Praise for Red Mountain

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Himbo

A critical and promotional overview of Charles Entrekin’s novel Red Mountain, set around 1965 in Birmingham, Alabama, and later into New York City. The text highlights Entrekin’s unflinching, poetic-eyed portrayal of a nation’s racial turmoil and a young man’s coming-of-age. It emphasizes a grounded love story marked by real forbidden doom, restrained narration, and vivid lived-experience detail. The commentary frames the book as both gripping and enlightening, capturing possibilities of transcendence amid worst circumstances.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages312

Reading Time8 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Birmingham,Alabama,1965 a novel CHARLES ENTREKIN # Praise for Red Mountain In Red Mountain,Charles Entrekin writes with an unflinching yet poeticeye,exploring the parallel courses of a nation and a young man forcedinto maturity.As America's South is plunged into racial insanity,EddieAnderson must grow beyond the confines of his narrow upbringing;hiscoming of age includes the tragic descent into madness of his beloved wifeA gripping and enlightening read from someone who lived and breathedand wrote his way through one of America's most tumultuous times. Sands Hall,Catching Heaven Charles Entrekin,in Red Mountain,rediscovers an important and bravetime in recent history,but in a neglected territory;that is,the early 1960sin a backward Birmingham,Alabama(and later in the more familiarterrain of a bohemian New York City).He describes not only the racismand meanness of the old South,and the squalor and the intoxicatingintellectual excitement of New York City;but also,throughout,therecklessness that was so essential to this time of innocence.Every detailis so right,this must have been lived experience.If this wasn't livedexperience,it is certainly rendered with a quiet artistic ferocity thatmakes it seem too real to be made-up. The central story is a love story,of a young man's stalwart fidelityto a young woman,the sort of young woman described in sentimentalnovels as the “doomed girl living under the curse of a forbidden love.”Butthere's no artificial sentimentality in this story,where the young woman'slove truly is of a forbidden sort,and where she is genuinely doomed.Entrekin's narrator practices a restraint—a restraint of judgment,as well as a restraint in prose style—that provides an extraordinary,tender clarity and a wisdom for the illumination of events that,in theirtime,had little of clarity or wisdom.Red Mountain shows how we'reall capable of transcendence and self-transcendence,even in the worstcircumstances and among our most hectic mistakes. Louis B.Jones,California's Over Red Mountain Birmingham,Alabama,1965 Red Mountain Birmingham,Alabama,1965 a novel Charles Entrekin 2 Copyright ◎2008 Charles E.Entrekin,Jr. No part of this book may be reproduced in any mannerwithout written permission from the publisher,exceptin brief quotations used in article reviews. Author's note:The characters in this book,theirmotivations,and their interactions are the work of myimagination,though the historical events in this bookdid,in fact,take place. El León Literary Arts is a nonprofit public benefitcorporation established to extend the array of voicesessential to a democracy's arts and education. El León Literary Arts is distributedby Small Press Distribution,Inc.,800869-7553;www.spdbooks.org.orders@spd.org El León books are available on Amazon.comEl León web site:www.elleonliteraryarts.org Publisher:Thomas Farber Managing editor:Kit Duane Cover photograph:Heather Sharit Cover design:Brook Design Group Text design:Sara Glaser ISBN 978-0-9795285-0-7 Library of Congress Number 2007938395 For my children,Demian,Caleb,Benjamin,Nathan,and Katherine

FAQs

Where does Red Mountain begin, according to the provided text?

It begins in Birmingham, Alabama in 1965, before moving later into the setting of New York City.

What central theme does the text identify beyond the main coming-of-age arc?

The central story is described as a love story involving a young man’s steadfast fidelity to a woman whose love is forbidden and truly doomed.

What narrative qualities does the text say make the depiction unusually clear?

It highlights the narrator’s restraint—restraint of judgment and restraint in prose style—creating tender clarity and wisdom that illuminate events with little clarity in their time.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Himbo