Cain's Version

by Frank Durham

Book Overview

A stunning tale of imaginative, southern fiction that tells the story of a woman who moves to a quiet Louisiana town, only to be swept into the dramatic return of a son who after centuries of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1681629348
• ISBN13: 9781681629346
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Turner
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Strange and Wonderful Book

From the Homeric cadence of the prologue to the blistering indictment of the entire world with which it ends, Frank Durham's novel, "Cain's Version," is a strange and wonderful book. It is an allegory of man's search for redemption, an epic saga spanning millennia, and a multifaceted tale of familial love. The novel encapsulates the love of a mother for her child, a child for her father, a lost mother, a wayward son; a cast of characters searching in vain for definition, understanding, salvation. Lindy Caton has accepted a position as Director of the Moulton Foundation, a public service organization located in a declining town in central Louisiana. She has moved from Little Rock, in the wake of the failure of her marriage to a bisexual philandering charlatan of a preacher, to be closer to her aging father. She befriends a young woman named Eshana Barmore, and grows enchanted with Joeab, Eshana's angelic though developmentally challenged son. In response to Eshana's concerns about Joeab's tendency to wander, and progressively wander into the home of three ancient ladies, Adhah, Seelah, and Uhwe, Lindy investigates and discovers the otherworldly trio. In fact, their otherworldliness triggers multiple crises ending in death and loss, of minds and hopes and any rational conceptions of reality. In fact, one sign of this novel's power is the moment late in the book, when Lindy and her ex, who has miraculously turned up, go searching for the eponymous Cain through an empty Louisiana night. In the midst of reading this passage, I paused to contemplate its utter unreality, and then delved back into the tale, realizing it wasn't implausible at all. This is Frank Durham's first, and last, novel, written at the end of a long and fruitful life. Unlike most such valedictory efforts, it is emphatically not autobiographical, or if it is, it is done in the most oblique manner possible. A fascinating read. I couldn't put it down until it was done.

Clever and Creative

You really have to read beyond the first few pages, the story really picks up. Its really a quick read.