The Waters

Bonnie Jo Campbell’s fiction belongs to the subgenre termed rural noir (also called “Grit Lit” and “Hick Lit.”) While “noir” is traditionally a type of crime novel that conjures an illicit or seedy atmosphere, works in the rural noir genre are most commonly set in the American South and Appalachia. Classic writers like William Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Flannery O’Connor are sometimes cited as models for the genre. The distinctive features of the physical environment influence the conflicts of such works and also define the characters. As Keith Scribner explains, “In these stories the people are inseparable from the land and its history” (Scribner, Keith. “8 Modern Classics of Rural Noir.” CrimeReads, 16 Jan. 2019). The lives of characters in the rural noir genre are often defined by poverty, lack of opportunity, abuse, violence, or substance abuse. In many instances, generational ties and family bonds are central to the conflict, and the rural community often serves as either a unifying force or an obstacle. Works of rural noir are dark and dangerous in tone, often focusing on crimes committed by or against the protagonist(s).