Description

 A Shout in the Ruins

“Author of the Yellow Birds”

Echoes of Desolation: Amidst the Ruins

In the heart of the desolate ruins, a piercing cry reverberated through the air, shattering the eerie silence that had settled over the forgotten city. The haunting sound echoed off the crumbling walls, carrying with it the weight of a thousand lost souls. It was a cry that spoke of anguish, of a past filled with sorrow and despair.

As the echoes faded, the ruins seemed to come alive, whispering secrets of a bygone era. The crumbling buildings, once grand and majestic, now stood as mere shadows of their former glory. Nature had claimed its territory, with vines and ivy snaking their way through the cracks in the stone, reclaiming what was once theirs.

The cry had awakened the spirits that lingered in the ruins, their ethereal presence felt in every gust of wind that swept through the abandoned streets. They whispered tales of a once-thriving civilization, now reduced to ruins by the passage of time and the cruelty of fate. The cry had stirred their memories, and they yearned to share their stories with anyone who would listen.

The Resounding Scream: A Melancholic Symphony

In the midst of the desolation, a piercing scream pierced the air, tearing through the silence that had settled over the crumbling ruins. The sound reverberated through the dilapidated structures, creating a haunting symphony of despair and desolation. It was a scream that carried the weight of a thousand shattered dreams, a cry that echoed the pain and suffering that had consumed this forgotten place.

As the scream subsided, the ruins seemed to come alive, each crack and crevice whispering tales of a forgotten past. The once-majestic buildings now stood as a testament to the passage of time, their grandeur reduced to mere remnants of a bygone era. Nature had claimed its territory, intertwining with the decaying structures, as if trying to breathe life back into the forgotten city.

The scream had awakened the spirits that lingered in the ruins, their ethereal presence felt in every gust of wind that swept through the abandoned streets. They yearned to share their stories, to shed light on the lives that were once lived within these crumbling walls. Their whispers carried the weight of history, a melancholic symphony that echoed through the ruins, waiting to be heard.

The Cry of the Forgotten: A Symphony of Lost Souls

In the heart of the ruins, a cry erupted, shattering the stillness

A Shout in the Ruins, as its title suggests, lays bare the tremendous suffering on which our country was founded and demands its acknowledgment. But Powers also offers love and grace in these pages, and a prayer for redemption.

— “New York Times”

A harrowing and lyrical epic in miniature, Powers has written a novel excavated from another time but which speaks profoundly to this one.

— “Elliot Ackerman, author of Dark at the Crossing”

A masterly meditation on our unbreakable connection to a world predicated on cyclical violence.

— “Library Journal”

A searing look at the ravages of war and how violence can shape a nation in ways that may never be fully recoverable…a novel that powerfully explores how slavery has infected this country and how history is never really confined to the past.

— “NPR”

An elegiac tale of corruption and pain in the American South…Explores the memories and tragedies that can be passed down the family tree…A fine, relevant novel.

— “BookPage”

Beautifully formed sentences express unsettling truths about humanity, yet tendrils of hope emerge, showing how love and kindness can take root in a seemingly barren earth.

— “Booklist”

Powers has given himself great freedom to explore and meditate on a wide swath of American history…A Shout in the Ruins is suitably unvarnished but not without moments of beauty or deep emotion…[and] brushes aside myth and romanticism for a clear-eyed look at American heritage.

— “Shelf Awareness”

Spiced with Flannery O’Connor-esque flavor, this rich brew of a novel evokes the checkered history of antebellum Virginia via run-down plantations and twilight marshes.

— “O, The Oprah Magazine”