Overview

A family you won't forget ... Infused with warmth, heart and hope ... Glazed with the sorrow of a devastating truth. In Book One of the Plowed Fields trilogy, we met Joe Baker and his large family as a rare white Christmas descended on their South Georgia farm. It was 1960, and the family seemed poised on the brink of a grand experience in the years to come. As the decade progresses, the Bakers see their fortunes rise and fall, beginning with an illness that shakes the family at its very core. Prosperity comes calling when it's least expected, but a harrowing ordeal forces a reckoning with faith that nearly shatters the family. In Book Two of this three-part novel in episodes, Joe and his family give us an intimate portrayal of the farming life. They also encounter more unexpected turmoil with their friends and neighbors, including Lucas Bartholomew, Bobby Taylor and Sheriff Paul Berrien, stoking the conflict that will bring the family face-to-face with fire and famine, war and peace, and good and evil. Amid a severe drought, this mesmerizing family saga builds to an exciting climax as one violent act leads Joe to mete out his own vicious brand of retribution. Ultimately, the Bakers will need an act of daring and courage to save them from utter ruin. In Plowed Fields, author Jim Barber has created a place and characters that feel like home and family. The pages drip with the sweat, grime and grit of field work, the bone-tired stress of trying to make ends meet and a passion for life in this magnificent story of one's family's search for belonging. Book Two will leave you eager to for the conclusion of the Plowed Fields trilogy.

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9781732784550

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Reviews

Praise for Plowed Fields If Pat Conroy had been raised on a tobacco farm in South Georgia, this is the novel he would have written. Plowed Fields is a powerful story about a time in history that left more scars than we care to remember. With his rich detail of farm life, complex characters and sure sense of storytelling, Jim Barber has captured a time and place in Americana with lyrical precision and stunning beauty. Amid the darkness and evil, he has infused this story with warmth, heart and hope as promising as a newly plowed field. Becky Blalock, author of Dare Not since Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove have I read such a solid, unembellished, detail-rich portrayal of rural life lived out in fiction. In fact, while reading Plowed Fields, it seemed I was watching an intriguing TV Mini-series. Plowed Fields is all that a family saga should be--natural, endearing, superbly written and enchanting. Add to that fresh and exact! The characters come alive under Jim Barber's control. Jim Barber is a master story-teller; so by definition, that makes Plowed Fields a masterpiece. Readers are in for a glad experience. Janice Daugharty, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Earl in the Yellow Shirt and The Paw-Paw Patch Plowed Fields explores the hard choices we make, the love we give and the joy, sorrow and hope that shape our lives. It is a deeply moving story of ordinary people navigating through extraordinary times. Ultimately, Plowed Fields paints a portrait of faith lost and found. Joe Baker and his family will resonate with you long after the last page is read. I hope there's a sequel. - Sam Heys, author of The Winecoff Fire and Big Bets Set in the recent past, this is the perfect novel for our time of national uncertainty, cynicism, and corruption of values emanating from the very top. In nine episodes, Plowed Fields gives us the turbulent 1960s as lived in Georgia by the Baker family. Their haunting saga of desire and responsibility--of revolution and resolution--has a great deal to say to us today. In the words of the aphorism often attributed to Mark Twain, History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Alan Axelrod, author of The Gilded Age, 1876-1912: Overture to the American Century and How America Won World War I Imagine a family like TV's The Waltons living and loving on a farm in South Georgia during the 1960s, and you will have a strong sense of Plowed Fields. The story certainly has a wholesome quality--some might even say sentimental--but it's also glazed with the sorrow of a devastating truth. Jim Barber has captured a time and place with exquisite detail and superb storytelling. Plowed Fields will break your heart, but it's the warmth and tenderness of the people and their stories that will stay with you. Emelyne Williams, editor of Atlanta Women Speak Barber is an exciting new voice who defines family and coming of age with an engaging style. Joey Ledford, author of Speed Trap and Elkmont: The Smoky Mountain Massacre

Author Information

Jim Barber grew up working on his uncles' farms in South Georgia while pursuing his dream to become a newspaper reporter. His first job came at age sixteen, covering sports for his county newspaper. Jim spent the bulk of his news career with United Press International before a short stint with the New York Daily News led him to transfer to the world of corporate journalism and a twenty-five-year career with one of the nation's largest utilities. A state and national award-winning writer, he previously co-edited three books. Jim and his wife, Becky, live in Atlanta near Stone Mountain, which he climbs faithfully almost every day. They have three grown daughters, one son-in-law (soon to be two) and three grand dogs. Visit the author's website at www.jimbarber.me

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