Pilotville Louisiana in 1927 is the setting for this new and compelling account by Athol Dickson. An isolated outpost on the Mississippi, Pilotville is a stilt village bounded by swampland and accessible only by boat – an island of tolerance in a sea of racism. It is a place where folks seem to live together in peace, ironically separated only by their places of worship. But foreboding lurks beneath the surface of brotherly love; an undercurrent of the darker side of human nature, of crimes committed under the very noses of the good people of Pilotville.
Enter the Reverend Hale Poser, stranger and man of God, humble and full of miracles, a man on a search for his past. He takes a job as a janitor at the local Negro infirmary, but before long the residents of Pilotville begin to notice something different about this newcomer, whom miracles seem to follow around. Hale has a mysterious encounter with baby Hannah Lamont, a newborn saved by the hand God only to disappear at the hands of man. He joins the search for the missing child, only to discover that she is not the first to be taken. Before long, the lives of hundreds are in danger.
Buried deep in the swampland lays an evil secluded from the outside world for generations. With the arrival of Hale Poser, miracle man, it slumbers no more. As the river rises, this evil will rise with the flood, and only a miracle can stop it.
Hale Poser struggles between pride and faith, belief and doubt, and the need for the grace and mercy of the God of all men, regardless of colour. Readers will find the setting deeply evocative, the story subtle yet captivating, the characters multi-layered and compelling in their realism. Without realising it, they will find themselves irresistibly drawn in: witnesses to the struggles of one man in his search for God in a world of terrible evil, a search that continually reveals the mystery of the Cross.
Reviewed by Rachel Koopmans
chbookshelf May 16, 2006
Pilotville, Louisiana, in 1927 is an isolated outpost on the Mississippi River, which is accessible only by boat and divided by racism. Reverend Hale Poser has come looking for his roots. While he’s in town he takes a job at the local Negro hospital as a janitor.
When a black woman goes into labor at the hospital, the doctor says there is nothing to do but perform a c-section. But Hale lays his hands on the woman’s belly and the baby turns, so the woman is able to deliver her baby girl normally. But that night, the baby vanishes. The parents and the town are frantic. After all, this has happened in the past and the babies have never shown up again. Hale determines that it won’t happen with this baby, and he spends long hours in the swamp searching.
In the misty swamp beyond the cypress and the tupelo lies a lingering evil veiled by Spanish moss. For over two hundred years it has slept in seclusion. But will Hale be the man God uses to stop this evil and to pull the town together?
I wasn’t sure how interesting RIVER RISING would be, but I was instantly hooked on page one, and when I misplaced the book while traveling I was frantic to find it, and hoped it was in the car somewhere. I was very glad when I located it because I had to find out what happened next. Hale is a wonderful character–loving, kind, and giving, and he goes out of his way to try to draw the town together. Even though Hale is warned not to look for the missing Negro baby, he does so anyway and finds something even more priceless and yet still horrific in return.
Readers won’t want to miss this page-turning book of Southern fiction. RIVER RISING is a true winner. Even the cover is a bit spooky looking. I highly recommend RIVER RISING for a story that will continue long after the final pages are turned.
Reviewed by Laura V. Hilton