Ancestors and Others

Chappell's newest culls from a lengthy, productive career; the result, a broad, richly textured anthology that exquisitely captures the author's contribution to Southern literature. The title story is classic Chappell: as a North Carolina couple is visited by laboratory-resurrected Civil War–veteran forefathers, elements of Southern culture are explored through fantastic plot twists. This supernatural streak runs throughout, illuminating subjects as diverse as family, astronomy, gender and deer hunting. Sometimes the extraordinary is rendered subtly, as in “Duet,” where a bereaved man learns to express himself musically following the death of a friend. Sometimes the magic comes intensely to the forefront, as in “Linnaeus Forgets,” where the “father of botany” is visited by tiny flying people. Sometimes, as with “The Three Boxes,” Chappell's writing becomes more thought experiment than fiction and his style succumbs to the weight of allegory. At its best, however, Chappell's careful, evocative prose surprises with the quiet power of its descriptions. (Nov.)