Ballad of the Confessor is a world of work tale that grips the reader in the arms of the new South and doesn’t let go until the final page. In passages terse and stark, in others strident and moving, this novel takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. While at some points it is so bleak as to be frightening, it nevertheless is a page-turning read.

The imagery is vivid enough that readers will see the scenes as the writer wrote them. Good books are always supposed to do that, but far too often they fall short of that goal. Author William Zink proves equally adept at writing dialogue; it sounds like real people talking and not some automaton intoning pretty words at a measured pace - there are natural pauses in logical places. The pacing of the novel is comfortable and leisurely most of the time. It speeds up when the action makes it necessary and then reverts to a slow Southern drawl.

Ballad of the Confessor is an emphatic answer to those who lament the passing of inspiring southern books. Zink has written a good solid story that any lover of fiction will enjoy.