-Phillis Wheatley Book Award Winner-
Eddie Mark's Website
WINNER 2016 PHILLIS WHEATLEY BOOK AWARD
FIRST FICTION
"Brilliant debut novel..."
The Buffalo News, Buffalo Magazine
​
​
"A powerful debut..."
Charles Johnson, National Book Award Winner
​
​
"An important book for our time..."
Ron Hayes, Amazon Reviews
​
​
"One of the best books I have EVER read..."
Candace Williams, Author of The Earthquake Doll
​
​
"The characterization of the novel is top-notch..."
Readers' Favorite
​
​
"Reminiscent of John Steinbeck..."
Readers+Writers Journal
​
​
In this award-winning debut, two families grapple with the effects of child abuse in 1980s Buffalo, New York. Loretta Ford, an eccentric single mother and religious fanatic, lives a reclusive life with her twelve-year-old son, Shadrack. Convinced that harsh discipline is the only way to save a boy, she uses a brand of corporal punishment that blurs the line between parental love and physical violence. Cornelius Brooks is the mayor of Buffalo. His dysfunctional relationship with his children is threatening to ruin his family and his career. When an unlikely incident brings these two troubled parents face-to-face, what transpires is a meeting full of suspicion, bribery, and a host of secrets raging to get out. Their confrontation sets off a chain of events that will haunt both families forever. Lyrically beautiful and stunningly honest, The Garden of Unfortunate Souls is a masterwork of storytelling by Wheatley Award-winner Eddie Mark.
With compassion and superb craftsmanship, Eddie Mark invokes a world of fascinating and unforgettable characters whose trials and tears become our own. The Garden of Unfortunate Souls is a powerful debut from a writer concerned, first and foremost, with the human heart.
Charles Johnson, National Book Award Winner
​
Mark is an expert storyteller whose prose, subject matter, and characters are reminiscent of John Steinbeck.
Readers+Writers Journal
​
Eddie Mark is a brilliant writer and storyteller.
Debra Owsley, The Vine Voice
​
The characterization is top-notch and lends a choir of voices to the rise and fall of a mostly African American community...vividly captured in richly descriptive detail. 5-Stars.
Readers' Favorite
​
Could not put it down!
Dr. Barbara Nevergold, President, Buffalo Board of Education
​
One of the most emotionally gripping books that I have ever read.
Tracey Fagan Danzey. Author of Jasper's Cafe on the Boulevard
​
A thoughtful, considered book which raises many difficult issues.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith, Amazon Reviews, Australia
​
This is one of the best books I have EVER read...would not surprise me if this becomes an important, award-winning book.
Candace Williams, Author of The Earthquake Doll
​
​
​
