Called Out

by A.G. Mojtabai

"Long on vision, and as lyrical as need be," in the words of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, A. G. Mojtabai's novels are well-known for their consummate craft. Nowhere is this vision more evident than in her splendid new novel, Called Out, which renders compellingly the larger connections linking even the most isolated lives.
The story is set in the small rural Texas town of Bounds, where, one windswept afternoon, a passenger jet crashes and the great world drops in. As survivors stumble through the fields and relatives of the deceased converge upon the town, five narrators recall their experiences of the disaster and its Father Mark, the priest summoned to minister to the accident victims; Glenna Wooten, the town postmaster, whose field has been devastated by the crash; a newspaper reporter, obsessively poking through the rubble of facts for the meaning that eludes him; Chip Parker, a solitary young man haunted by the single treasure he snatches from the wreckage - an emblem of his own brokenness; and Francie Alred, a woman who, after years in the city, has returned home to pick up the pieces of her life.
Called Out is a novel intricately voiced, rich with character and sense of place. In exploring the impact of disaster on a little town and on those people, near and far, "called out" by the crash, it reminds us of the small personal worlds we all inhabit, their limits challenged, pushed toward growth, by collision with what lies beyond.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Education: Columbia University (1970), Columbia University (1968)

Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada

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Reviews

[Kyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel about the effects of a plane crash on a small West Texas town garnered extremely positive reviews, but I found it rather dull and superficial. Well written, but skimming the surface.

[Jack Coleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hohum slice of Life from the Texas Plains.
Library book

[Bhadra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought-provoking, spiritually interesting, and intense. Reading this book has made me a little more willing to look at death, and also at how people differ in the ways they deal with their own lives and relationships. Although it's short, and although the first-rate writing invites the reader into the characters' reactions, it is not an "easy read," in the sense that one can just enjoy herself and then put it down. I plan to read it again soon, now that I have a good overview, so that I can delve into the spiritual implications more deeply.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over 20 years ago and it still haunts me. For some reason I gave the book away when I moved and now I wish I still had it. I remember it wasn't a perfect read at the time and still it stays with me. So that is something perfect.

[Matt Cantillon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about a small west Texas town's reaction to being the site of a major air crash disaster. Well written

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Short, easy to read. Different story line. Would read her again.