Fiddler's Ghost

by Mitch Jayne, Diana Jayne (Illustrator)

Don’t be affeared of what you’re about to Fiddler’s Ghost, voted one of the “Best Books of 2007” by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and “Gold Medal Winner” by the 2008 Independent Publisher’s Association, comes highly acclaimed. Mitch Jayne, though born elsewhere, felt the pull of the Ozarks the first time he laid eyes on them. This immediate and abiding affection for his adopted region kindled such a sense of place that he subsequently devoted his teaching, writing, radio gigs, and musical career to highlighting the Ozark Mountains and the people – and their stories – who inhabit them.Fiddler’s Ghost, a highly authentic and readable first-person narrative, begins in 1951, when Steve Clark accepts a teaching job in a one-room school in the Missouri Ozarks and moves with his pregnant wife Lacey to the backwoods community of Indian Glade. Surrounded by Ozark characters who remain absorbed with old customs and beliefs and schoolchildren who still speak Elizabethan English, the Clarks move into what they consider an ideal home, though they are forewarned by locals that “The last folks lived there claimed it weren’t natural…” Upon encountering their unnatural cohabitant, Steve and Lacey begin to unravel the mystery of the fiddler’s ghost. As the novel unfolds and Hiram becomes ever more lifelike, the time-travel connection to music becomes ever more real…Michael Patrick, historian, folklorist, and associate professor emeritus of literature at the University of Missouri, calls Fiddler’s Ghost “…the rarest of books. I could hardly put it down…Only Mitch Jayne could write a novel with a perfect understanding of the music and dialect of the Missouri Ozarks.” Donald Harington, professor of art history at the University of Arkansas, chimes in that, “The world of literature, novels and tales is teeming with ghosts aplenty. But you never met a ghost like this one before. He’s too good to be true, but too true to be make-believe.”Fiddler’s Ghost is available at Amazon.com, www.wildstonemedia.com, and through Big River Distribution and The Bullet, the Andy Griffith Show Re-Run Watchers Club.###Author Mitch Jayne, his personality and career as colorful as the Ozark Mountains themselves, has devoted his life to the region and people he loves. This tireless writer, teacher, beloved radio host, singer, songwriter, and double bass player with the bluegrass group the Dillards has written three previous books, published numerous articles in magazines such as Outdoor Life and the Saturday Evening Post, written TV material for Dick Clark Productions, and appeared a number of times with his group as “The Darling Boys” on the Andy Griffith Show in the 1970s. Indefatigable, mischievous, and downright funny, Jayne is as incorrigible – and memorable – as his subject matter.

Genres: Historical Fiction

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2007

Reviews

[Tara Lofley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I live in northeast Missouri, so I really appreciated the culture of this book. And the story line was really interesting. It was just undermined by overuse of profanities. There were some theological parts to the book that I felt were the author's soapboxes and didn't belong to the characters... like exploration about the nature of God. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you live in MO as well, since that is the part that made me laugh out loud.

[Mary Tuley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of amazing that Mitch Jayne, who wrote this rather poetic book, has spent much of his life playing bluegrass music with the Dillards (who can still be seen sometimes as the Darlings on the old "Andy Griffith Show"). I guess I wasn't expecting to meet a Renaissance man when I sat down to read.

[Patsy Tyrrell-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! Mitch Jayne was a wonderful story teller right up there with Louis Lamour. He was a wonderful friend as well, always delightful to see & talk to him. If you are into 'ghosts', this is a book you will enjoy, its not spooky nor evil. Its interesting & really shows how ghosts are not bad. Telling how music is really the soul of all of us & how it makes you so good. Think about it, we listen to music wherever we are or what we are doing, its relaxing as go. Myself I have seen ghosts & they can be playful or they will protect you knowing things you don't.
The story is really comforting once you start and all thru the book. Thank you Mitch for such a lovely story....I hope YOUR spirit is close by as I miss you & your delightful stories.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet ghost story by the bass fiddle player from The Dillards (who played the Darlings on The Andy Griffith Show) has a young schoolteacher and his pregnant wife move into an old house in the Missouri Ozarks as he begins his teaching career in an isolated one-room school. The house comes with a resident ghost, a Civil War soldier with a connection to the teacher and a gift for music. The story and the relationships are entertaining and heartwarming despite the author’s convoluted efforts to explain a benevolent afterlife with no God.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read being from the Ozarks--it has a lot of Ozarkian sayings that are familiar to me, such as sthe word "donick" for rock. Never heard anyone else say it but my Ozark-born step father. A fun tale to read if you like spooky ozarkian. Also the author has an interesting history of Ozarks music, including being one of the Darling family in the Andy Griffith TV shows.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming from Salem, Missouri in the 60's, the Dillards were not my first choice of musical groups, until a friend from New York introduced me to them. And now Mitch Jayne, who played bass with them, has written a delightful tale about a ghost, a tale that takes place in the Ozarks in the area of Salem/Rolla. The book is delightful to read, but also a thoughtful book about life, death, the hereafter, and immortality. The book speaks to the nature of music in the spiritual world. I highly recommend it--and hope that Mitch Jayne's ghost one day will drop by for a dram of whiskey and play a few tunes for me!

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tale about a young couple who moves to a rural community in the Ozarks. We follow Lacey and Steve as they move, set up their first home, Steve starts his first job as a one room schoolhouse teacher, they start their family, and they interact with the unusual inhabitant of their home. More than a ghost story this is a beautiful book. I found myself lost in the intriguing and often beautiful use of language of the local characters. The way Jayne incorporates themes of music and religion left me with much to think about, while the Troll family had me laughing out loud.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, funny, a little long. Written by a Missouri author who played the fiddle and wrote music for The Dillards and The Andy Griffith Show. He is from the Ozarks and writes about the people very realistically.

[J.R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow going story. I could not get fully into the story in the beginning but after a while it gets more interesting. This story is for history nuts and others who don't mind reading a little philosophical statements throughout a mystery or ghost story.

[Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story from one of my favorite classic American storytellers.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but thought the story line was a little contrived. I would have enjoyed more about the language and customs of the Ozarks woven into the story.

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for the Rolla Book Club. Nice story about the area in earlier years. To me it had a very slow beginning.

[Diane Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very creative and fun ghost story. Nothing scary about it. Just music fun and humor.