William Leith

Soaked in blood and symbolism

The American civil war and the horrors of slavery are the principal themes of this harrowing, deeply moving novel

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  • A Shout in the Ruins

    Kevin Powers

    Sceptre, pp. 272

We’re in Virginia, in the 1850s. A girl called Emily is tormenting her dog, Champion, and her father’s teenage slave, Rawls. Seeing this, Emily’s father, Bob, beats her with his belt and kicks the dog. Of Rawls, Bob says: ‘Now leave him be so he can get about my business!’

A girl, a dog, a slave, and a slave-owner.The

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