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A Hunger in the Heart
"Kaye Park Hinckley's novel, A Hunger in the Heart, is a story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. It's a great read in the tradition of southern fiction." -Winston Groom, author of Shiloh, 1862 and Forrest Gump "Kaye Park Hinckley is a writer with a sensitive ear and a keenly developed sympathy for her characters. Her debut novel, A Hunger in the Heart, marks the beginning of a promising career in the world of fiction." -Mark Childress, author of Georgia Bottoms and Crazy in Alabama It is 1955 Florida, and Kaye Park Hinckley's debut novel, A Hunger in the Heart, brings it alive with memorable flawed characters who all desire something. Sarah Neal longs for her husband, Putt, a WWII hero with a traumatic brain injury, to be like he was before the war. Because he can't be, she fills her longing with whiskey. Coleman, their son, needs his father and wants his mother's love and affection. C.P., the B.O.S.S. of Gator Town, Florida, and Putt's dad and Coleman's grandfather, wants everything to be normal, and he yearns for his dead wife's forgiveness. They all must learn how to live through tragedy and treachery when Putt is accused of a heinous crime. Fig, the gardener, with commonsense wisdom explains to Coleman, ." . . a hero makes a choice to put somebody else ahead of himself," and Anna, Coleman's first love, teaches him the most valuable lesson of all. This is a story, ultimately, of hope and love: How we find it and thrive in even the darkest circumstances.
156 pages, Hardcover
First published March 9, 2013
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107 people want to read
About the author
Kaye Park Hinckley
13 books56 followers2020 NEW YORK BIG BOOK AWARD DISTINGUISHED, Absence
2019 NEW YORK BIG BOOK AWARD WINNER,
The Ghosts of Faithful
2018 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD WINNER,
The Wind That Shakes the Corn: Memoirs of a Scots Irish Woman
2019 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD WINNER.
The Ghosts of Faithful
2019 American Fiction Award Finalist.
The Ghosts of Faithful
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 21, 2013
A Hunger in the Heart: Kaye Park Hinckley's Novel of Love, Forgiveness and Redemption
I am grateful to Kaye Park Hinckley having been gracious enough to have provided me a copy of her novel for review. Kaye is a member of "On the Southern Literary Trail," a group I founded and moderate. She has also generously offered copies of her novel for our group's June Author Giveaway.
MEMORIES
In the Summer of 1959 we packed up our 1958 Oldsmobile. It was my family's first air-conditioned car. It was a little square unit that sat under the dash that blew cool air through little round vents.
With my grandparents in front and my mother and I in the backseat, we headed to the land of dreams, Florida.
It was my first vacation. It was magic. I was seven.
I learned that there were such things as mermaids.
I picked my first orange from a tree in a grove. It was the best orange juice I ever tasted.
The scariest place I ever saw was an alligator farm. They were everywhere in concrete ponds. They would look at you and open their jaws wide, showing those rows of tremendous teeth. I hung on to the rails around the gator pits. I would have hated to have ended my vacation as a snack.
I suppose it was the beginning of a loss of innocence. It happens in degrees. In this case, the little box air-conditioner froze up on a regular basis. My grandfather would turn it off and let it defrost. The hot air would blast through the windows. Afternoon thunderstorms caused us to roll up the windows and we would sweat until the magic box emitted a weak stream of cool air for a short time.
I have long ceased to believe in mermaids. However, I still am fascinated by Alligator Farms. I do keep my car's air conditioning system fully maintained.
The Novel
Kaye Park Hinckley brings that era of Florida alive vividly. It certainly brought childhood memories alive for me after many years, but A Hunger in the Heart is not a simple story of a Florida that was less metropolitan and more Southern.
As you read this beautifully written novel you may well find yourself finding similarities with the writing of Flannery O'Connor. Kay Hinckley does not wear her theology on her sleeve anymore than O'Connor did. However, Ms. Hinckley is a member of the Catholic Church. Just as you will find moments of grace, salvation, and redemption in O'Connor, so will you find them in this novel.
The novel follows three generations of the Bridgeman family. Coleman Putnam Bridgeman, the patriarch, is the Boss of Gator Town. No, Gator Town is not Gainesville, Florida, but a small Florida town in which some folks might be said to recognize themselves. The Boss has developed Gator Town with tourist attractions, such as an alligator farm. He is bringing tourism to the small town.
His son, known as Putt, served in World War II. He was a hero, saving one of his Sergeants lives. In the process, he suffered a head wound. Though it is the 1950s, for Putt, the war is still very real. Some men return from war forever changed.
Coleman, III, loves his father and his grandfather. However, when he plays war with his father, he doesn't understand that for his father, the maps he draws in the sand are actual tactical battle maps recreating situations he encountered in the Pacific.
The Boss, a widower, has moved Putt, Coleman, and Putt's wife, Sarah Neal out at the old cabin he once shared with his beloved wife Emma. It is Sarah's job to see that Putt stays out of trouble, takes his medication, and keeps him out of town.
Sarah's is a hard plight. Her faith is not enough to cope with Putt's condition. She bolsters her faith with booze. As the Boss bluntly tells her she has crawled into the bottle and she will drown there.
But on a bad day, Putt sneaks away from home. Down at the Piggly Wiggly, surrounded by customers, Putt believes he is back in the war. He believes he's on fire. He strips naked. The Boss must wrap him up and carry him home.
Something terrible happens with this weapon:
Putt's Service Side-arm
Ironically, Putt saved a native of Gator Town, a young black man named Clayton, an orphan raised by Aunt Aggie, known for raising homeless black children. Sarah Neal angrily blames Putt's condition on the Army for making him responsible for saving a no-account such as Clayton.
The truth is Clayton is a no account, a prisoner, in the state penitentiary for a theft. The crime for which he has been convicted is minor to what Clayton has actually committed. In Clayton, evil is a palpable force. For Clayton, Jesus is an entity with whom he can bargain. Escaping from prison, he carries with him, a Madonna he had stolen from Putt, the man who saved his life.
Ms. Hinckley addresses the issue of whether a life is so without value it is not worth saving. The resounding answer is no. Every life has value because each person has the possibility to change. It's a matter of choice.
Without any doubt, the moral center of "A Hunger in the Heart" is "Fig," a black man taken into the Boss's home as a child from Aunt Aggie's. For Fig there is no black and white. He is in a sense color blind, not only to race, but to all human frailty. He is the Boss's right hand man. He is the purveyor of forgiveness, the moral compass for young Coleman, and the ultimate key to redemption.
Fig serves as the perfect foil to Clayton, or "Sarge." They are respective representatives of good and evil.
In an especially effective structural device, Ms. Hinckley provides a five year skip in the action aging young Coleman five years. We watch Coleman developing into a young man. He is estranged from his mother because of her alcoholism and her attraction to her therapist who is attempting to cure her alcoholism. What is especially effective is his recognition of Clayton as the man whose life his father saved and his recognition of him as a conman and thief. The question is, will Coleman seek revenge.
Kaye Hinckley writes with a lyrical beauty, yet can shake the reader with a sudden jarring edginess. Her characters are memorable. They are human. Each has frailties and faults. Each needs the strength, love and forgiveness of others. Don't we all?
Winston Groom wrote, "Kaye Park Hinckley's novel, A Hunger in the Heart, is a story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. It's a great read in the tradition of southern fiction."
Mark Childress said, "Kaye Park Hinckley is a writer with a sensitive ear and a keenly developed sympathy for her characters. Her debut novel, A Hunger in the Heart, marks the beginning of a promising career in the world of fiction.
Highly recommended.
I am grateful to Kaye Park Hinckley having been gracious enough to have provided me a copy of her novel for review. Kaye is a member of "On the Southern Literary Trail," a group I founded and moderate. She has also generously offered copies of her novel for our group's June Author Giveaway.
MEMORIES
In the Summer of 1959 we packed up our 1958 Oldsmobile. It was my family's first air-conditioned car. It was a little square unit that sat under the dash that blew cool air through little round vents.
With my grandparents in front and my mother and I in the backseat, we headed to the land of dreams, Florida.
It was my first vacation. It was magic. I was seven.
I learned that there were such things as mermaids.
I picked my first orange from a tree in a grove. It was the best orange juice I ever tasted.
The scariest place I ever saw was an alligator farm. They were everywhere in concrete ponds. They would look at you and open their jaws wide, showing those rows of tremendous teeth. I hung on to the rails around the gator pits. I would have hated to have ended my vacation as a snack.
I suppose it was the beginning of a loss of innocence. It happens in degrees. In this case, the little box air-conditioner froze up on a regular basis. My grandfather would turn it off and let it defrost. The hot air would blast through the windows. Afternoon thunderstorms caused us to roll up the windows and we would sweat until the magic box emitted a weak stream of cool air for a short time.
I have long ceased to believe in mermaids. However, I still am fascinated by Alligator Farms. I do keep my car's air conditioning system fully maintained.
The Novel
Kaye Park Hinckley brings that era of Florida alive vividly. It certainly brought childhood memories alive for me after many years, but A Hunger in the Heart is not a simple story of a Florida that was less metropolitan and more Southern.
As you read this beautifully written novel you may well find yourself finding similarities with the writing of Flannery O'Connor. Kay Hinckley does not wear her theology on her sleeve anymore than O'Connor did. However, Ms. Hinckley is a member of the Catholic Church. Just as you will find moments of grace, salvation, and redemption in O'Connor, so will you find them in this novel.
The novel follows three generations of the Bridgeman family. Coleman Putnam Bridgeman, the patriarch, is the Boss of Gator Town. No, Gator Town is not Gainesville, Florida, but a small Florida town in which some folks might be said to recognize themselves. The Boss has developed Gator Town with tourist attractions, such as an alligator farm. He is bringing tourism to the small town.
His son, known as Putt, served in World War II. He was a hero, saving one of his Sergeants lives. In the process, he suffered a head wound. Though it is the 1950s, for Putt, the war is still very real. Some men return from war forever changed.
Coleman, III, loves his father and his grandfather. However, when he plays war with his father, he doesn't understand that for his father, the maps he draws in the sand are actual tactical battle maps recreating situations he encountered in the Pacific.
The Boss, a widower, has moved Putt, Coleman, and Putt's wife, Sarah Neal out at the old cabin he once shared with his beloved wife Emma. It is Sarah's job to see that Putt stays out of trouble, takes his medication, and keeps him out of town.
Sarah's is a hard plight. Her faith is not enough to cope with Putt's condition. She bolsters her faith with booze. As the Boss bluntly tells her she has crawled into the bottle and she will drown there.
But on a bad day, Putt sneaks away from home. Down at the Piggly Wiggly, surrounded by customers, Putt believes he is back in the war. He believes he's on fire. He strips naked. The Boss must wrap him up and carry him home.
Something terrible happens with this weapon:
Putt's Service Side-arm
Ironically, Putt saved a native of Gator Town, a young black man named Clayton, an orphan raised by Aunt Aggie, known for raising homeless black children. Sarah Neal angrily blames Putt's condition on the Army for making him responsible for saving a no-account such as Clayton.
The truth is Clayton is a no account, a prisoner, in the state penitentiary for a theft. The crime for which he has been convicted is minor to what Clayton has actually committed. In Clayton, evil is a palpable force. For Clayton, Jesus is an entity with whom he can bargain. Escaping from prison, he carries with him, a Madonna he had stolen from Putt, the man who saved his life.
"'Remember how you saved me once? Okay, okay. So I fell out of your boat and got sent up the river again. You don't want me to spend another ten years in that prison do you?' Then he remembered the statue and felt for it in his pocket. See here? I got your mama. I'm gonna take care of her too, if you just come on, Jesus' and save me.'"
Ms. Hinckley addresses the issue of whether a life is so without value it is not worth saving. The resounding answer is no. Every life has value because each person has the possibility to change. It's a matter of choice.
Without any doubt, the moral center of "A Hunger in the Heart" is "Fig," a black man taken into the Boss's home as a child from Aunt Aggie's. For Fig there is no black and white. He is in a sense color blind, not only to race, but to all human frailty. He is the Boss's right hand man. He is the purveyor of forgiveness, the moral compass for young Coleman, and the ultimate key to redemption.
Fig serves as the perfect foil to Clayton, or "Sarge." They are respective representatives of good and evil.
In an especially effective structural device, Ms. Hinckley provides a five year skip in the action aging young Coleman five years. We watch Coleman developing into a young man. He is estranged from his mother because of her alcoholism and her attraction to her therapist who is attempting to cure her alcoholism. What is especially effective is his recognition of Clayton as the man whose life his father saved and his recognition of him as a conman and thief. The question is, will Coleman seek revenge.
Kaye Hinckley writes with a lyrical beauty, yet can shake the reader with a sudden jarring edginess. Her characters are memorable. They are human. Each has frailties and faults. Each needs the strength, love and forgiveness of others. Don't we all?
Winston Groom wrote, "Kaye Park Hinckley's novel, A Hunger in the Heart, is a story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption. It's a great read in the tradition of southern fiction."
Mark Childress said, "Kaye Park Hinckley is a writer with a sensitive ear and a keenly developed sympathy for her characters. Her debut novel, A Hunger in the Heart, marks the beginning of a promising career in the world of fiction.
Highly recommended.
April 3, 2016
Advance review copy kindly provided by author, GR friend and fellow Flannery enthusiast, Kaye Park Hinckley.
Kaye Park Hinckley's first novel has some of the features of the coming-of-age story and the romance novel, but it is much more than that. This book, set in a small Florida town, reminded me very much of the short stories of Flannery O'Connor. Although the author does not slavishly imitate her predecessor, the influence is definitely there.
As with O'Connor's stories, we have a small community of Catholics within the fundamentalist environment of the Bible Belt. And Hinckley's protagonist, Coleman Puttman Bridgeman III, is a child similar to some of O'Connor's savvy, precocious children; he is aware of what is happening in his family's lives but is still vulnerable, bewildered and in need of love. His relationship with his autocratic grandfather reminded me of the bond between the little girl Mary Fortune and her grandfather in "A View of the Woods."
Like O'Connor, Hinckley shows us the virtues and the flaws in her characters. And while she displays their weaknesses as traits deserving of compassion, she does not whitewash their faults. Despite his gruff ways, Coleman's grandfather cares very deeply about his family, and yet he throws his weight around whenever he can. Sarah Neal is weak and frightened by the change in her husband, and tries desperately to hang on to her faith, yet she resorts to alcohol to escape her problems and this makes her do ugly things. Coleman himself, who wants to protect the ailing father he loves, shows the rashness and rebelliousness of youth.
Despite the tragic events that threaten to destroy the family, it is their religion which helps them in times of darkness. It was Sarah Neal's Catholic faith which quite literally saved her husband's life during WWII and Coleman discovers this through some rather unusual circumstances. And, whereas many of O'Connor's stories have a bleak ending, Hinckley closes her novel on a note of hope and redemption.
Kaye Park Hinckley's first novel has some of the features of the coming-of-age story and the romance novel, but it is much more than that. This book, set in a small Florida town, reminded me very much of the short stories of Flannery O'Connor. Although the author does not slavishly imitate her predecessor, the influence is definitely there.
As with O'Connor's stories, we have a small community of Catholics within the fundamentalist environment of the Bible Belt. And Hinckley's protagonist, Coleman Puttman Bridgeman III, is a child similar to some of O'Connor's savvy, precocious children; he is aware of what is happening in his family's lives but is still vulnerable, bewildered and in need of love. His relationship with his autocratic grandfather reminded me of the bond between the little girl Mary Fortune and her grandfather in "A View of the Woods."
Like O'Connor, Hinckley shows us the virtues and the flaws in her characters. And while she displays their weaknesses as traits deserving of compassion, she does not whitewash their faults. Despite his gruff ways, Coleman's grandfather cares very deeply about his family, and yet he throws his weight around whenever he can. Sarah Neal is weak and frightened by the change in her husband, and tries desperately to hang on to her faith, yet she resorts to alcohol to escape her problems and this makes her do ugly things. Coleman himself, who wants to protect the ailing father he loves, shows the rashness and rebelliousness of youth.
Despite the tragic events that threaten to destroy the family, it is their religion which helps them in times of darkness. It was Sarah Neal's Catholic faith which quite literally saved her husband's life during WWII and Coleman discovers this through some rather unusual circumstances. And, whereas many of O'Connor's stories have a bleak ending, Hinckley closes her novel on a note of hope and redemption.
October 8, 2020
This was the author's first novel and also my introduction to her writing, though we have been Goodreads friends now for several years. Why did I wait so long?! It is a charming story which swept me away to Gator Town, Florida mid to late-1950's, a dusty little town built around a once-popular alligator tourist attraction. The central characters are C.P. Bridgemen, his son, Putt, a WWII war hero with a plate in his head leaving him without normal reason, Putt's wife Sarah Neale who has become an alcoholic and their son, Coleman.
I enjoyed the story so much I raced though it. There are few contemporary novels which I like, but A Hunger in the Heart didn't feel like something written today yet set in the past. Thanks so much Kaye for a delightful experience and I really look forward to reading another book by you very soon!
I enjoyed the story so much I raced though it. There are few contemporary novels which I like, but A Hunger in the Heart didn't feel like something written today yet set in the past. Thanks so much Kaye for a delightful experience and I really look forward to reading another book by you very soon!
May 15, 2013
Beautifully written in the tradition of southern literary fiction. The novel works in so many ways, but finds its genius in the crafting of memorable characters, each deeply flawed but searching. Aren't we all? The novel is not overly sentimental, but is still infused with the reality that hope finds its realization in love. A book that will inspire you, and then you'll re-read to savor the prose.
May 24, 2013
I haven't read fiction in awhile. This was a refreshing jump back into novels. I've read reviews that compare Hinckley to Flannery O'Connor, and I can see the similarities, though Hinckley is not as dark. Good characters, interesting dialogues and a fun read.
July 2, 2013
Very thankful to Kaye Park Hinckley for the signed copy via the giveaway within the group "On The Southern Literary Trail". Certainly a fitting place for this book to find the ear of its readers.
As a Christian, the problem I can often have with Christian fiction books is when they strain so hard to deliver the themes of faith, forgiveness, and trust that an opportunity to present a good stand alone storyline is missed. Not the case here; I was pleased to find this book blending those greater themes into a very entertaining tale. Featuring a multi-generational family with its own share of demons and secrets, it pulls pieces of dependance, struggle, family expectation, and grief together into a neat little package of believable historical fiction. The tone follows the pattern of other great Southern writers, but it's done well with a fresh voice. Not to give away the story, but I do love how the twists within the plot can sneak up with very little hint......when you least suspect they are coming. Quick read that comes highly recomended.
As a Christian, the problem I can often have with Christian fiction books is when they strain so hard to deliver the themes of faith, forgiveness, and trust that an opportunity to present a good stand alone storyline is missed. Not the case here; I was pleased to find this book blending those greater themes into a very entertaining tale. Featuring a multi-generational family with its own share of demons and secrets, it pulls pieces of dependance, struggle, family expectation, and grief together into a neat little package of believable historical fiction. The tone follows the pattern of other great Southern writers, but it's done well with a fresh voice. Not to give away the story, but I do love how the twists within the plot can sneak up with very little hint......when you least suspect they are coming. Quick read that comes highly recomended.
November 10, 2017
Kaye Park Hinckley is one of my favorite authors and a friend, too. Her novels are somewhat gothic in style and usually include a moral lesson or journey.
A Hunger in the Heart takes place in 1950's Cracker Florida!! The town in which the characters live, made its claim to fortune and fame because of an alligator farm.
Putt, the son of the town's founding father fought in World War II and saved a man's life. But he suffers from a serious brain injury and is considered crazy if not dangerous.
Coleman, Putt's son, suffers from the tragedy in his Dad's life. But he meets Anna, an astute young lady, that helps him find closure.
Good book with good story line. 4 stars.
A Hunger in the Heart takes place in 1950's Cracker Florida!! The town in which the characters live, made its claim to fortune and fame because of an alligator farm.
Putt, the son of the town's founding father fought in World War II and saved a man's life. But he suffers from a serious brain injury and is considered crazy if not dangerous.
Coleman, Putt's son, suffers from the tragedy in his Dad's life. But he meets Anna, an astute young lady, that helps him find closure.
Good book with good story line. 4 stars.
May 13, 2013
This brief novel tells the story of a dysfunctional Southern family, set in Florida after World War II. The family struggles to love one another while facing illness, addiction, blackmail, fear, and division. The pacing of the novel is brisk, the action is mostly domestic and quotidian (for a dysfunctional family), yet there are passages of great description and insight. I have seen the author compared to Flannery O'Connor, but I think the author is writing with her own voice and limning a story of love and hope. An excellent debut novel.
September 22, 2014
This novel is made of pure poetry. It is populated with broken characters whose perseverance and struggle to forgive--or just live with--the transgressions of others breaks the reader's heart. Author Kaye Park Hinckley proves that you can write a Catholic novel without beating the reader over the head with a rosary (or, in the case of this story, a glow-in-the-dark Blessed Mother.)
September 12, 2013
Enjoyed the characters and prose in this story. A great story of family, love, growth, hope and redemption.
July 7, 2019
The opening hooked me, and I experienced nary a dull moment throughout this story. I would've devoured this novel in one sitting had I not been committed to other things. Reared in the Deep South, I found the characters believable to the point that I lost myself in their situations and emotions. Ms. Hinckley's original descriptions painted a clear picture of characters' appearance and also of scene settings. The ending left this reader with hope for the souls of the main characters and the lives of those remaining with roots in Gator Town.
July 7, 2013
"A Hunger in the Heart" by Kaye Park Hinckley grips the reader's heart from the very beginning. It is a poignant narrative of perseverance; the finely drawn characters endure serious difficulties. The individuals cope in their own distinct ways, supporting each other as best they can, even if at times the best is toleration. But they never give up. Coleman watches his father, a decorated war hero, struggle with insanity as his mother succumbs to alcohol. Coleman's grandfather, who isn't in good health himself, does everything he can to hold the family together. The faithful Fig, who has served his grandfather and family since the boy can remember, is always there to help, all the while dishing out words of encouragement and faith. Catholic values and devotions are gently injected throughout the story. At first I resented repeated references to a crucifix hanging around a drunkard's neck until I realized that it's a perfect reminder of Christ's mission. "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Mark 2:17).
I am not very familiar with this genre, but I do know fantastic characterization and a strong story when I see them. My only complaint is that I would have liked to have spent a little more time with some of the characters, a few of whom could inspire separate stories of their own. "A Hunger in the Heart" is a powerful, emotional read. Highly recommended.
I am not very familiar with this genre, but I do know fantastic characterization and a strong story when I see them. My only complaint is that I would have liked to have spent a little more time with some of the characters, a few of whom could inspire separate stories of their own. "A Hunger in the Heart" is a powerful, emotional read. Highly recommended.
June 3, 2014
I devoured this book in one sitting. I don't have time to write an in-depth review right now, but I think this is a stunning work by a brilliant writer. It is filled with equal parts heartbreak and hope; and it is a triumphant example of the power of good Catholic fiction to inspire a reader of any faith, to make him think deeply about the power of God (and His Mother) in our lives, to remind him that there is redemption and healing for even the most sinful and broken among us. I was especially touched by the references to the glow-in-the-dark statue of Mary that came back from the war in one piece, along with the soldier who had carried it in his pocket...and did not.
I highly recommend this hauntingly beautiful Southern novel.
I highly recommend this hauntingly beautiful Southern novel.
May 27, 2013
This book was not what I expected and the ending annoyed me. I believe that there is a purpose to suffering and that it is part of the world that we live in-no way around it. And I know that everyone goes through a crisis of faith. I felt like the characters never really learned anything and they didn't grow very much. At the end the author wrapped everything up so neatly and I just didn't think it was realistic. I was glad though that Coleman realized at the end that his Mom didn't kill his Dad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2013
A good period piece of a dysfunctional family living in the South circa 1960's. Racism, murder, war hero, white male dominated small town America. A pretty good read.
January 19, 2018
I'm enjoying this book tremendously. I recommend it to fans of southern fiction and short, spiritual novels.
February 5, 2015
I just refuse to read a book that is in the "Christian" genre that has cussing in it. I don't care how "small" the word may be it really should not be in there. There are plenty of other words in this world that can be used in it's place.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews