First published in 1976, The Year the Lights Came On was Terry Kay's debut novel. Revolving around the electrification of northeast Georgia shortly after the end of World War II, the novel has become a classic coming-of-age story.
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First published in 1976, The Year the Lights Came On was Terry Kay's debut novel. Revolving around the electrification of northeast Georgia shortly after the end of World War II, the novel has become a classic coming-of-age story.
Read Less
Add this copy of The Year the Lights Came on to cart. $6.69, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Georgia Press.
Add this copy of The Year the Lights Came on: a Novel (Brown Thrasher to cart. $31.66, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1989 by University of Georgia Press.
Follow Georgia highway 17 south from Terry's fictious county for about 50 miles and you will be in Elbert county where I grew up. Being about the same age as the author I am able to identify with the times and with every aspect of the book. The style and quality of writing puts the author along side Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird". There was a great deal more to getting electricity than putting away the kerosene lamps and Terry has excelled in capturing the ramifications of moving from the dark into light. If you want a true perspective of the effect of the Rural Electrification Association on rural America hold off on economic statistics and the such. Read "The Year the Lights Came On" and learn the true meaning of electrifying the countryside. Start reading it early in the evening - I lost a few hours of sleep to finish it. By-the way, Terry's account of the air show at Elberton is not fiction except for possible name changes. I was there and the show was exactly as discribed.