Review by Booklist Review
Screenwriter Phillips (Nashville) returns to fiction (he wrote several novels in the 1940s and `50s) in this cinematic story, old-fashioned enough to focus on family, friendship, loyalty (however misguided), honor, and redemption. Marcus Oday has just returned from France after his mother's death between the wars; she had gone back home, finding her husband's home simply too foreign for her to survive. Marcus' father dies shortly after his return, leaving him with land he loves and family who cherishes him. But the local sawmill owner--and employer of most everyone in town--desecrates his father's grave, and Marcus shoots him dead. At age 15, he gets five years, and in minimum-security prison, he is adopted by a thoughtful convict named Mims. When Marcus is released, inherits his family's land, and brings Mims home with him, the unraveling of guilt, responsibility, and repentance takes place in an atmosphere where care is as real as an orchard and love as tangible as fried catfish. It is sentimental but deeply felt, and you can almost watch the movie unreel. GraceAnne A. DeCandido
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
