THE BANJO PILOT

THE BANJO PILOT
BY BARRY R. WILLIS

Covenant Books 9781643002934. Paperback, 294 pp., $29.95.
(www.covenantbooks.com)

This novel is the story of a banjo-picking pilot and his life. He faces great personal loss, he picks with Bill Monroe, and he teaches younger people about what it is that makes bluegrass music work. While dropping names and a few factual errors, we learn a lot of the history of the music and also what it means to be a Christian in the modern world. There are also classic jokes and stereotypical moonshine tales shared and many anecdotes about the music and its practitioners.

This is a relatively light read that should please fans of the music who like to read books, especially those that deal with bluegrass and its history. For anyone who has played bluegrass for any length of time, they will be bound to see themselves from time to time in the characters presented here.RCB