A Cry of Angels

It is the mid-1950s in Quarrytown, Georgia. In the slum known as the Ape Yard, hope's last refuge is a boardinghouse where a handful of residents dream of a better life. Earl Whitaker, who is white, and Tio Grant, who is black, are both teenagers, both orphans, and best friends. In the same house live two of the most important adults in the boys' lives: Em Jojohn, the gigantic Lumbee Indian handyman, is notorious for his binges, his rat-catching prowess, and his mysterious departures from town. Jayell Crooms, a gifted but rebellious architect, is stuck in a loveless marriage to a conventional woman intent on climbing the social ladder.Crooms's vision of a new Ape Yard, rebuilt by its own residents, unites the four-and puts them on a collision course with Doc Bobo, a smalltown Machiavelli who rules the community like a feudal lord. Jeff Fields's exuberantly defined characters and his firmly rooted sense of place have earned A Cry of Angels an intensely loyal following. Its republication, more than three decades since it first appeared, is cause for celebration.Review"Heartwarming . . . We find ourselves wondering why delightful novels like this aren't written anymore, and grateful that this one has come along to fill the void."--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times"An authentic cry of American innocence . . . The author seizes the reader with a southern gift for story-telling and never lets go."--Time Magazine"A flooded-with-life novel with a story to tell and characters to be cherished . . . replete with love, adventure, loyalty, pride, laughter, and violence . . . with a tremendously satisfying climax."--Boston Sunday Globe"A complicated but compelling story . . . well-crafted work . . . It is a southern story in setting and in the voices, but it is a universal and timeless story as well."--Northeast Georgia Living"Warm . . . Fine . . . Brilliant . . . A triumph! The characters are larger than life. . . . The plot roars into high gear immediately and races through twists and turns that leave the reader gasping. . . . An enormously comforting novel."--New York Times Book Review"A Cry of Angels has sparkle, gusto, pathos, comedy, and drama . . . written with an expertise that must be ranked among the finest."--Chicago Sun-Times"A Cry of Angels is thoroughly delightful and the best pure fun a novel has given me for some time . . . the little town and its people are completely alive."--Washington Post"A humdinger . . . even better than To Kill a Mockingbird . . . funny, touching, and gripping."--Chicago Daily NewsAbout the AuthorJeff Fields was born in Georgia and attended high school in Elberton, which inspired the fictional setting for A Cry of Angels. He currently lives in Atlanta. After working for many years in television and radio, Fields now writes full-time.