RITA SIMS QUILLEN

“Hiding Ezra reminds me of Charles Frazier’s ‘Cold Mountain,’ as a deserter from World War I struggles for two years to evade arrest and to survive in the rugged mountains of southwest Virginia. Only such a widely respected poet as Rita Quillen would have written prose that so powerfully evokes the savage splendor of these mountains. I devoured this book without a break, driven to discover the fate of Ezra, a genial young man caught up in the conflicting demands of patriotism, family loyalty, and first love. Anyone who loves Appalachia, or just good fiction, will want to read this fine novel.”

“Rita Sims Quillen has written a poet’s novel, in which the beauty of the prose heightens the drama of the narrative, and deepens our love for the characters at the heart of the story. ‘Hiding Ezra’ brings a time and place to life in such vivid depiction that it is easy to forget we are reading fiction, and not hearing a tale told directly from a wise and gifted friend. The way the characters speak captures the nuances of a true native tongue, makes their tale of the World War I and its consequences unforgettable. The subtle authenticity of Appalachian speech in ‘Hiding Ezra’ deserves comparison with the fiction of Robert Morgan and Lee Smith; in other words, with only the best.”

““Hiding Ezra is that rare literary page-turner, the kind of book that is so action packed we want to keep flying through, but so lovingly written that we want to savor the language. Quillen provides not only action and lyricism but also a deep emotional understanding of the complexities of war, loyalty and family in a novel populated by a vivid sense of place and endearing characters we will not soon forget.””