Angel's Rest

Book Report: Angel’s Rest

By Charles Davis

‘At the start of Davis's beautifully written debut, 11-year-old Charlie York leads an idyllic life in the shadow of Angel's Rest, a mountain in the Virginia Alleghenies "so high the earth's caretakers took breaks on the peaks before they came down to help those in need of God's assistance." Then, one late afternoon in 1967, Charlie's father is killed by a shotgun blast and his mother is arrested for murder. Put in the care of Lacy Albert Coe, an old black man, Charlie hears the music of Coe's many stories as he tries to understand the hate that fills the people of rural Sunnyside, Va. Charlie vacillates between wanting to escape on a raft like Huck Finn and wanting to know the truth behind the tragedy. Was it an accident? Or was his mother guilty of murder? Or was the killer really the reclusive Korean War veteran, Hollis Thrasher, who had been seen walking from their house that afternoon? In his painful search for answers, Charlie leaves childhood behind and gains an unparalleled understanding of courage and love.’

I bought this book from Cargo Largo, thinking it was more the type of quiet, painful book that Caroline would like. I put it in my carry-on bag when I left the states and started reading it on the way to Cali—and really loved it from the start.

First paragraph:

‘People said he was crazy. He’d come down from Angel’s Rest a couple times a week and folks cleared the sidewalks when he passed. Hollis lived alone in a tar-papered shack halfway up the mountain next to the reservoir. Most of the town was scared of him. I was, too, even before Daddy died and rumors started floating all over town. For as long as I can remember, my mother told me to stay away from Hollis Thrasher. I asked why, she gave me her most severe look and said nothing. I once asked Dad about Hollis, too, got the same look, and he said I’d better leave that poor feller alone.’

I found Davis’s writing style very smooth and kinetic—the words pull you along in an easy, comfortable pace. He managed the voice of an 11 year old boy very well: not overdone but still simplistic and characteristic of an easterner. Great dialogue throughout.

Each character had great depth, as well. This was a story of the protag, Charlie, discovering a secret from his recent past—an event that unfolded slowly through the present events. Each character was unique and none were un-likeable. In fact, the ‘sidekick character’, Lacy Coe, was my favorite (as I so often do like the sidekicks more than the protags). Lacy is a gentle old black man who Charlie knows through his father. Lacy has always been in the background of Charlie’s life, until current events merge their lives and a heartfelt alliance is formed. Through his stories and actions, Lacy leaves many lasting impressions with Charlie—and with the reader.

Something about Charlie bothered me towards the end, and I think it was his melodrama. Every time he became upset, he threw up and tried to run away—behaviors that might became predictable and annoying even though I’m sure they were meant to elicit reader sympathy.

I do admire the way Davis was able to change scenery—about halfway through the book, Charlie is relocated from Virginia to the Maine, near the Canadian border via one very long car ride, and Charlie’s observations through the window create pleasant images:

‘After climbing that hill, we went down the other side of it and in the low spots Hollis drove careful around clumps of seaweed washed up in the road. We passed a place called Smiley’s Campground that was closed and sat on the edge of a beach half-covered in snow, and then through a place Hollis called Pawtuckaway Harbor. It looked like an old western town in the movies to me, except all of the buildings were white and on the other side o the road spread a huge ocean with foam blowing off the waves into the air.’

I enjoyed this story and the memorable characters. The reader will be able to figure out what’s going on long before Charlie does, which I think attests to the innocence and realism Davis has breathed into his protag. The ending of this story reads with a weight of bittersweetness that will resonate within you long after you’ve closed the cover.

Four out of Five stars for writing real people and making me care about them.