Shadow of My Brother explained

Shadow of My Brother is a 1966 novel by American author Davis Grubb.

Story line and development

A young boy is brutally murdered in a Southern town while five people watch. The author goes back three generations of the Wilson family to build a narrative of terror and evil.[1]

Editions

Reviews

Louis Grubb in his preface to You Never Believe Me quotes Lillian Smiths's review of the novel: Shadow of My Brother...is one of the best novels ever written on the mind-in-depth of a white-racist. Davis Grubb knows of evil and sweetness in the human heart as few writers understand it.[2]

An unsigned review published in Time Magazine was not so generous: At its best, Grubb's imagery is impressive and his prose is lyrical. But his uncontrolled bombast, his near-hysterical characters, and his determination to leave no grit unhominized often make the cliché-ridden novel read like a bad parody.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Introduction by Louis Grubb, in Grubb, Davis, You Never Believe Me, St Martin's Press, New York,, p. ix-x, 1989.
  2. Introduction by Louis Grubb, in Grubb, Davis, You Never Believe Me, St Martin's Press, New York,, p. ix, 1989.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20081223143440/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,835472,00.html Books: Short Notices: Apr. 29, 1966 - TIME