Hell at the Breech: A Novel

I thought this was a pretty good book. About my only criticism is that it's about 20% more literarily more descriptive than it has to be...kind of slows things down when you get into the detailed descriptions of everything, too many words. Also, one glaring historical inaccuracy jumps out near the end when the posse is on a rampage and Oscar is described as having a bolt-action Winchester 30-06. This is supposed to have taken place in 1998 which is before Winchester was making bolt-action rifles and 8 years before the .30-06 cartridge was introduced (.30 caliber of 1906.) Of course, with the exception of Stephen Hunter every modern novelist who has firearms in the story manages to make himself look stupid at the very least once in the book. Other than that, it was quite enjoyable.

If you took Cormac McCarthy's bloody masterpiece, "Blood Meridian", moved it from the southern border lands to Alabama and gave it a soul, it would come out looking a lot like Tom Franklin's "Hell in the Breech," a grisly but beautifully poignant tale of an obscure slice of American history, The Mitcham Beat "war" at the close of the 19th century.Having first read Tom Franklin's short story, "Poachers," in Otto Penzler's "The Best American Noir of the Century," I had to find more of this steamy and brutal southern prose - a delicious southern scramble of Faulkner style and James Lee Burke readability. In the author's rendering, young orphan Mack Burke, with his older brother William, accidently kills the local storekeeper in a clumsy kids' play disguised as robbery, setting off an unanticipated chain of events. Given what I suspect are scant details of the feud that set dirt-poor sharecroppers and common thugs against the only slightly better off gentry, it's hard to determine how closely Franklin stays to the facts - but not to worry. This is a fascinating yarn rich with bleak background of a South still struggling to recover from the Civil War; bitter, unfathomably poor, and barely better off than the slaves that were emancipated three decades before. Franklin fills this desperate landscape of cotton fields and tin-roofed shacks with a terrifically rich cast: the two unfortunate brothers, their adopted grandmother - the almost supernaturally wise and prescient "grandma" Bates, the well meaning but aging sheriff Billy Waite, and a rogues gallery of country villains, including Virgil "Tooch" Bedsole, cousin of the murdered man and bent on revenge against the unknown killer. The tension is palpable as suspense builds at a slow but steady and intriguing pace through the first half of the book, paying off in an adrenaline-charged second half that cuts and weaves through treachery, deceit, unmitigated violence and cruelty only slightly blunted with the occasional act of black humor and valor.This is historical fiction the way it should be written - brilliant prose illuminating a fascinating niche of unvarnished American culture, told though the dialog of real, authentically flawed characters. Tom Franklin has the rare combination of a historian's eye for detail and a poet's skill in turning a phrase and painting rich portraits in prose. Bravo.

1898. Rural Alabama. A shopkeeper is killed on the road, and the "Hell at the Breech" gang is formed. They launch a war against local townsfolk.Loosely based on actual events, HELL AT THE BREECH is packed with beautiful prose and heaped with sharp characterizations. However, the plot suffers due to a lack of a central character. In fact, there are very few admirable characters in general.It's possible to tell a story like this one with several main characters (KILLING MR. WATSON by Peter Matthiessen comes to mind) and still have it hold together. Tom Franklin's novel is less successful in this regard. He appears to get lost in the details at times. It's structurally shaky.The most sympathetic players in this drama is a young murderer, a dissolute old Sheriff and an aged midwife. "Granny" Bates is somehow the most compelling of the characters, yet the story is never told from her POV, therefore the reader doesn't get to know her well enough. The Sheriff quickly loses his moral compass and is overwhelmed in his attempts to solve the mystery. The Kid's part of the book makes for the most interesting reading, yet in the final analysis he fails to live up to his promise.Despite its flaws, HELL AT THE BREECH proves to be strangely readable, and Franklin fans will relish in the author's ability to write gorgeous passages. He breathes life into this obscure historical corner with vigorous detail.It should be noted that the novel has a humongous body count. The descriptions in the final battle scenes are extraordinarily gruesome.

Tom Franklin is probably best known for his book of short stories called "Poachers". In this book he puts his story telling skills into a full southern novel which takes place in a small town in Alabama over a hundred years ago. "Hell in the Breach" is the name of a gang of rural farms that declare war on citizens of a small Alabama town. And the book is the story of this rural "war".While most good southern novels have dark themes, this one is particularly so. Despite its rugged story line the book is a pleasure to read. Franklin has a knack for describing small southern community's at the turn of the 19th century. The prose is raw but still a delight to read. It makes the story move along quickly making it a book that can be read in a couple of days.In addition to the dark plot, the main characters are equally so, yet the story is told with complex characters and a rugged rural setting. While I gave this book four stars, I simply did it because there are other southern writers who deserve five. This should in no way dissuade the reader from trying out Mr. Franklins writings, be it "Poachers" or "Hell in the Breach".

A clash between town and country, with one community fearing the other and another feeling they don't get justice. It feels like the mid nineteenth century but it's actually set in the late 1890s when you'd have thought the law of the gun was outdated. All the characters are compelling and believable, as is the setting. Franklin is a fine author and this is well worth reading.

Read Tom Tranklins 'Poachers' a few years back & it had some good stories in it. He's faired well with his first novel as well.Based on true events in 1890's Alabama it tells the story of the Mitcham Beat War. Central to the story are Sheriff Bill Waite & 16 year old mack Burke. Waite is near retiring but wants to get to the bottom of a murder commited the year before that has sparked the war. Arch Bedsole had political aspirations but is gunned down one night. His cousin Tooch takes it on himself to avenge his death & with the help of a gang of local henchmen sets about terrorising the countryside. Mack works at Tooch's store & knows more about Arch's death than he dare let on.Franklins' novel is a good, solid read but doesn't hold up to the Faulkner comparisons. Then again not many do ! Enjoy.

This is definitely a 'can't put it down' book. I bought it because I read another of his- Crooked letter, crooked letter- same style of writing, and I want to emphasise that although the plot is brilliant, it is an easy read.

Good read

Brilliant book, Tom Franklin's best