Splinterville
A Novella
Published on 30. January 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-1-933896-13-7 (ISBN)
Description
Near starvation in Northern Georgia, Confederate private Henry Wallace of Hood's Texas Brigade accidentally ingests psychotropic mushrooms before marching into the second day of the Battle of Chickamauga, but lives to tell about it in a long (forty-one-foot) letter to his dead comrade's father. Or does he? As Private Wallace's meandering tale, scrawled on a roll of wrapping paper, unravels, historians and scholars battle in footnotes over whether this document full of peculiar claims, internal inconsistencies, and anachronistic content is a first-hand report or an elaborate forgery.
Reviews / Votes
This is a stunning debut by a master storyteller. - Wendell Mayo ""I don't recall many historical novellas or novels abounding in comedy. Another distinctive technique is the pseudo-footnotes. They remind me of Nabokov's footnotes in Pale Fire."" - Robert Phillips ""Hudder's evocation of another time and place is enhanced by his editor's protesting voice, both of which lend good humor to counterpoint the poignant story of young lives wasted in war."" - Clay Reynolds ""In a manner reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges, Cliff Hudder weaves a tale of fact, fiction, legend and imagination that is intriguing, enthralling and believable."" - Robert FlynnMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Huntsville
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 217 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 5 mm
Weight
122 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-933896-13-7 (9781933896137)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
CLIFF HUDDER teaches English at Montgomery College in Conroe, Texas. An MFA graduate of the University of Houston, his stories have appeared in numerous publications, and his work has received the Barthelme Award, the Michener Award, the Peden Prize, and the Brazos Bookstore Short Story Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. Splinterville is his first book.