Back to Wando Passo

By: David Payne

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Back to Wando Passo is a passionate and elegantly written story of two related love triangles: one marriage unraveling in the present day, and another one shattered by the Civil War. The interweaving stories build to a simultaneous crescendo of betrayal, revenge, and redemption.

Grappling with the tangled subject of race in America, the plot lines are haunted by an occult twist. When Ransom Hill, the contemporary protagonist, discovers a Civil War-era "prenda", an iron pot used by Cuban slaves for conjuring, he unearths something very strange indeed.

©2006 David Payne (P)2006 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A luscious, engaging, and heartfelt novel with plenty to say about individual responsibility and the legacy of slavery." (Library Journal)
"Like The DaVinci Code, Back to Wando Passo takes its readers deeply into an arcane, fascinating, and dangerous body of knowledge and belief." (Lee Smith, author of Saving Grace)

Ruined by the narrator

The narrator was extremely hard to listen to, ruined the story really especially his crying moaning sounds; I ff so often I missed a lot of the book.

Dark

This is not a horror story, but it is very dark. This story takes place in two different time periods, and for me, the story that takes place in the past was much more interesting than the one taking place in the future. I found myself wanting to fast foward through the book and listen only to half the story. It seems as though the past story was the real one, and the present story was forced into its mold.

There are many race discussions in the book, and although the author tries to explore all sides, it still left me a bit cold.

I will say again that this is a very dark story, so sensitive souls may want to rethink it.

Know your past to better face your future

This was a riveting audio book the narrator was dynamic. A dark foray into the Peri-Bellum American South and it's impact on a modern family relocating and reconnecting with the Carolinian roots. Worth every penny.

Fantastic Read

This was one of the finest books I have ever listened to. The inter-related stories are compelling, and the characters are each utterly believable as they grapple with divergent life philosophies. The writing is elegant and it is read absolutely beautifully. The previous reviewer mentions that this is a "dark" story, and it is. But like all good tragedy ultimately catharsis is promised and delivered. Highly recommended.