Monday, September 28, 2015

SEPTEMBER 2015 BOOK SELECTION: MINNOW

Every two years The Hub City Press in Spartanburg, SC hosts and publishes a South Carolina First Novel Competition. In 2014 the winner was Minnow by James E. McTeer, II.

The press’s website states it best: “Hub City Press is a non-profit independent press in Spartanburg, SC that publishes well-crafted, high-quality works by new and established Southern authors. We are committed to high-caliber novels, short stories, poetry, memoir, and works emphasizing regional culture and history. We are particularly interested in books with a strong sense of place."

Minnow certainly lives up to Hub City’s reputation for producing fine literature. The story disarms by introducing the reader to Minnow, whom you believe to be an average young boy. You learn very early on that his father is dreadfully ill and may not live without a certain medicine. Minnow is given the task of getting the medicine at the pharmacy by his mother. Would it were so easy. This is only the beginning.

As the story progresses, McTeer continually raises the stakes and the challenges to Minnow and you watch as he faces each one. It becomes a story of courage, devotion and fortitude. Warning: Some of the hurdles are so devastating, it was difficult to read.


The story takes place in Charleston and in the outer sea-islands off the coast of South Carolina. The places were so richly drawn that not only did you feel you accompanied Minnow on his journey, but the locations actually became another character. It was beautifully done. Recommend.


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