Skinner's Tale, The,Used

Product Description This is Jericho Walker's story, the story of an old black man who skins the deer other people have killed. He's seen it all and heard it all, and if he had the education and the desire, these would be the stories he'd tell. Through old family secrets, opinions, gossip, and history we learn about Jericho's family and the family of Boss Bishop, the white landowner he works for, This is a richly woven story filled with lovingly depicted characters and arresting descriptions of the land, hunting, and the South. From Publishers Weekly Despite the colorful language and some witticisms, most of the 16 interwoven narratives in Nicholson's fiction debut have thin plots and are weighed down by the hunting and gun memorabilia they depict. Together they trace the experiences of Jericho Walker, a poor black deer skinner for two wealthy, white families in the South. In "A Deer for Cholly Dormin," Walker and his wife watch as the local loser stumbles through a deer hunt with the Bishops and the Dupriests. Later, in "How Love Is," the same bumbler hopes to marry a Dupriest daughter despite everybody's best efforts to ditch him in a hunting party. However, the title story describes the most dangerous hunt of alla manhunt: as Walker tracks down his escaped convict son, he discovers a crime against one of the Dupriests that he cannot let go unpunished. Nicholson's reliance on homily, however, is a poor substitute for plot development. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal Cousins Boss Bishop and Doc Dupriest own hundreds of acres of virgin Alabama swamp and woodlands, home to the finest deer and largest water moccasins in the South. Sixteen short stories set near Boss's lodge on the edge of the swamp focus on the rites of the hunt and the therapeutic values of its ritual. A 12yearold stalks a deer with his first shotguna family relic passed from father to son. A groom shows up for his wedding late and muddy, following an allnighter in the swamp. A man retreats to his childhood home to hunt deer and sort out his failing life and marriage. An old black man relives his most terrible moment while dressing deer for a party of weekend hunters. Some of the stories have appeared separately in outdoor magazines. Together they blend into a loving portrait of the rural South that will hold special appeal for male readers. Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois Univ. at Carbondale Lib.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author Charles Nicholson's work has been published in Field & Stream, Sports Afield, Southern Outdoors, Shooting Sportsman, and Gray's Sporting Journal.