Long Man: A novel

Long Man is based on a nightmarish scenario: an entire town is about to be intentionally flooded by the Long Man river, which authorities will dam to facilitate the delivery of electricity and jobs. Everyone in town must evacuate, despite the fact that many families have lived here for generations. The draw of family roots and ancestral land, however, won’t deter the government’s plans. The river will overflow in less than a week, and the residents of Yuneetah are on their way now to other places—everyone, that is, except a few wary, resentful, and land-loyal dissidents. The story of these holdouts—including a missing child—is what drives Long Man, and Greene’s achievement is that she builds such a clear sense of community, place, and history in a town where hardly any living person remains.

The dreamy, evocative writing style moves as freely and powerfully as Long Man itself, and the ominous tension builds along with the story’s urgency. Water will come to Yuneetah; water will overtake it; and the question of what happens to those who have decided to put their own lives at risk is reason to keep turning the pages as the water rushes in.