A Choir of Ill Children

Tom Piccirilli

2003 • 225 pages

Ratings3

Average rating3.7

This lyrical tale of evil, loss, and redemption is a stunning addition to the Southern gothic tradition of Flannery O'Connor and Harry Crews.A Choir of Ill Children is the startling story of Kingdom Come, a decaying, swamp backwater that draws the lost, ill-fated, and damned. Since his mother's disappearance and his father's suicide, Thomas has cared for his three brothers--conjoined triplets with separate bodies but one shared brain--and the town's only industry, the Mill.Because of his family's prominence, Thomas is feared and respected by the superstitious swamp folk. Granny witches cast hexes while Thomas's childhood sweetheart drifts through his life like a vengeful ghost and his best friend, a reverend suffering from the power of tongues, is overcome with this curse as he tries to warn of impending menace. All Thomas learns is that "the carnival is coming."Torn by responsibility and rage, Thomas must face his tormented past as well as the mysterious forces surging toward the town he loves and despises.From the Paperback edition.

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Bronwyn Knox

Piccirilli creates a steamy, noir-ish, gothic atmosphere with this story of one young man (Thomas) struggling with his very strange hometown of Kingdom Come. He has to contend with his unusual family and their dirty little secrets plus acting as a sort of employer/protector and frequent scapegoat/nemesis of every supporting character in Kingdom Come. I read this first a few years ago and it really blew me away with the imagery, intensity, and the strangeness of it all. The writing style really moved me, poetic and lyrical as other reviewers have said. It also has a lot of tension and edge.

It's not quite a perfect experience. I realize upon re-reading it how much time is spent with supporting characters “warning” Thomas of what's to come instead of the story just getting on with it. Also, mythically bizarre, but occasionally I found myself asking if there was some sort of symbolic connection to the subplots that I wasn't getting.

Choir of Ill Children is my kind of thing: a mix of genres among horror, thriller, weird fiction, transgressive etc. It's VC Andrews with a boost of testosterone and humor. Also a bit like a 90's canceled-too-soon tv show called American Gothic. I think it's very much worth reading and re-reading.

March 9, 2022