The Prudent Mariner, the first novel by Savannah native Leslie Walker Williams, offers her a spectacular debut into the world of Southern American literature. Set in the coastal region of Georgia where she was raised, Williams crafts a story that begins with a lynching begat by a tale of sibling animosity, and the subject of race, the one thread in our social fabric that always seems so near to unraveling, permeates virtually every aspect of the text. So too does the multifaceted role of the woman in the South; Williams subtly confronts the complexity of being a woman in the face of familial obligations and societal expectations. Rich in detail, Williams gives readers much to consider about life below the Mason-Dixon Line.
