A Welcome Walk Into the Dark

In a style that blends Southern Gothic elements with realist storytelling, Ben E. Campbell's stories examine all facets of modern Appalachia---the marriage of old-world values to a region caught in change, the fight to balance land use, the will to labor on. Here, in these twelve tales, is the age-old struggle of choice: between the path that's bathed in light and the one eclipsed by darkness---both seeking weary travelers, but one with stronger pull. In "Darkness Brought to Light" a hit man for hire attempts to forget his father's involvement with the Ku Klux Klan and the murder he witnessed of a young child while dealing with his own guilty present. A drug mule in "Finding Wyoming" experiences a chance encounter on the Greyhound he rides that will alter the path of his future. And the blue-collar workers of "The Split that Divides" and "Strike on the Meadow River" find themselves in familiar territory for the residents of Appalachia when they must decide where their loyalties lie, the choices they make certain to impact future generations. Written in a style that echoes such Appalachian realists as Harriette Arnow and Breece D'J Pancake, these stories remind us of the spiritual and physical struggles that are unique to the people of the Southern mountains. It is a strong debut collection from an author on the rise.