The Year of the Storm

i can t help but feel a little tiny bubble of apprehension when short story writers make the big move to the novel, because i worry that they won t be able to sustain the narrative long form.but once i saw that Frank Bill, of all people, was comparing this to Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, of all booksi should have known this would be pretty solidd it is definitely solid i m not really sure how to classify it i guess it is slipstream, even though that is itself a slippery genre, and it depends [...]

I remember fourteen Best and worst year of my life Best because I learned how to be a man Worst because I forgot how to be a boy I too remember being fourteen It was the year of my first girlfriend, my first real girlfriend Stephanie, the girl with the chocolate eyes, in sixth grade really doesn t count She did hug me once, a thrilling experience that left me dazed for the rest of the day My mother was about to tear her hair out because Miss Stephanie was Catholic and I was forbidden to date a C [...]

I received a free copy of this from the author in exchange for an honest review This is one that s tough to review because the official summary doesn t tell you about a major part of the plot, and that element is such a big part of the story that it s nearly impossible to talk about the book without discussing it Looking through the other reviews, it seems like everyone has tried to be cagey about what they re revealing I thought about going in that direction, but if you hide all that behind a s [...]

I ve come to think of fourteen as not only the longest year of my life, but also the most important because it was the last year of childhood and the first year of the rest of my life, a life that would be forever marked as different in subtle and insidious ways from the people around me Fourteen was the year my mother and sister disappeared, the year I lost my mind The year I learned secrets that will stay with me until I am no longer able to think of them.Welle book starts out beautifully Ther [...]

As well as loving crime fiction, I am also a fan of contemporary American fiction, so very much in the vein of Michael Koryta, Wiley Cash and Tom Franklin, The Year of the Storm, not only conforms to the tenets of contemporary American fiction, but also manifests itself as a seamless fusion of crime inflected with a tinge of the supernatural.This is a beautifully controlled piece of prose which struck me as a very powerful examination of the validity of memory, as adult Danny looks back on the d [...]

I am a huge fan of John Mantooth s collection of short stories entitled Shoebox Train Wreck I can t see a school bus without thinking of A Long Fall Into Nothing, and Chicken John set the bar really high for himself with that group of compelling stories It was with trepidation that I opened the cover of The Year of the Storm I have been disappointed before when a second book falls far short of the first It was almost painful A storm is a kind of magic It s a simple opening sentence but I knew I [...]

Amazing A story about hatred, about close mindedness, about life in 1961 in Alabama, about a boy from a broken home, about believing in what the world tells you is not possible, about reconciliation, about murder, about abuse, about letting go of the past to make room for the future, about surviving, about the links that are not coincidences but are miracles.A gripping ethereal read.

You know those random book lists you stumble across in strange places The ones that are somebody s favorite reads but seldom have anything that you haven t already read or have no interest in Two weeks ago, I had never heard of this book or its author, John Mantooth It was on a list I clicked titled something like Favorite Reads Similar to the TV show Stranger Things or something like that My son had recently sung the praises of the show, so I clicked through the list Some of the books I d read [...]

Too often dark fiction is a cipher for stories about the meaningless of life that it s empty and devoid of purpose, and it s a rare author who can take readers through a dark and sometimes disturbing journey, nudge them close enough to the edge so they can look into the abyss belowbut pull them back and offer them hope at the end John Mantooth is one of those authors, and as he did in his short story collection Shoebox Train Wreck, he walks this line in The Year of the Storm, showing us BOTH the [...]

John Mantooth s debut novel, THE YEAR OF THE STORM, is a must read for 2013 Seriously, pre order it here You ll be surprised that the novel is his debut I was when I read his short story collection, SHOEBOX TRAIN WRECK, last year and found that it was his first major publication The wonderfully dark collection held a strong aura of an established author, one whose work I couldn t wait to dive back into Alas, when I searched for another book by Mantooth, all I could find was coming in 2013 Needle [...]

I went in to this novel trying to manage my exceedingly high expectations almost always certain doom for my opinion of any book given how much I loved Shoebox Train Wreck My fear was that I might somehow be setting myself up for disappointment by comparing it unfairly to a short story collection I considered one of the best books of 2012 and one of my favorite books, period My fears were unfounded While it is early in the year, I feel confident that The Year of the Storm will still be in my top [...]

Mantooth s debut novel shows a sure and steady hand in creating a fully believable, literary coming of age story peppered with hints of the supernatural He writes compelling characters with authentic motivations and emotions, all in an evocative, confident voice Don t miss this one It s a strong contender for best novel of the year.

Loved this book Read it in less than a day I didn t know what to expect and was blown away I wish I could slip some days.

Wow, was this a tense and intrepid read Not since Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter have I enjoyed a book in this genre so thoroughly Not just the beginning, or the anxious middle or the tumbling endings but the mood and motion of the entire whole it was like one long but bottom lung, jarring gasp fighting to do the next exhale I could not put this book down except once to sleep Despite it being out of any chronology and nebulous to follow, it was mood bewitching enough to negate the out of time tr [...]

Rarely am I so on the fence about a book that I enjoyed reading John Mantooth s debut novel, The Year of the Storm, is definitely a gripping coming of age story, one that works on many levels So much mystery and suspense takes place in those Alabama woods, that it was hard to put down, and I often grew upset when real life interrupted my reading However, the endingI just don t know It simply didn t work for me as well as I d hoped I ve thought about the book many times since I finished it, and I [...]

I won this in a first reads giveaway.It makes me feel strange looking at all of the five and four star reviews I d like to know what they saw in this book that I didn t If I hadn t won this book, I honestly wouldn t have had it in me to even finish it But I felt obligated to get to the end so I could leave a proper review.I didn t feel a connection to any of the characters None of them were very well defined The personalities didn t differ enough to leave a remarkable impression on you I found m [...]

So, this is interesting because it s a story that s been told before Not only there has been Southern Gothic coming of age novels before, but it s one of the most popular subgenres of Southern writing there is, period THE YEAR OF THE STORM is such an interesting coming of age novel to me, because it s a thoroughly rebellious one, that hates the idea that adults can even fathom the idea of having some kind of wisdom to share If there is such a thing as an anti coming of age, THE YEAR OF THE STORM [...]

Great book To be honest, I may have set the bar prejudicially high I saw the cover, read Coming of age story Alabama and it s not fair, but the first novel that came into my mind was Robert R McCammon s _Boy s Life_ I cut my teeth on King and McCammon in the 80s, so I jumped into the book with absurdly high hopes _The Year of the Storm_ lived up to the expectations The characterization was honest, the word choice was downright lyrical, and I loved the central image of the storm as an agent of ch [...]

There s something incredibly satisfying about reading a debut novel and knowing KNOWING that the author is destined to be one of the greats John Mantooth s The Year of the Storm clearly puts him in that category The novel has it all a gripping story, beautiful writing, and that undefinable perspective that makes a work only one person could ever write TYotS is one of those books that left me jealous of Mantooth s accomplishment in the best ways possible I can t wait to see where he goes next in [...]

A lovely coming of age story set in rural Alabama, alternating between the sixties and the present day There are murdered girls, mysterious disappearances and vicious bullying, as well as subtle supernatural elements that never weigh down the narrative It reminded me a little of Boy s Life by Robert McCammon The characterization is terrific, and the story of Walter, Danny and Seth is sad and gripping An exciting debut.

Meh

Loved it not expecting a supernatural thriller but very good Combine Leif Enger Peace Like a River with Joe Hill Heart Shaped Box interesting combination.

Review forthcoming Join On the Southern Literary Trail for a chance to win John Mantooth s debut novel You re in for one very dark ride John s novel goes public June 4, 2013.

I really enjoyed this novel A must read for children of addicts Mantooth s prose is very nice He sets a very eerie tone that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I agree with some of the reviewers that Pike and Danny are almost the same character They are very similar, but I think that s intentional By the end of the novel, you begin to understand Danny has suffered some serious trauma Was he kidnapped by Pike and developed stockholm syndrome Did Danny create a fantasy to escape abuse he [...]

I m a pre maturely middle aged curmudgeon, who no longer enjoys reading coming of age stories There, I said it.Now let me say something else The Year of the Storm, a crime horror literary coming of age novel, is a fantastic book Told through two perspectives, one a fourteen year old boy named Danny, the other an old man named Walter, the story revolves around two missing people Danny s mother and sister, who are presumed by many to be dead When the novel begins, Danny is desperate to know what h [...]

Dueling timelines, twisting plots, and flawed yet alluring characters are a surefire way to grab my attention And debut author, John Mantooth, did just that In rural Alabama, the end of summer for fourteen year old Danny should be a gentle time But it isn t It s the year of the storm a vicious year that Danny at any age will never forget and he finds this year the most difficult to comprehend as he leaves behind his shredded innocence Danny sits one stormy night, trying hard to ignore his pester [...]

Original review posted at Layers of Thought.Shellie s quick take A complexly interwoven and otherworldly mystery that is also a dark coming of age story It centers around the events leading up to several devastating tornados and a painful loss.Shellie s description Set near some woods in Alabama, Danny and Walter are on the verge of being forced into becoming adults Danny s mother and sister have disappeared before a powerful storm and Walter and his friend Seth are targets from violent and hear [...]

THE YEAR OF THE STORM is a psychological thriller that asks the question, is it possible to lose your grasp on the reality we call normal and slip, not into a reality that doesn t exist, but into another dimension that exists alongside of our own When Danny was fourteen years old his mother and younger sister disappeared during a severe storm Everyone else, even his Dad, gave up on finding them Most people thought that they were dead, but Danny believed differently he still had faith that they w [...]

I won this book as a give away by the Southern Lit Book Club Thanks Mr Mantooth This is not the typical type of book I generally read but none the less I am glad I stepped out of my genre to read this This novel shows signs of Stephen King, who I gave up reading when he had the young boy killed in one of his novels, made it look like a dream and then went through the whole processing of the boy being killed again by a fourteen wheeler I have forgotten the name of the book and don t even want to [...]

GR defines two stars as it was OK and that is pretty much how I feel about The Year of the Storm This book had a lot of elements that I thought would make a great book the south, coming of age, mysterious disappearances, etc But for many reasons I failed to really enjoy and appreciate it Instead of picking apart this book and listing all the things that did not work for me, I will focus on my main criticism and that is the narrative style This book is told via the two narratives of Danny and Wal [...]