The Bells of Moses Henry

Pursing the adventures of Willie Graves, a seven-year-old mulatto boy who is accused of murdering his father, the novel sweeps across Virginia--from his mother's bordello in Charlottesville to the majestic Chesapeake Bay to the Great Dismal Swamp to Jefferson's rotunda at the University of Virginia. In the course of his travels, the boy is introduced to the life of train-hoppers, crabbers, farm workers, juke joints, murderers, thieves, policemen, and prostitutes. Ultimately the novel adds up to a gripping human story of redemption and love.