Overview

Cephas recounts the story of the forbidden love between Tommy Cox, who has an intellectual disability, and Sarah Warren, the underage darling of polite society. The two are pushed together by a mysterious illness, and their resulting illicit relationship results in a heated trial that stirs the entire town. Tommy's prosecution turns on whether he could have, under the law, formed the requisite intent to be found guilty of the crime for which he's charged. Cephas and his friends-Lump, Brett, and Michael-struggle to come to terms with their growing knowledge of Tommy and Sarah's intimate relationship. Along the way the four learn much-perhaps too much-about justice, truth, lust, and love.

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9781604893601

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"""Allen Mendenhall succeeds abundantly in presenting what he himself calls 'the universal familiar' in his eighth book and debut novel, A Glooming Peace This Morning. Setting his story in the fictional county of Magnolia in the (also fictional) southern town of Andalusia, Mendenhall shows his literary skills and strong sense of place from the start, as Andalusia becomes an important character in the book. Comparisons to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird are bound to appear as readers encounter characters reminiscent of Boo Radley (Tommy Cox) and Scout (Cephas, the narrator) and long for an appearance by a lawyer with the chops of Atticus Finch. When no Atticus appears, the town-and readers of the book-are left to accept the 'glooming peace' and the sad finality of the events that will affect Cephas and others forever. The story, of course, is everything, as Mendenhall states near the end of the book when he says, 'All vanishes . . . except stories.' But I contend that the writing is also everything, especially when a story is told by a gifted literary artist like Mendenhall. If you're looking for a Hallmark story, look elsewhere. But if you don't mind words like 'looming' and 'glooming' populating a narrative, and you enjoy a good Fitzgeraldish read, this book is for you. Forbidden love. Coming-of-age drama. Courtroom scenes. It's all in there. Kudos to Mendenhall!"" -Susan Cushman, John and Mary Margaret, Cherry Bomb, and six other books. ""Allen Mendenhall, in his glorious debut novel, mines the same sacred riches of Harper Lee's Alabama, and I must say-he does her proud. His coming-of-age story is 'old school, ' taking its time with its wondrous setting and exploring the theme of injustice and coming to terms with it as an older man looking back on his life. The story is filled with characters that only Mendenall's exquisite writerly mind could create and describe. They lifted from the page. I look forward to more stories from this most talented writer."" -Brent McClain, award-winning author of One Good Mama Bone 2 ""Allen Mendenhall's A Glooming Peace This Morning is more than a humorous, tightly narrated story of four boys on the precipice of manhood in the South of the Seventies. This novel exceeds its coming-of-age genre by exploring the universality of the human spirit when confronted with violence, loss, lust, and justice. While much is gained in the transition from boy to man, so much more is lost when the narrator learns people are not who he assumed they were. Cephas's first-person account immediately connects the reader to each character, creating both empathy and shock as we realize we have met them all in our own transition from childhood to adulthood."" -Johnnie Bernhard, Hannah and Ariela ""In this book, Allen Mendenhall journeys back into the childhood of a young boy named Cephas and follows him and his unlikely friends as all of them grow and age. With the skill of Updike, the author tells heart-warming and heart-breaking stories that will keep you turning pages. It is a little masterpiece."" -Joy Ross Davis, The Madwoman of Preacher's Cove ""Allen Mendenhall delivers a unique and poignant story that touches all the most tender places. With eloquent prose and a poet's voice, he'll stir every emotion and leave readers better for it. Southern literature at its best!"" -Julie Cantrell, Perennials"

Author Information

Allen Mendenhall is a lawyer and university administrator in Alabama who edited Southern Literary Review for over a decade.

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