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Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Henry Wise is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Mississippi MFA Program. His work has appeared in Shenandoah, Nixes Mate, Radar Poetry, Clackamas, and elsewhere. Holy City is his first novel.
Henry Wise's website
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Jenny Bartoy: The theme of home pervades this story. Will returns home where a variety of ghosts and guilts await him. For several of the characters, home is fraught — whether that home is a house, a family, a culture, a county. Can you tell me more about how you played with this theme?
Henry Wise: Will's got a foot in two different worlds, so he doesn't really belong entirely anywhere. He's held suspect in what he considers his home. He returns to it and it's not what he expected entirely. And he's got a foot in Richmond, he's been there for 10 years, but he doesn't really belong in Richmond either. This idea of inner division between urban and rural Virginia, and how he doesn't really belong in either place — that sort of ended up controlling a lot of the narrative. You know, Thomas Wolfe said, "You can't go home again," but what happens when you do? What happens when you try to get back in touch? Drug use is a theme in the story, and Will is not a drug addict, but returning home in a way is almost like a relapse. He probably shouldn't go back if he knows what's good for him. But he does. There's this thing that's pulling him. We think of "Home is where the heart is," and "There's no place like home." But what if home...
S.A. Cosby is the New York Times national bestselling award-winning author from Southeastern Virginia. His books include My Darkest Prayer, Blacktop Wasteland, Amazon's #1 Mystery and Thriller of the Year and #3 Best Book of ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
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Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The... (more)
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