The Flower of Grass: A Novel

James E. Robinson
Monarch Books (2008)
ISBN 9780825462863
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (10/08)


Growing up in a small town where everyone knows what goes on inside your household was hard for John Allen.  His family was the one everyone felt compassion for.  A father, who was a monster to his wife and children, held the family under his thumb.  John felt his only way to get away from his controlling father was to get away from Tranquility, Tennessee.  Leaving the one person who could possibly save him by understanding and loving him, John tells Jessie good-bye and heads for the coast.  Being young and in love, Jessie waits for his return.  When the letters she received dwindle down to nothing and John returns to his mother’s funeral without as much as a word, Jessie begins to rebuild her life without him. 

Sixteen years after John left to find himself he returns, still searching for what is missing.  His return, two days after the burial of his father, begins his journey.  Facing his father’s ghost and reconciling the relationship gives John the courage to face the other demons of addiction in his life.

With “The Flower of Grass,” James E. Robinson has written a most exquisite first novel where you will find the most beautifully written words of love, addiction, and death.  Compelling, complex characters will have you drawn in during the first few pages.  I sat by a campfire the entire weekend with tears glistening in my eyes, listening to the clock strike on Jessie’s mantel.

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