Kudzu

by John Mitchell Johnson

"Kudzu" opens on a sultry July afternoon in 1987, as thirty-eight-year-old Lewis Ray Jacobs is driving from his home in Nashville to his native Stone Coal in Eastern Kentucky, to attend a funeral. He reflects on a similar hot summer day in 1962 when he and his best friend, Travis Wicker, sneak into the wake of a recently departed neighbor, and twelve-year-old Lewis Ray, on a dare, reaches into the coffin to take hold of the corpse's hand. Things don't go as planned.Thus begins our introduction to two friends whose stories are humorous, engaging and poignant. We follow them through pubescent pranks, emerging sexuality, complicated relationships, a life-changing accident, the realities of young adulthood, and now, nearly two decades after Lewis Ray has left Stone Coal, a funeral.

Genres: Fiction

236 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2018

Reviews

[Peter Brackney]

A bit of a slow start, but characters developed nicely. The end was a bit of a tear jerker evidencing how much the characters had developed through the pages. A solid novel that testifies to the struggles of the mountain hollows and the changing dynamics there over the past half-century. One only wonders how Stone Coal has further changes from 1987 to today. Yes, John Mitchell Johnson, I’m calling for a sequel!

[Amanda L Faulkner]

I loved this book. John creates vivid true characters that you can't help but care deeply about.