American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
Monica Hesse
Shocked by a five-month arson spree that left rural Virginia reeling, Washington Post reporter Monica Hesse drove down to Accomack County to cover the trial of Charlie Smith, who pled guilty to sixty-seven counts of arson. But Charlie wasn't lighting fires alone: he had an accomplice, his girlfriend Tonya Bundick. Through her depiction of the dangerous shift that happened in their passionate relationship, Hesse brilliantly brings to life the once-thriving coastal community and its distressed inhabitants, who had already been decimated by a punishing economy before they were terrified by a string of fires they could not explain. Incorporating this drama into the long-overlooked history of arson in the United States, American Fire re-creates the anguished nights that this quiet county spent lit up in flames, mesmerizingly evoking a microcosm of rural America - a land half gutted before the fires even began.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
0American Fire was this month's MomAdvice Book Club pick so I really got to dive deep into this one as I prepared for our monthly discussion.
This is a fast and easy-to-read true crime novel about a series of 70+ fires that happened in Virginia’s Accomack County. The love affair of Charlie Smith and Tonya Bundick apparently needed a little more spark (I had to do it-sorry!) and they decided that setting fires to local abandoned buildings would be a great way to spend their time together.
This isn't a whodunit story, it is a whydunit story. If you prefer your true crime with some mystery, you won't get that in this one. Hesse reveals exactly who set these from the start and then unfolds their motivations for attention. You follow these two all the way to the courtroom and also, as a reader, get to understand the unbelievable time and effort that were involved in putting these fires out.
I listened to this one on audiobook and thought it was very well-written. Hesse really did her research and I enjoyed hearing more about this twisted love story and how these arsons brought the town together in some really unlikely ways.
0This was a page turner in a way that non fiction rarely is for me. I really enjoyed this fascinating look at a place, a crime, a snapshot of time. I wasn't at all familiar with this part of the Virginia coast but what an interesting area! Highly recommend!
0
© 2024 Pagebound