Publisher:
N/A

Publication Date:
02/02/2021

Copyright Date:
N/A

ISBN:
1649218664

Binding:
Paperback

U.S. SRP:
N/A

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WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH

By Micheal E. Jimerson

IR_Star-black
IR Rating:
4.4
Combining a coming-of-age template with a meticulously crafted morality tale, WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH paints a vivid picture of a bygone era that resonates with the here and now.
IR Approved
A ‘throwback’ morality tale about a complicated man from a place with an equally complicated past.

A story about a complicated man from a place with an equally complicated past, Michael E. Jimerson’s WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH is a ‘throwback’ to a time when authors side-stepped that oh-so-stylish page-one inciting incident in favor of long-form, slow-burn drama anchored by an enduring theme. Set against a Jim Crow backdrop, the story opens in East Texas, where the murder of a prominent citizen rattles a small-town to its core. In the aftermath, young Ray Elliot makes a regretful decision that will shape the rest of his life. From there, readers are transported some thirty years into the future, where an oil boom, an investigation, and a long-overdue reckoning collide with one man’s fractured conscience. Ray Elliot, now a Texas Ranger, is approached by a woman with a request to find her missing husband. Smitten, Ray soon confides in her his darkest secret, and in the process, is buried by an avalanche of newfound shame. The story’s third act brings together all three main characters in a final confrontation, delivering an ending that, while satisfying, offers little in the way of resolve.

For a debut novel, WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH is a remarkably polished offering. Where many authors struggle to tame the urge to plug a handful of adjectives into each and every sentence, Jimerson opts for a concise, Hemingway-esque approach. Elliot’s narrative, conveyed through waves of succinct, declarative sentences, adopts an impressive sense of cadence as it unfolds. Even the book’s title, indebted to a biblical passage, evokes shades of the great Southern Gothic writers. Not unlike James Faulkner’s exploration of the darker shades of humanity or Wolfe’s multi-generational meditation on his own complicated past, Jimerson succeeds in pairing a bygone era with a poignant analysis of a timeless dilemma. While the author’s desire to obfuscate the moral conundrum at the core of this story occasionally overwhelms the otherwise haunting atmosphere, there’s an undeniable charm to Jimerson’s ‘all in’ approach. Racial tensions and the fight for Civil Rights play heavily into this story, but Jimerson succeeds in walking that razor-thin line between ‘white savior’ and ‘white-washing,’ a feat that deserves recognition in and of itself. From Elliot’s ‘choice’ in the opening pages to his final act in the closing chapter, readers are ultimately left to draw their own conclusions.

While WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH is perhaps best described as historical fiction, the novel continuously pushes against the confines of the genre tag, a fact that is undoubtedly tied to the way its central themes of morality and prejudice resonate with the present day. After all, one of the many benefits accompanying a careful examination of the past is a better sense of context for the present, and in that regard, Jimerson succeeds. A thought-provoking, occasionally heart-wrenching slow-burn may not necessarily be a fashionable release for the kindle generation, but make no mistake, this is an impressive effort and one that bodes well for Jimerson’s future writing endeavors.

Combining a coming-of-age template with a meticulously crafted morality tale, WHERE NO MAN PURSUETH paints a vivid picture of a bygone era that resonates with the here and now.

~James Weiskittel for IndieReader

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