In a darkly comic debut novel by an independent bookseller, an idealistic young farmer moves his family to a Mississippi flood basin, suffers financial ruin - and becomes increasingly paranoid he's being framed for murder.

Unnerving but touching, dark yet hopeful, gritty but oh, so smooth; Soil is the deeply human story of one man's personal apocalypse. Mississippi independent bookstore owner Jamie Kornegay has penned a debut novel that will establish him as a major force in the pantheon of elite Southern writers. I spent most of the time wondering why he didn't write a book sooner. It's not fair to keep something so wonderful away from readers. Would it be weird if I read it again? Book Riot Marked by wry humour, unforgettable characters, and riveting suspense, Jamie Kornegay's Soil is a spellbinding Greek tragedy played out against the backdrop of the choked river-bottoms, sprawling fields, and dusty roads of the Mississippi Delta. A brilliant, haunting portrait of the havoc one desperate man's decisions and dreams can wreak upon himself and those around him. This remarkable novel springs from rich earth indeed, and the end result is a book that will leave readers reeling. Skip Horack, author of The Eden Hunter Jamie Kornegay's powerful debut novel, Soil, is just as rich, dark and primal as the title suggests and it is hard not to discuss the various characters' plights without slipping into metaphor as they both literally and figuratively dig and tunnel and turn up all that is buried. This novel is brimming with suspense while continuously locating the fine line separating good from evil. Just as the soil delivers all that is decomposed and lost, it also brings promise of future growth and in this case, it is in the form of the protagonist's son. Kornegay's rendering of hope and innocence against the backdrop of depravity and darkness is admirable and moving. Jill McCorkle, author of LIFE AFTER LIFE A darkly droll, epic novel told in a style I'd have to call a deceptively swift amble through a most vividly rendered, watery Delta world. Anyone from Coleridge to Twain to Faulkner to William Gay would have loved reading this book, and you will, too. Brad Watson, author of The Heaven of Mercury Jamie Kornegay's novel Soil heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice. It's everything I want a novel to be, a fine story well-told with characters I won't forget, set in a world so real you can smell it and taste it. Kornegay's something special. Steve Yarborough, author of The Realm of Last Chances Let us stand, brothers and sisters, to applaud the arrival of an exquisitely deranged new voice to American fiction. Dig your hands into this Soil to find gutty and peppery writing, an almost recklessly bold imagination, audacious empathy, and a story so twisty and volatile that nearly every turn feels electrifyingly unexpected. Jonathan Miles, author of Want Not First, with his debut novel, Soil, Jamie Kornegay has delivered a rip-roaring, sucker-punch of a tale, a page-turning lightning bolt of prose that crackles with keen insight, bold storytelling, pathos, and humor. There's more to it then that, however: If tragedy and comedy are the same object, only viewed through different lenses, Kornegay has minted a turbulent world where nothing is quite as it seems. The wretched is often hilarious, the gruesome elicits an uncomfortable chuckle of recognition, the well-meaning are revealed as self-serving and finally, digging through these layers, we see the humbling and deeply touching struggle for love, for understanding, in a world that offers small hope for either. Jeffrey Lent, author of IN THE FALL Soil is a super fine modern mash up! At turns funny and tragic, reverent and profane. Our mutual Godfather Barry Hannah, would be proud: Jamie Kornegay has written a book that celebrates the beautiful, messed up soul of the south. Darcey Steinke, author of SUICIDE BLONDE

Jamie Kornegay is an independent bookseller in Greenwood Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and three children. He started the Turnrow Book Co in 2006. Prior to that he was events coordinator and radio show producer for the renowned Square Books in Oxford Miss. Soil is his first novel. turnrowbooks.com facebook.com/turnrowbooks twitter.com/JamieKornegay