Soul Catcher: A Novel (P.S.)
White's latest novel (after 2004'sThe Garden of Martyrs), a sweeping if often predictable saga of Antebellum societal and political tensions, follows Augustus Cain, a down on his luck gambler, wounded Mexican-American War veteran and notorious fugitive slave catcher. After a run of bad luck, Cain accepts an assignment from Mr. Eberly, a wealthy Virginia landowner that Cain's in debt to, to track down two runaway slaves, Henry and Rosetta. Along with three of Eberly's men, Cain sets out on a dangerous journey that takes him from Richmond to New York and Boston. After Cain captures the runaways and turns homeward, the trek becomes a means of redemption for both the soul catcher and his captives, and paints an unsettling portrait of a nation on the brink of civil war. Intercut with the journey are vivid flashbacks of the battle that left Cain crippled. Despite an abundance of stock cameos (a traveling salesman/con artist, wise elderly people who dispense easy advice) and a predictable conclusion, the book succeeds in presenting a fractious era and a host of moral quagmires. Cain&mdash;a flawed and coarse antihero&mdash;becomes emblematic of a historical moment under White's sure hand.(Sept.)Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.