Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly's The Tilted World is a peak into small town Mississippi circa 1927, and the town is in the midst of a crisis. Set against the backdrop of historic flooding and Prohibition, federal agents Ted Ingersoll and Ham Johnson arrive in fictional Hobnob, Mississippi, to investigate the disappearance of two fellow agents. Before they can begin that task, though, they must decide what to do with the baby they find abandoned nearby.
When their first choice turns out to already have triplets at home, and laughs at the idea of adding to her brood, they're satisfied with the recommendation to home the boy with Dixie Clay Holliver...who just happens to operate the biggest still in the county, and whose husband is the last person to have seen the two agents whose disappearance sent Ted and Ham to this part of the country.
Soon, though, as the river continues its merciless rise, events bigger and greater than bootlegging and revenuers take center stage. While some of the men fill sandbags at quickly as possible, others debate the wisdom of blowing the dam, thereby saving New Orleans, and potentially, hitting pay dirt in the process. Naturally, Dixie Clay and Jesse Holliver are at the center of the action, if not always in accord, and their paths intersect frequently and dangerously with Ted and Ham.
Franklin and Fennelly do a great job depicting the urgency and confusion around the flood. I was reminded often of scenes from The Johnstown Flood and Washed Away, both of which are non-fiction accounts of flooding. If none of the characters in The Tilted World had quite the depth and dimension of, say, those who people the pages of Pachinko, they were still generally well-developed and felt true tot heir time and place. The Tilted World will probably not make any of my "best of" lists for 2018, but it's a solid read, nonetheless, and a quick one - perfect for a day at the beach or on the place.
Three stars.
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