|
 |
THE WILGUS STORIES is a collection of three short stories by Kentucky author Gurney Norman. Filmmaker Andrew Garrison brings to life these three captivating tales that follow the personal journeys and transformation of young Wilgus Collier.
Norman's highly-acclaimed book Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories has been lauded by critics as a humorous, sometimes bittersweet, yet always honest account of a poor, working-class family from the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Considered the best in Southern fiction, the author's stories succeed in transcending its locale, making Wilgus and his kin seem like people that anyone might know or wish to know.
Set in 1957, "Fat Monroe" finds Wilgus at age nine, a typical boy enjoying a Lash La Rue Western at the Saturday matinee. When Wilgus decides to hitch a ride home from cigar chomping, relentlessly teasing Fat Monroe, he learns a lesson on the strange ways of adults. In "Night Ride," 14-year-old Wilgus, spends a day with his Uncle Delmer, and receives an introduction to the wild side of life. "Maxine," follows the 23-year-old Wilgus on his last day home before trekking across America as he helps a friend in need.
In Garrison's words, the trilogy "represents views from and of childhood in this particular place. Running through all three (films) are sometimes funny, sometimes painful glimpses of moments in childhood when life changes."
The Stories | The Author | The Filmmaker | The Cast | Resources | ITVS
|
|
