Kent Wascom creëert verhalen die zich verdiepen in de donkerdere, complexe facetten van de menselijke natuur, vaak geworteld in historische contexten. Zijn proza is rijk en suggestief en biedt diepgaande psychologische inzichten in de strijd van zijn personages. Wascom wordt aangetrokken tot het verkennen van morele ambiguïteiten en de blijvende impact van belangrijke keuzes. Zijn werk nodigt lezers uit tot een diepgaand onderzoek naar de complexiteit van de menselijke conditie en de werelden die zij bewonen.
It is 1861, and Angel Woolsack is a confederate about to breathe his last, as the Union forces make their inexorable approach. Rejected by his wife, his wealth no longer useful to him, he sets about recording his testament.
Set against the backdrop of the Gulf Coast in 1914, the narrative follows Isaac, a nature-loving artist with a mysterious past, and Kemper, a defiant heiress entangled in family rivalries. As they seek solace in their idyllic surroundings, tensions rise within Kemper's family, particularly with her brothers Angel and Red, whose secrets and violence threaten their refuge. The story intertwines themes of love, family drama, and the looming shadow of World War I, exploring the complex legacy of beauty and turmoil that defines their lives and the region.
Set against the backdrop of a politically charged 2026 Louisiana, a thirteen-year-old boy named Rally grapples with his family's violent past and the legacy of the Woolsacks, who once sought to establish their own state. As civil unrest brews, Rally embarks on a journey with his uncle Rodney, a gunfighter, to uncover the truth of his heritage and confront a far-right politician's dangerous ambitions. Along the way, he encounters a powerful figure known as the Governor and navigates his feelings for a fierce girl next door, exploring themes of family, violence, and identity.
New Orleans, May 1862. The largest city in the ill-starred confederacy has fallen to Union troops . When twelve-year-old Joseph Woolsack disappears from his home, her terrifies his mother Elise and enrages his father Angel. Joseph must come to grips with his father's legacy of violence, and his growing affection for his neighbor, the Cuban orphan girl Marina Fandal. Elise must struggle to maintain a hold on her sanity, her son and her station, but is threatened by the resurgence of a troubling figure from her past, Dr. Emile Sabatier, a fanatical physician who adores disease and is deeply mired in the conspiracy and intrigue surrounding the occupation of the city. These characters' paths all intersect with General Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts, a man who history will call a beast, but whose avarice and brutal acumen are ideally suited to the task of governing an "ungovernable city."