The Tilted World: A Novel

This book drew me in. The writing is literary, the attention to detail wonderful. I was invested in both of the main characters.

And then...the action became unbelievable. Without spoiling, let me just say that I have broken bones and there is a scene later in the book that could not/would not happen. Not only that, the main female character, tough and resilient as she is, simply couldn't have survived some of the things she survived. At that point, I thought I was in a "Bourne" novel, where one expects the main hero to endure and survive ludicrous injuries.

That ruined the book for me. Although the writing is high quality, I cannot strongly recommend this book. Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a better book overall.

I was looking forward to reading this but after I purchased it the seller contacted me. Told me he had dropped it in a puddle on the way to the post office. Since it was water-damaged he wanted to know if I still wanted it. I don't like the feel of the pages after they dry out, after having dropped several books into bath water myself, so I asked him to cancel the order. He did so promptly and gave me a full refund. Very nice seller and hope he get a basket, or something. to carry his packages to the post office in future.
Would certainly deal with again.

This book drew me in. The writing is literary, the attention to detail wonderful. I was invested in both of the main characters.

And then...the action became unbelievable. Without spoiling, let me just say that I have broken bones and there is a scene later in the book that could not/would not happen. Not only that, the main female character, tough and resilient as she is, simply couldn't have survived some of the things she survived. At that point, I thought I was in a "Bourne" novel, where one expects the main hero to endure and survive ludicrous injuries.

That ruined the book for me. Although the writing is high quality, I cannot strongly recommend this book. Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a better book overall.

I was looking forward to reading this but after I purchased it the seller contacted me. Told me he had dropped it in a puddle on the way to the post office. Since it was water-damaged he wanted to know if I still wanted it. I don't like the feel of the pages after they dry out, after having dropped several books into bath water myself, so I asked him to cancel the order. He did so promptly and gave me a full refund. Very nice seller and hope he get a basket, or something. to carry his packages to the post office in future.
Would certainly deal with again.

good read which started out well describing the south in the 1920's; a lot about the flooding which occurred then, the effects of prohibition & bootlegging and the prejudice of jim crow laws in effect then; good read but it bogged down a little towards the end

The authors draw us immediately into a frightening, gorgeously realized time and place where we are caught up in the poignant, gripping story of a bootlegger and a revenuer whose separate struggles for survival, with intimacy and love a distant wish, keep us riveted to every word. The imminent flood looms as a terrifying counterpoint to their increasingly intertwined tale. Secondary characters leap out large as life. Splendid! Five stars. Franklin's 'Crooked Letter' stayed with me for a long time, and this one will too.

Had never heard of this historic event which happened during Prohibition. Really enjoyed the plot, and it was well written. Some of it a Coming of Age story for Dixie. Part of it a romance. I was really rooting for Inglewood and Dixie. And Willy.

I could not put this book down. Each character is quickly drawn so that I felt in touch with them. I did not know the events of this story so from an historical perspective it was very enlightening. The action is fast paced. I am sorry I am done.

The story is entirely predictable. The plot develops as two pairs of only mildly interesting characters deal with the circumstances of an impending disastrous Mississippi River flood and the latter days of the Prohibition era. The characters are introduced and developed as the story progresses by then going back and having more stories tell how the smart, decent and likable heroine gets hooked to the thoroughly reprehensible bad guy, and how two guys emerge from the WW-I battlefields to become super revenue agents who are sent on a mission of discovering what happened to two other agents who are missing. But nefarious forces come to play wherein the simple, common, and well inebriated folks in the metropolis of Hobnob are tempted with large rewards if they will simply blow holes in the dikes to reduce the flooding threat in other more affluent places. When the disaster erupts a series of highly unlikely and not very ingenious activities wipe out the bad guy and motivate one of the good guys to rescue the heroine and then produce a happy ending in sight with a feast of pork-ribs at restaurant that managed to survive the flood.

In the end of it all I did feel that I had learned a bit about the real Mississippi River flood in the early part of the last century. but mainly I felt relieved from sloshing my waterlogged way through this tale.

The story is entirely predictable. The plot develops as two pairs of only mildly interesting characters deal with the circumstances of an impending disastrous Mississippi River flood and the latter days of the Prohibition era. The characters are introduced and developed as the story progresses by then going back and having more stories tell how the smart, decent and likable heroine gets hooked to the thoroughly reprehensible bad guy, and how two guys emerge from the WW-I battlefields to become super revenue agents who are sent on a mission of discovering what happened to two other agents who are missing. But nefarious forces come to play wherein the simple, common, and well inebriated folks in the metropolis of Hobnob are tempted with large rewards if they will simply blow holes in the dikes to reduce the flooding threat in other more affluent places. When the disaster erupts a series of highly unlikely and not very ingenious activities wipe out the bad guy and motivate one of the good guys to rescue the heroine and then produce a happy ending in sight with a feast of pork-ribs at restaurant that managed to survive the flood.

In the end of it all I did feel that I had learned a bit about the real Mississippi River flood in the early part of the last century. but mainly I felt relieved from sloshing my waterlogged way through this tale.

The writing was rather disjointed. I could not mentally picture Hobnob or Sugar Hill. I kept wanting to place the story in an earlier time, maybe 1875-1880, not 1927. I had difficulty connecting with the characters.

I really liked other books by Tom Franklin, especially Hell at the Breech, which was superb (perhaps because I prefer books that are based on actual events). While this book is based on the great Mississippi floor of 1927, one of the most impactful natural disasters ever to affect the USA, the writing style is so trite and predictable that is was hard for me to finish. If the special effects were done properly it would probably make a good movie, but as literature, it belongs more in the children's book section

The book was an ok read. The characters were flat and the storyline predictable. The one thing that went over the top for me was at the end of the book, during a sex scene the main character picks up the baby when it cries while he is having sex so they can "finish". This detail was revolting and unnecessary. If there we a way to communicate this directly with the author I certainly would.

This was an interesting book about a girl's determination to do the best she could under difficult circumstances. We read it for Book Club and have great discussions about the characters and the plot. We all enjoyed it.

Fictional story about Mississippi bootleggers during the big flood of 1927.

The actual 1927 flood has to be one of the worst real-life disasters in USA history. The story behind the faulty engineering of the Mississippi River watershed (that contributed to the flood’s carnage), the terrible destruction caused by the flood itself, the politics, the wholesale migration out of that area after the flood….all seem to set an excellent backdrop for a book.

Unfortunately, this fictional moonshine story doesn’t live up to the history (at least not in the early part of the book). The story itself is hard to envision and none of the characters are likable. I quit caring about what happened to any of them and gave it up at 20%

The Mississippi River was home to Dixie Clay after she married her husband, Jesse. at the ripe old age of sixteen. She really didn't know anything about what he did for a living, and she certainly didn't know he was a bootlegger.

THE TILTED WORLD is set in Mississippi during the flooding in the 1920's and has a very eccentric set of characters. There are bootleggers, revenuers trying to catch the bootleggers, women who are supporting their bootlegging husbands, and a baby who along with Dixie Clay are two of the main characters, and the characters that carry the storyline.

Dixie Clay and the baby will warm your heart, and Jesse will make you want to set him straight for how he treats Dixie Clay.

Ingersoll and Ham are the revenuers who have out-of-the ordinary backgrounds...especially Ingersoll. Ingersoll's background tells his story in flashbacks. His background made him the "sweet" man Dixie Clay became `sweet" on.

Franklin and Fennelly are master storytellers, and their detail is incredible. You will easily feel the river rising, the steels bubbling, the energy in the speakeasies, and the life that was lead in Mississippi at this time. The writing is smooth and easy and will pull you in just as the river does as the story unfolds.

The book is definitely character driven and quite easy to become involved with the characters whether they are upstanding or not. There actually aren't too many upstanding characters, but I really enjoyed THE TILTED WORLD once it got on its way.

I didn't know what to expect at first, but THE TILTED WORLD is quite appealing because of the characters and the amazing writing. You will also find out the meaning of the title.

The ending will have you on the edge of your seat, but it will also have you smiling. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher and without compensation in return for an honest review