Pickett’s Charge: A Novel

Summary

In this tragicomedy, Threadgill Pickett, veteran of the Civil War, breaks out of an Alabama old folks home and starts a quest northward to kill the last living Union soldier. Pickett seeks to avenge his brother, who was needlessly killed by Union soldiers outside of conflict.

Threadgill encounters two brothers building a time machine, a trio of Ku Kluxers, a man collecting monkeys that turn out to be rabid, a wannabe country singer, and a cab-driving woman to make men stand in awe. He also encounters a utopian society of blacks and whites who share family, food, love, and grief.