Robert Hicks (1) (1951–2022)

I'm a sucker for the American Civil War, so this book (and the spiffy looking cover) quickly got my attention. It's based on the true story of Carrie McGavock, the woman who oversaw the creation and maintenance of the largest privately-owned Civil War cemetery in America, established in the fields by her home in Franklin, Tennessee, after the Battle of Franklin.

Hicks has a way with words that allows the reader to very easily picture the scene in their head; I felt at times like I was show more watching the story happen, as opposed to reading it. The characters of Zachariah Cashwell and Mariah were particularly compelling.

This is another book that I was sad to finish. I will definitely keep an eye out for more books by Robert Hicks! show less

As a decades-long fan of country music, I can vouch for Vince Gill when he says in his foreword to A Guitar and a Pen, “…some of the greatest songwriters around are also some of the best storytellers.” Heck, whole movies can be, and have been, made from a three-minute country song without requiring much of a rewrite. Now, finally, with A Guitar and a Pen, arrives a collection of short stories from a group of songwriters responsible for some of the biggest hits and, much more show more importantly, some of the best songs to come out of Nashville in the history of country music.

The collection includes stories from Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Braddock, Hal Ketchum, Janis Ian, Mark D. Sanders, Robbie Fulks, Marshall Chapman and Charlie Daniels, among others.

The twenty-five stories encompass a wide range of themes and writing styles. Among them are exaggerated tales of humor; stories of good love gone bad; some about growing up poor, or just growing up; one about the old West; some offering insights into the life of a songwriter; a few about early influences of musicians; even one about terrorism. I won’t claim that all of the stories worked for me, but this collection did have one of the better “hit” to “miss” ratios of any short story collection I’ve read in a while.

Among my favorites is Bob McDill’s “The Care and Treatment of Camp Cooks,” a story about a hunting club’s temperamental, but extremely talented, camp cook who goes on strike after one of the club members mistakenly offers an honest opinion on that evening’s meal when pressed to do so by the cook. Lesson learned by all but the cook. Another is “The Elk Hunters,” Tim Johnson’s story about a Nashville songwriter’s annual return to Oregon to bow-hunt elk with his brother and father and the shocking truths he learns about his father on one of the hunts.

There are also stories like the unforgettable “Gathering Together” by Robert Hicks, the story of Aunt Willie and her unique contribution to one family’s Thanksgiving meal and Monty Powell’s “The Point,” a touching account of how a man’s retirement dreams are ruined when he returns to the scene of his best childhood memories.

But the stories I found most interesting were the ones directly related to the country music business. The collection leads off with Robbie Fulks’ frank look at what life is like for those who do music “on a lower-than-celebrity level” as part of the presentation his story narrator makes at a local high school “Career Day” event, and it ends with “Will It Ever Happen Again,” a Michael Kosser story about a one-time hugely successful songwriter who hasn’t had a hit song in ten years and who might be forced to finally give up his dream. These are perfect bookend stories for a very fine short story collection.

Rated at: 4.0 show less

This book held my attention. Hicks' writing had me feeling along with Carrie the hold death has on our lives. Also truly impressive how gory war is--despite how sanitized it can become with our long range weapons now.
When I found out, at the end, that this was based on a real graveyard, my admiration for Hicks' ability to make the characters come alive was even greater, as I think history is often dull. By going into the effects of the war on individual lives, Hicks let us see how insane show more war is.
Probably Black readers would take issue with the treatment of Mariah & Theopolis, but probably it's historically accurate.
Here's some perceptive quotes: "Living did not seem like a gift. It was a heavy weight, but it was all I had anymore."(p176)
"...women who would not acknowledge having anything to do other than to work until they died, and for whom boundless labor guarded them against the perils of unreasonable hopes and foolish desires. Dreams of love, for instance."(255)
"His power was...in the insistence of his voice. It was a low, rattling voice that he let fill the air between us, absorbing whatever we said until we were left just to listen."(363)
"The face he typically displayed for women and his inferiors--children, Negroes, farmers--would not be welcome in such a gathering, and so I watched how, with every step across the room, the architecture of his face shifted and his skin formed itself until he was transformed into the image of a benevolent man of business, offensive to no one. This was the most awful face of all" (343) show less

How does a midwife who's birthed an entire town of babies reconcile when that very town slaughters what she holds most dear? How does a man with a spot on rifle shot reconcile himself to his past and the role he's played in this town? Both seek the same justice, yet go about it differently, as they would with someone who greets life and someone who takes it away. Not to mention it's Reconstruction era Tennessee and said characters are African American, one a former slave, one a born freeman; show more its mighty dicey for sure.
In fact finding, Mariah finds more than she bargained for, and realizes that facts aren't wisdom, and therefore aren't the finality that's sought.
The stronghold of hope weaves its way throughout the entire story, whether or not the situation is dire or not, it's all that's left to hold onto in life.
Hicks wields a powerful story of transformation and redemption through the eyes of a heartbroken, strong, former slave woman. The words he chooses to convey her story are full of strength and prose, relaying a full, ripe story that resonates with our human condition even today.
*I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review show less