Was Franklin Browning a true man of God, or a megalomaniac? His faithful followers believed in him...all except one.
What will become of the
fiesty Jolene Mosley, who seemed to always break the rules and question things?
Constantly reproached, constantly sent to the prayer closet, constantly told she had a shadow on her soul. Such was the life of nineteen-year-old Jolene.
The arrival of the Snakemans nephew helps her to see she's not crazy for questioning the twisted scripture that rules her life and the lives of her community.
Can she escape the oppression unharmed?
Excerpt
On a Sunday in August, the snakeman came to town. The two hundred and twelve inhabitants of the backwater hollow of Pine Mountain flocked to the church to see for themselves the man who could stare down poisonous snakes and handle them harmed.
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Reviews for "The Snakeman Cometh"
Reviewed by Susan Miller
6/27/2003
Got my copy in the mail today and read it in one sitting. This is the second of three of Alexanders books that I've read. Obviously hard to put down, this one was fantastic.
I've read many excerpts since I first joined Authors Den, but yours is the only one I read with my eyes flying over the words in a race to find out more, more, more. Every sentence flowed into the next like water in a stream, and your descriptions were so vivid I found myself perspiring from the heat of the church.
I'm broke right now--a starving writer--but I will give myself the gift of your book as a reminder of why I love to read.
Midwest Book Review
L. A. Johnson
Nebraska USA (6/14/2003)
Once in awhile I read a book of such eloquence, so beautiful in its simplicity, that emotion overwhelms me. The Snakeman Cometh is such a book. Set in the rugged Cumberland Mountains, with the Daniel Boone National Forest as its backdrop, the author's tale is both poignant and disturbing. Jolene Mosley is a "coltish ten year-old" when the snake handling Reverend Browning makes his first appearaance in her Appalachian mining town. It's the 1940's. Mining is mostly all the menfolk know, while their women stay home to cook, clean, and raise a passle of kids. Life is simple but hard. It doesn't take the charismatic Reverend long to bring his flock around to his way of thinking. Religious dogma, harsh rules, and even harsher judgments become the accepted way of life with Browning and his version of God presiding. All enthusiasm, every individual behavior is drummed out of Browning's followers, including Jolene. She lives the life of all True Believers. No books, except the Bible, and no fun allowed in their colorless existence. Her curious mind and outspoken personality have been blunted as she reaches a joyless adolescence. And then the good Reverend's nephew Russell Nash comes to town. Recently released from prison, Russell is a past victim of Browning's voracious quest for power. The young stranger has a good heart, a quiet way about him, but rejects his uncle's harsh ways. When Nash's budding friendship with Jolene blossoms into tender concern, and then desire, life among the True Believers is turned upside down. Throughout, I worried for Jolene, wondering who would cause her downfall first - the snake handling Reverend or her sex crazed brother. The plans Browning has for her are chilling, moreso because her parents go along with it. With Russell Nash as the one kindly presence in her drab life, she devises a desperate way to escape cruel fate. Despite the simple telling of this story, The Snakeman Cometh was a devastating read. The author's character development and the purity of her prose took my breath. Ms. Alexander has two previously published books: Return to Suicide and Dance of the Misbegotten. I look forward to reading them both with the greatest anticipation. This book has harsh themes, but is appropriate for adults and mature adolescents. I recommend it with enthusiasm
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