against Nell, who is taken away from her family to await a trial which ends with a dramatic twist.

In a style reminiscent of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Kenneth Hutcheson depicts a close-knit, loving family and their efforts to face, with dignity and understanding, troubling pre-war times, threatening characters, violent deeds, prejudice, and loss. With genteel Southern overtones, Hutcheson's narrative grabs the reader's attention and holds tight until the story ends. This is one book the reader will not want to leave and one that won't be forgotten once the read is finished. Excellent work.




Rating:
Summary: Shades of Harper Lee
Review: Kenneth Hutcheson has brought his growing-up experiences into a well-written saga, delving into the minds of his characters in such a way that one feels he or she knows them personally. He has added a touch of mystery that causes one to want to read it in one sitting, which I did. He also enlightens unversed people in the way things were in that Alabama town when he was a boy; and he highlights the courage of a woman from another race who did not let prejudice beat her down. A great clean read.