" Soul Catcher is an important book... (It) will be compared to Cold Mountain of course, but White's book is a more dramatic narrative and every bit as richly detailed and beautifully written." Richard Russo, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Empire Falls

Dr. Michael White, professor of English at Fairfield University, is capturing nationwide rave reviews for his recently released historical novel, Soul Catcher . Author's Forum of University College, a series that grew out of the popular Open VISIONS Forum lecture series and that showcases authors' new works, presents Dr. White on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Oak Room at the Barone Campus Center. Admission is $10 and reservations are required.

According to Dr. White, his fascination with the nature of evil and "...arguably, America's supreme manifestation of evil," as he describes slavery, became his starting point for Soul Catcher . He wondered "how someone could make a living hunting people down and bringing them back in shackles to bondage... how such a man could justify his life to others, but more importantly, to himself."

Dr. White has vividly explored the depths and complexities of Soul Catcher's two main characters, Cain and Rosetta, through the story's emotional and physical journeys. The Charlotte Observer's review describes the book as "Reminiscent of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn - both in subject (slavery) and in combining an arduous physical journey with the protagonist's interior moral journey - the story gallops with action yet also examines such themes as race, honor and redemption... (his) eloquent prose rarely draws attention to itself and his extensive historical research creates evocative descriptions of the people, places and even products of the mid-19th century... Soul Catcher is an exceptional novel from an experienced literary craftsman."

The book's publisher, HarperCollins, announced that, as part of a pilot program it has made digital book content available for the iPhone platform for fourteen new titles, of which Soul Catcher is one. It has been chosen as a selection of the Doubleday Book Club as a featured Alternate, the Literary Guild, the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Quality Paperback Book Club, and the History Book Club. At this time, publishing rights have been sold to England, France and Israel. It was a "Booksense" editor's pick for September. They wrote of the book, "This novel is destined to join the ranks of great Civil War literature."

Dr. White is the author of four other novels including, A Dream of Wolves , which was recently optioned by Alex Kitman Ho, producer of films such as "Hotel Rwanda," "JFK" and "Platoon."

In addition to his affiliation with Fairfield University's fiction writing workshops and literature courses, Dr. White is also on the faculty of Stonecoast, the University of Southern Maine's low-residency MFA program.

For reservations or further information, please contact Elizabeth Hastings at (203) 254-4307 or by e-mail at ehastings@mail.fairfield.edu .

Posted On: 10-05-2007 10:10 AM

Volume: 40 Number: 71