Showing Then Like The Blind Man: Orbie's Story by Freddie Owens

Every once in awhile, you read a book in which every element fits together so perfectly that you just sit back in awe at the skill of the storyteller. Then Like the Blind Man is one of these books.  -- San Francisco Book Review

While fiction about the 1950s Civil Rights era is far from rare, few capture the period and struggles from the perspective of a white child.

Synopsis:

A storm is brewing in the all-but-forgotten back country of Kentucky. And, for young Orbie Ray, the swirling heavens may just have the power to tear open his family's darkest secrets. Then Like the Blind Man tells the story of a white youth cast aside in the segregated South of the 1950s, and the forces he must overcome to restore order to his world.

Nine-year-old Orbie already has his cross to bear. After the death of his father, his mother Ruby has off and married Victor, a slick-talking man with a snake tattoo. Orbie hates his stepfather more than he can stand, a fact that lands him at his grandparents' place in Harlan's Crossroads, Kentucky. Orbie grudgingly adjusts to life with his doting Granny and carping Granpaw, who are a bit too keen on their black neighbors for Orbie's taste, not to mention the local Pentecostal congregation of snake handlers. Soon, however, he finds his worldviews changing, particularly when it comes to matters of race, religion and the true cause of his father's death.

Equal parts Hamlet and Huckleberry Finn, Then Like the Blind Man is certain to resonate with lovers of literary as well as historical fiction, particularly in the grand Southern tradition of storytelling.

• (2013) ABNA Quarter Finalist
• Received IR Discovery Award for Best in Literary Fiction (2013)
• (2014 )Finalist for Kindle Book Review's Literary Fiction Award.
• Received Kirkus Review's STAR for exceptional merit. Featured in Kirkus Reviews Magazine (January, 2014)
• Retailers, Libraries and Educators can get the book through Ingram Wholesale.
• An Amazon Bestseller.
• Now Available In Bookstores!

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