Lee Smith says that Blue Marlin is one of the best things she has ever written. She brought it to Blair because she felt the novella, originally tucked into her story collection News of the Spirit under the inauspicious title “Live Bottomless,” never got the attention it deserved. Indeed, this novella—though set miles away from the Appalachia that is Smith’s home ground—is this iconic writer at her very best: sharp characterizations, wry humor, perfect pitch, and a quietly profound understanding...
