Among the Swamp People: Life in Alabama's Mobile-Tensaw River Delta

The pleasures and dangers of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta are seen through the eyes of a Mobile, Ala., native in this sentimental account that spans a decade, from the author's first trip there in 1996, through Hurricane Katrina, and up to 2006, when the author's debut novel, Alabama Moon, was published. Novelist and screenwriter Key, who made the wetlands area his regular weekend retreat after building a small cabin on a leased plot of land, brings the swamp's everyday occurrences to life with vivid descriptions of its human and animal inhabitants. Alligators play just as prominent a role in the story as do Ace, an unpleasant neighbor, and Carson, a hunter who captures and sells catfish, hogs, and minnows. Key's strengths as a writer are clearest when he relates personal interactions with these and other locals, providing snippets of conversation and monologue that play at the line of clich%C3%A9 without ever stepping over it. Key's story of his early struggles with writing feels shoehorned into the narrative, but the book works well as both a travelogue and a portrait of humans struggling with and living alongside nature. 20 b&w illus. (Sept.)