Blood Feud

In Colerain County, Ohio, not long before the United States enters the Second World War, a smaller war is waiting to erupt. After years of an uneasy truce, the long-standing tensions between the Clemmer and Kilkinney clans have once more begun to escalate. The rekindling of that feud and its devastating resolution -- as seen through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Winnie Clemmer -- are the subject of Annabel Thomas's powerful new novel. "All wars, little or big, have elements in common", Winnie observes. "Over and above the shedding of blood, I mean. To my thinking, self-interest starts them, plain meanness keeps them going. And of course whoever wins, the results are the same: the shriveling of souls". Embroiled in this conflict, which is rooted in the Civil War and the ancestral rivalries between Anglo-Saxon and Celt, are a host of indelibly etched characters. The adults include Charlotte Clemmer, a woman of iron will whose ambitions touch off the latest round of feuding; Uncle John Kilkinney, a full-bearded, big-hearted preacher and potter whose appeals for peace go unheeded; and Cap Clemmer, father of Winnie and twin brother of Charlotte, whose bitterness can only find expression in brutal deeds. Among the children are Davy and Bevin Kilkinney, a brother and sister who befriend Winnie and thus confound her loyalties. In a world suddenly turned violent, threatening, and strange, Winnie and Davy fall in love and dare to ponder the possibilities of a life together, far removed from the murderous impulses of their skin. With its rich characterizations, its strong sense of place, and its carefully sustained dialect, Blood Feud is an engrossing tale skillfully told. At the same time,it is a perceptive exploration of timeless themes: the causes and consequences of violence, the bonds of family and community, the nature of love, and the yearnings of the human spirit.