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The Vine That Ate the South

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The Vine That Ate the South

By: J. D. Wilkes
Narrated by: T. Ryder Smith
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With the energy, wit, and singularity of vision that have earned him a reputation as a celebrated and charismatic musician, The Vine That Ate the South announces J.D. Wilkes as an accomplished storyteller on a surreal, Homeric voyage that strikes at the very heart of American mythology.

In a forgotten corner of western Kentucky lies a haunted forest referred to locally as "The Deadening", where vampire cults roam wild and time is immaterial. Our protagonist and his accomplice - the one and only Carver Canute - set out down the Old Spur Line in search of the legendary Kudzu House, where an old couple is purported to have been swallowed whole by a hungry vine. Their quest leads them face to face with albino panthers, Great Dane-riding girls, protective property owners, and just about every American folk-demon ever, while forcing the protagonist to finally take stock of his relationship with his father and the man's mysterious disappearance. The Vine That Ate the South is a mesmerizing fantasia where Wilkes ambitiously grapples with the contradictions of the contemporary American South while subversively considering how well we know our own family and friends.

©2017 J.D. Wilkes (P)2017 Recorded Books Action & Adventure Adventure Classics Fantasy Genre Fiction Magical Realism Science Fiction Southern Folklore
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fatastic raconteur and a delivery that makes you want to follow the voice artist as much as the author

Transport yourself to an 'other' place

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The writing of this book is fantastic, especially for those of an artistic/visual inclination. It really captures the darkness of the southern gothic novel combined with the perfect sprinkling of magical realism. My honest critique is that the narration is slightly too animated to the point where it’s actually quite distracting from the story itself. The rhythm of the dialogue felt unnatural to the point I kept losing track of the story as it required so much mental effort to keep up with the narrator. Other than that it’s a fab book, might give it a go in paper back to dive back in afresh!

Excellent story but narration a bit tiresome

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