Bellis Conjures magic in dazzling new novel.  I could make this review very short and tell you to go and buy The Conjure Man by Peter Damian Bellis.  Since you might need some more convincing, I'll extend the review enough to make you sure. The Conjure Man is the kind of novel that doesn't come along very often. It is magical and cerebral, well-written and alive. It reminded me of Toni Morrison's Beloved at times, both in its magical realist sequences as well as its profoundly creative style.

The novel begins with the young Kilby narrating a sequence titled "The Island." This introduction to the novel does a fantastic job of introducing you to both the characters and the setting (which, by the way is in our own back yard on one of South Carolina's coastal islands). Kilby narrates the novel in a dialect and stream-of-consciousness. Imagine a combination of Alice Walker's The Color Purple  and the first section of William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.

The novel progresses and we see Thaddeus Jacobs in flashes of time throughout his life. This plot is beyond compelling. This is when the novel begins to showcase its greater aspects. Labeled as "part myth, part fable, part satire, and part coming-of-age story, we see much of these aspects as Thaddeus faces a sex scandal in his young age and short tenure as a preacher.

Bellis tackles ideas and themes greater than the fantastic plot of his novel. Like many great novels, this work grapples with issues of memory, creation and religion. All of these motifs manifest in the symbolic alligator we see reappearing throughout the pages (who is also featured on the cover).

Readers of literary fiction should pick up a copy of this book immediately. This novel was published under an independent imprint, and is not yet available nationwide. However, Mr. Bellis is currently working on getting his fantastic novel in bookstores here in South Carolina.

Within moments of opening The Conjure Man by Peter Damian Bellis, I was transported to a place where low country yarns sprinkled with magical realism set my imagination ablaze. Drawn in deeper with the turning of each page, I could see the fog hovering over the murky swamps, hear the roar of a lonely alligator echo through the night, and smell the pungent perfume of the mysterious wilderness.

Both innocent and startlingly wise, and told from two alternating viewpoints (one with a delightfully original dialect), The Conjure Man possesses the artful storytelling of days long gone by. As layers of symbolism and mythology unfolded, I was swept into the lives of Kilby, Jonas Lee, Tramsee, Thaddeus, and all the characters of this uniquely rendered tale. And what a tale it is. It had me thinking about superstitions, feeling the youthful joy of wonderment, and it often made me smile.

I suspect if a gentleman by the name of Samuel Clemens were still alive, well, he'd be smiling too.

The Conjure Man is a story for readers, lovers of literature; it is a story for those who are willing to open themselves to a new reality and stretch their ideas about the reality they know. Peter Damian Bellis's story insists its readers dedicate, not only to the dialect and tone but also the characters, the unexpected turns, and most of all, the questions that drive the story forward.  The Conjure Man will swallow you whole, so don't read it unless you you're ready to be consumed.

The Conjure Man is a very original book. That is one of the first things that struck me whenI began reading it. It deals with the subjects of religion, superstition, story-telling, magic,myths, dreams-all woven together in spellbinding prose that pulls you in and takes you away to 'The Island' where the action in the book takes place. The descriptive narrative is written in such a way that the reader can almost 'see' everything that is going on, and become
party to the events taking place. The reader is taken on a wondrous mystical/mythical journey. The tale is told from the perspective of two main characters: Kilby, a teenager, and Thaddeus, an old man. We learn about Thaddeus's tragic life through flashbacks. He has become a man feared by the community on the island where he lives alone in a cabin, believed by the islanders to be the devil himself. Kilby reluctantly becomes caught up in Thaddeus's life. When these two characters meet, they become intertwined, connected, in a way that changes both of their lives for ever.

The part of the novel told from Kilby's perspective, is written in slang, a pattern of speaking common to the south; the novel being set in an island off the coast of South Carolina. Surprisingly, the language is easy to follow and the prose has a repetitive rhythm which flows
almost like it is poetic when Kilby is telling his story. The story told in this unusual way, adds a depth and an element of reality, so it is almost as if the character is brought to life on the page and is telling his tale directly to the reader. Between each of the separate parts of the book, there is a fable/mythical tale about an alligator, which only adds to the enchanting character of the novel.

This is the sort of book that can be enjoyed again and again as there is so much action taking place; so many different scenes and characters. I am sure that upon a second, and even third reading, the reader would discover nuances that they had missed. I was lucky enough to
receive a pre-publication pdf copy from the author. I enjoyed the book so much that I'll be saving up to buy a hardback edition. This is the sort of book that should be on everyone's bookshelf.

Maria Savva (Author of Coincidences, A Time to Tell, and Second Chances). Maria makes her home in London.

The Conjure Man is a delightful read written by Peter Damian Bellis.  The novel gives a colorful view of life in the deep south from a boy's perspective.  The reader feels as though he has walked into Mark Twain's world.  I expected to bump into huck Finn and Tom Sawyer along the journey.  Like Twain, Bellis has lessons for the reader to learn vicariously through the characters in The Conjure Man.  Take care as you enter the world of The Conjure Man - alligators or the language might carry you away.  And don't be surprised if this novel is turned into a movie in the near future.  I hope you enjoy The Conjure Man as much as I did - I am on my second read!

Leslie Moon writes children's stories and poetry and makes her home in California.

One of the best reads of 2010.  The Conjure Man should win the Pulitzer Prize!

Winslow Eliot, author of nine novels, including The Wine-Dark Sea (NAL/Signet), The Bright Face of Danger (St. Martin's Press), and Heaven Falls (Telemachus Press).  Winslow is the great grand niece of American poet T. S. Eliot.  She makes her home in Massachusetts.

It took me about ten pages to get into the dialect, and then I couldn't put the book down. At times I would get lost in the action, but I was so overwhelmed by the lyrical beauty of the images and the prose that this did not bother me. I began to let the images and the action wash over me. The whole book was like a song. By the end of the book, everything came together. The climax surprised me, but when I thought about what happened, I came to the conclusion that that was the only way the book could end. I liked Kilby from the start, but I was not so sure about Thaddeus. At times he seemed good, at other times he seemed a bit depraved. But on balance I decided he was a good man. I had nothing but dislike for the Reverend Jacobs. Would I like to read this book again? Most definitely yes!

Mary Eschet, Book Reviewer, Times Union, Jacksonville, Florida

Peter Damian Bellis' novel The Conjure Man is unusual, sprightly, adventersome, and risk-taking. I think it succeeds in doing what it sets out to do-establish a world of primitive, elemental, natural creatures, one with their environment and in time themselves. On a more ambitious level, it establishes a creation myth and a semi-mythic figure in the conjure man.

The work is all of apiece-the voice is firm, incantatory, steady, and effective. If the novel some times seems circular, the pattern of living does too. This book gives a sense of low country life that has affinities with Twain and Faulkner. It is a book in the American idiom-both mythic and real, as a bull alligator's mating roar in April is real.

The Conjure Man by Peter Damian Bellis is a well-written literary novel.  Most definitely!  It has been compared to Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, and I feel this is a good comparison.

The story is set in South Carolina on an isolated island off the coast sometime around WWII.  The dialect of the novel was difficult to grasp for the first few pages (not unlike Huck Finn), but became easier as it went along.  The book is informative.  This is a superstitious society with roaming preachers preaching salvation, a place where people believe in ghosts, witches, omens, the power of mythic alligators, and supernatural freight trains that take people into imaginative alternative realities - or perhaps they are simply dreaming.  The line between reality and dreams is blurred throughout this novel.

Mr. Bellis tells the story from different points of view, from that of a young boy, Kilby, and also from that of an older man, Thaddeus, who has lived most of his adult life on the island but is still considered an outside by the islanders.  Bellis does not make it clear, except in a couple of instances, who is black and who is white.  It isn't important in this society.  This is a wonderful book of the south; an education for those of us unaware of the history of this culture.

Joanne Chase, Book Reviewer, Cut to the Chase, Montreal, Quebec, Canada 

This novel follows two mainstreams in American fiction. It is realistic and humorous in the manner of Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye; it is brooding, symbolic, and spiritual in the manner of Hawthorne, Melville, and Faulkner. In addition, it takes black and white in American beyond racism, beyond integration, into a realm where one thinks only of humanity. And it is written in rhythms, cadences, and images that are more poetry than prose.

The teenager, Kilby, is a most engaging character. Not shrewd like Huck Finn or tormented like Holden Caufield, Kilby is a true innocent. He gets into scrapes because he does what people tell him. But Kilby is not a cliché. He also keeps his eyes open, and as his experiences multiply, he learns from them, learns to make his own assessments of people. The climax is most moving. Kilby realizes the Old Man's worth, understands their special relationship, defends the dying Old Man against the town, and inherits the Old Mans' spiritual vision.

You don't warm up to the Old Man in the same way. Thaddeus is a different kind of character. But he is powerfully drawn. Foreboding most of the time, only in his growing relationship to Kilby does his essential humanity come through. Totally fair himself, but disillusioned by the hypocrisy of religion, and rendered helpless and brooding by the unfairness of life and the mystery of death, his own life has been as nothing. But he is redeemed by Kilby as the prophet who takes his place to continue to speak the vision. What the vision entails will certainly be the subject of much critical discussion, for the author presents it without editorial.

Kilby and the Old Man have a number of magical/mythical experiences which bring to the novel a mythic element. (The author's brand of magical realism is less whimsical than that of Gabriel Garcia Marquez', but just as surprising.) Like Moby Dick, this novel is full of numerous side stories that are satiric and humorous. At least one is absolutely hilarious, the story of a "conjure man" who is bewildered and frightened by a successful experience in conjuring. The secondary characters are absolute gems. I'll mention two. Ty is a concession to Hemingway. He is a character like Jake Barnes who has lost his genitals to the war and is solving his problem the same way, through drinking and an incomplete love affair. Willie is the novel's antagonist. Lost in superstition, he continually tries to convince the townspeople that the Old Man is the Devil. He almost succeeds at the end. But it is too late. The Old Man dies, goes up in flames, and Kilby emerges as his successor. At the end, Willy reminds us of Roger Chillingworth. His whole life having gone in persecuting the old Man, life suddenly becomes for him bewildering and meaningless.

The story is extraordinary. But more importantly, the author has a way of writing that gets the reader involved if the reader wants to follow the narrative.

George Bellis, Ph.D., Professor of English (ret.), St. John's University (Author of numerous essays on 19th and 20th century American Fiction as well as a critical book examining Moby Dick.)

This is a very good novel. The author has faithfully captured the essence of the Old South (in this the author's use of dialect is remarkable). If people read the first chapter, they will be hooked (I was). The old man is a most interesting character, kind of like Merlin. He is mythic, even allegorical. At times the author is a poet. The fire scene in the third chapter (Festival) is especially powerful. And I really liked the Tramsee in the bog scene. I think it is the funniest story in the novel. I also think the author might have a difficult time getting the book published because it is TOO accomplished a book for a first-time novelist. Alice Walker had the same trouble when she tried to publish The Color Purple.

Eddie Pelisse, Screen Writer, LA

The narrative kept me moving. It was all I could do to keep myself from looking ahead to see what was going to happen. The description of the island and the low country was wonderful. I could see everything. It was like watching a movie. It seems to me that this novel is very symbolic at times. It is the kind of book that makes you think. I believe that you would need to read it three or more times to really understand it. The author's use of color also seems very important. I don't know anything about publishing, but I know what I like.

Suzanne Taylor, English Teacher, Episcopal High School of Jacksonville

An excellent novel. The author's command of language is superb. The novel reads at times like poetry. Kilby is a wonderful character, innocent, at times naïve, thoroughly engaging. The author's use of irony throughout the novel is remarkably cutting. Also, the book is at times quite funny. The narrative kept me moving; there were no dead spots. The climax was both moving and thought-provoking. I could hear Kilby's voice in the dialect chapters. I think it would be a wonderful idea to put the book in audio form, for it is meant to be read aloud. It is truly a Southern novel, with all of the good stuff that that implies. It would be an excellent book for my students to read and  I plan to teach it.

Caroline Phanstiel, Ph.D., Professor of Communications, Community College of Jacksonville, Florida

The strength of the novel is in the episodic nature of the narrative. The stories are alternatingly sad and humorous, and some are quite moving. The story of the still-birth is especially well-written because the sense of pathos is beautifully understated. We as the reader, can sense both the pain Thaddeus feels, as well as the superstitious distrust of the islanders. I really like the way Thaddeus comes off. He possesses an earthy yet spiritual quality about him which really helps to shape the action of the novel. The fire scene in the third chapter (Festival) is a perfect example. (By the way, this scene is quite powerful.)

Up until about midway through the novel, the author proceeds along fairly conventional narrative lines, and we might expect that Kilby will suffer some consequences for his misdeeds (since one of the themes of the book is that of retribution); but he never does. The author subverts the structure of the novel at this point and instead focuses on action of a more mythic nature. In this respect, the novel is a lot like those of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. While the author makes use of realistic techniques, the novel is quite magical at times. This subversion actually works quite well and is in perfect accord with the rather playful narrator who is never quite willing to be pinned down to facts (as evident by his use of "or so it seemed" or "perhaps, perhaps not"). The action of the novel moves alone with a dreamlike quality as we are exposed to layer after layer of an ever-shifting reality. Finally, the sense of place in the novel is quite strong.

Michael Wiley, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, University of North Florida, Author of The Last Striptease (2006, St. Martin's Press), The Bad Kitty Lounge (2010, St. Martin's Press), and A Bad Night's Sleep (2011, St. Martin's Press).  He is also the author of several books of criticism, most notably Romantic Geography: Wordsworth and Anglo-European Spaces. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998).

All Rights reserved (c) 2011