Revelator by Daryl Gregory is a Southern Gothic horror novel set in the backwoods of Tennessee during the 1930s and 40s. The story follows Stella, a female bootlegger, who returns to her family's secluded mountain home after a tragic incident. There, she encounters a mysterious god named Ghostdaddy who communicates through chosen daughters known as Revelators. As Stella navigates family secrets, religious fanaticism, and the looming threat of losing their land to a national park, she must protect a young girl named Sunny from the same fate she endured. The dual timelines and intricate family relationships gradually reveal the dark and unsettling truths hidden in the cave where the god resides.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of trauma, familial abuse, racism, cult dynamics, and the evocation of horror elements.
From The Publisher:
ONE OF THE WASHINGTON POST 'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
The dark, gripping tale of a 1930's family in the remote hills of the Smoky Mountains, their secret religion, and the daughter who turns her back on their mysterious god-from the acclaimed author of Spoonbenders.
"Gods and moonshine in the Great Depression, written with a tenderness and brutality … this is as good as novels get." -Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians
In 1933, nine-year-old Stella is left in the care of her grandmother, Motty, in the backwoods of Tennessee. The mountains are home to dangerous secrets, and soon after she arrives, Stella wanders into a dark cavern where she encounters the family's personal god, an entity known as the Ghostdaddy.
Years later, after a tragic incident that caused her to flee, Stella-now a professional bootlegger-returns for Motty's funeral, and to check on the mysterious ten-year-old girl named Sunny that Motty adopted. Sunny appears innocent enough, but she is more powerful than Stella could imagine-and she's a direct link to Stella's buried past and her family's destructive faith.
Haunting and wholly engrossing, summoning mesmerizing voices and giving shape to the dark, Revelator is a southern gothic tale for the ages.
Ratings (8)
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Loved It (3) | |
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Reader Stats (30):
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Want To Read (17) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (4) |
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