Blood and Milk: A Novel in Stories is a most impressive feat of impersonation. Blackmon seems to inhabit the wife and mother at the center of these stories right down to her synapses. It’s as if he knows not only her every thought but her every inflection, the exact phrases with which she speaks to herself in the privacy of her consciousness. There’s not a sentence here without the mark of truth to it.
—Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Illumination:
A Novel, and The Brief History of the Dead
Readers will fall in love with the novel’s protagonist, Becky Hawkins . . . . All of the novel’s main characters—Becky’s elderly grandfather; Ruby, her brain-injured child; Jake, her youngest; Claire, her oldest; and Mike, her husband—are drawn with such a deft but loving hand that the reader will begin to think of them as family. Because the characters span four generations, Blackmon is able to touch on themes of birth, death, and rebirth: by the last story, Becky and Mike have come full-circle with one another in a way that leaves them—and us—rounder with understanding.
—Jacinda Townsend, author of Saint Monkey
—Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Illumination:
A Novel, and The Brief History of the Dead
Readers will fall in love with the novel’s protagonist, Becky Hawkins . . . . All of the novel’s main characters—Becky’s elderly grandfather; Ruby, her brain-injured child; Jake, her youngest; Claire, her oldest; and Mike, her husband—are drawn with such a deft but loving hand that the reader will begin to think of them as family. Because the characters span four generations, Blackmon is able to touch on themes of birth, death, and rebirth: by the last story, Becky and Mike have come full-circle with one another in a way that leaves them—and us—rounder with understanding.
—Jacinda Townsend, author of Saint Monkey
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI notice you've deleted a comment. May I assume that the site administrator condones censorship, then? Is it the official stance of the MSU English department to condone censorship?
ReplyDeleteScott
It looks like deleting the original post was just a clerical error, then. I'd like to say that I am a victim of W.D. Blackmon's criminal violations of human rights, and I can prove that to anyone who inquires at bookofspirals@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteThank you for listening (and for supporting free speech),
Scott Hill
Hello. I just wanted to add that you can now directly review the evidence of Blackmon's human rights violations at http://www.bookofspirals.com/blog/corruption-at-missouri-state-universitys-english-department or, should this message not allow a link, by searching for "bookofspirals.com" and, from the website, "MSU corruption". I am a multiply different, doubly disabled person who is just struggling to stay alive and receive the most basic of services after what Blackmon and his cohorts did to me nearly a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Scott Hill, victim of W.D. Blackmon's criminal conduct