madison_mcloughlin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
chazmo1431's review against another edition
4.0
I can feel the dirt in my teeth reading this one. Set in the 1890's with a dusty old sheriff right on the cusp of retiring the badge. A gritty landscape that the author brings to life beautifully. A secret society of hooded men called "Hell At The Breech" that are seeking to change their local economy with their own brand of war. A store owners death becomes the new owners headquarters for this band run by his brother. There is a little of everything coming of age, murder, southern hooded renegades, a posse running amuck, and a window into life in the South in the 1890's. I am giving this 3 1/2 stars rounded off to a 4 for a great ending.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Violent little tale with a western vibe even though it is set in the south about a feud breaking out between rural folks in 1897 Alabama. Multiple viewpoints and turns into a spree of violence which I enjoyed.
campsey0914's review against another edition
3.0
“Hell at the Breech” by Tom Franklin takes place in rural 1897 Alabama. Arch Bishop is killed in the night, and his death causes a war, of sorts, to break out between the city folks and the farmers. Rumors begin to float that someone from the city came to the country and killed Bishop. A group of men come together to form their own form of law called, “Hell at the Breech.” Their mission, at first, was to seek revenge for Arch Bishop’s death. With murder on their mind, they soon begin to take the law of the country into their own hands. No one is safe and no one knows the true identities of many of the members. Soon farmers and their families find themselves forced to help or they too will find themselves dead.
Sheriff Billy Waite is ready for retirement. He believes in the law and not bending it, no matter the circumstances. He rides out to Mitcham’s Beat to investigate the murder of one of the local farmers. He soon discovers that no one is talking and everyone seems to have an alibi. He knows that trouble is brewing and the city folk and the farmers are on the edge of a war.
“Hell at the Breech” is loosely based on true events that took place in Alabama between 1897- 1898. It’s an interesting and violent take on a part of American history. I, personally, had a hard time reading this book. I found many parts of it to be a bit of a slow read. There were a few times while I was reading, that I thought about going and starting a different book. The author jumps from different perspectives throughout the book. The first couple times it happened, I found myself a little confused. I had to go back and reread a few pages to refresh whom certain characters were.
I thought the concept was great. It was really interesting to read about an event that actually took place. A little over halfway through, I really felt like things began to pick up. There is a lot of violence in the book. Personally, it did not bother me. It’s a true description of what life and “taking the law into your own hands” meant during the time period. The author was very graphic during many of the death scenes, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
Overall, I give it three stars. It’s an interesting and fictionalized take on a part of Alabama’s history.
Sheriff Billy Waite is ready for retirement. He believes in the law and not bending it, no matter the circumstances. He rides out to Mitcham’s Beat to investigate the murder of one of the local farmers. He soon discovers that no one is talking and everyone seems to have an alibi. He knows that trouble is brewing and the city folk and the farmers are on the edge of a war.
“Hell at the Breech” is loosely based on true events that took place in Alabama between 1897- 1898. It’s an interesting and violent take on a part of American history. I, personally, had a hard time reading this book. I found many parts of it to be a bit of a slow read. There were a few times while I was reading, that I thought about going and starting a different book. The author jumps from different perspectives throughout the book. The first couple times it happened, I found myself a little confused. I had to go back and reread a few pages to refresh whom certain characters were.
I thought the concept was great. It was really interesting to read about an event that actually took place. A little over halfway through, I really felt like things began to pick up. There is a lot of violence in the book. Personally, it did not bother me. It’s a true description of what life and “taking the law into your own hands” meant during the time period. The author was very graphic during many of the death scenes, so it’s not for the faint of heart.
Overall, I give it three stars. It’s an interesting and fictionalized take on a part of Alabama’s history.
eleellis's review against another edition
5.0
Helluva book. Why Tom Franklin is not a household name I do not know. Like William Gay, this man is sparse in his words, but his words paint an entire picture.
Of course, this book is filled with violence and hard living people, many who are not favorable at all, but his writing just flows.
Of course, this book is filled with violence and hard living people, many who are not favorable at all, but his writing just flows.
lulukubo's review against another edition
4.0
Damn, this man can write. The violence and heartbreak and poverty of body and soul made this a bit of a hard read for me, but Franklin's writing kept me going. Some of my ancestors lived in an area close to the one which is the setting of this tale, so I was very interested in the story.
amyschlott's review against another edition
3.0
This is not normally a book that I would pick to read on my own - that is what I am in a book club for I guess. The book was a good read - one that I wanted to finish, although it was a bit violent and sort of lulled in the middle.
kiwi_fruit's review against another edition
5.0
This historical novel portrays a dark and dangerous world. It is based on a true story occurred in the late 1800s, when a gang of local men calling themselves “Hell at the breach” started a campaign of terror against the town people of Grove Hill in Alabama.
A single juvenile reckless murder starts a chain of violence, its consequences are felt throughout the small community, lives will be lost, the guilty as well as the innocent.
The book exposes the basest human traits, the meanness, the pettiness, the misery, the envy, the mindless violence towards men and beast and for this reason may not be to everyone’s taste. The perpetual struggle between good and evil and the strong instinct for survival are important themes here. Where the law permits injustice, the line between right and wrong gets blurred; who do you turn to when you seek revenge, if not to your own? How easily can the actions for a just cause get out of hand?
There’s a vibrant and complex cast of characters and many, many stories to tell; the old midwife, the shop owner, the sheriff, the swindler, the peddler, the cotton sharecroppers, the young and the old, they form a cohesive picture of rural south, pulling the reader in the middle of it.
Tom Franklin writing talent is in evidence here; this is my second novel by this great storyteller and certainly won’t be my last. If you like hillbilly noir and can stand a gritty story I would highly recommend. 4.5 stars
Fav. Quote:
Waite felt a mixture of relief and worry as he picked his way through the bramble and huckleberry bushes toward the road where he could already see the movement and color of men on horseback and hear low voices and the squeak of leather and horses nickering and blowing. He was out of one fix but here was another to negotiate, this one stickier because it involved friends. At least with enemies you knew where to aim.
A single juvenile reckless murder starts a chain of violence, its consequences are felt throughout the small community, lives will be lost, the guilty as well as the innocent.
The book exposes the basest human traits, the meanness, the pettiness, the misery, the envy, the mindless violence towards men and beast and for this reason may not be to everyone’s taste. The perpetual struggle between good and evil and the strong instinct for survival are important themes here. Where the law permits injustice, the line between right and wrong gets blurred; who do you turn to when you seek revenge, if not to your own? How easily can the actions for a just cause get out of hand?
There’s a vibrant and complex cast of characters and many, many stories to tell; the old midwife, the shop owner, the sheriff, the swindler, the peddler, the cotton sharecroppers, the young and the old, they form a cohesive picture of rural south, pulling the reader in the middle of it.
Tom Franklin writing talent is in evidence here; this is my second novel by this great storyteller and certainly won’t be my last. If you like hillbilly noir and can stand a gritty story I would highly recommend. 4.5 stars
Fav. Quote:
Waite felt a mixture of relief and worry as he picked his way through the bramble and huckleberry bushes toward the road where he could already see the movement and color of men on horseback and hear low voices and the squeak of leather and horses nickering and blowing. He was out of one fix but here was another to negotiate, this one stickier because it involved friends. At least with enemies you knew where to aim.