Divining Rod - by Michael Knight (Paperback)

About the Book

After the deaths of his parents, Simon Bell returns to his hometown of Sherwood, Alabama, hoping for a simple, quiet existence. But when he meets Delia Holladay one hot, unmoving summer day, latent needs and desires are awakened. Delia is young, beautiful, and married. As their emotions deepen, the affair slips beyond their control, building to a final reckoning that will leave no one untouched. Divining Rod tells a richly layered tale of adultery, love, and murder, as it follows the arc of one fateful romance to its inevitable and heartbreaking conclusion.

Book Synopsis

After the deaths of his parents, Simon Bell returns to his hometown of Sherwood, Alabama, hoping for a simple, quiet existence. But when he meets Delia Holladay one hot, unmoving summer day, latent needs and desires are awakened. Delia is young, beautiful, and married. As their emotions deepen, the affair slips beyond their control, building to a final reckoning that will leave no one untouched. Divining Rod tells a richly layered tale of adultery, love, and murder, as it follows the arc of one fateful romance to its inevitable and heartbreaking conclusion.

Review Quotes

"Every word in this deeply resonant novel is pure gold."--The Washington Post Book World

"A novel by a writer of the first rank."--Esquire

"Spellbinding."--Redbook

"In the lineage of writers such as Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty . . . Knight is without a doubt a new writer of considerable talent and promise."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Potent . . . Confident . . . Written in lucid and unself-concious prose."--Wall Street Journal

"A fresh, formidable talent."--Bookpage

About the Author

Michael Knight's Divining Rod won the Fellowship of Southern Writers New Writing Award and the Dictionary of Literary Biography's Best First Novel Award. Knight is also the author of the novel, The Typist; two collections of short fiction, Dogfight: And Other Stories and Goodnight, Nobody; and a collection of novellas, The Holiday Season. His fiction has appeared in publications such as Esquire, The New Yorker and Oxford American. He teaches creative writing at the University of Tennessee.