The Annunciation (Voices of the South)

How it reads

The Annunciation (Voices of the South) is literary fiction (southern literary fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is hopeful. Whatever it puts its people through, it believes things can get better. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in several locations, in no single period, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are faith, family and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is left open, for you to argue about. At 368 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.