Terminal Bend

the long version

"Terminal Bend is set in WWII Alabama, in a coastal town. Narrated by Miss Melba, the novel explores that time's shames and its glories through her memories of different characters. Meet T-Coyote, a native-born Japanese gardener who is suddenly whisked to a concentration camp. Meet Buddha Mose, a black draftee not allowed to fight because of his race and his eyesight. Meet Brother Earl, who manages to avoid the draft by joining the Louisiana Mafia. Meet Bink, who fights in the war and oddly finds homosexual love on the front. Threading these and many more together is the voice of Miss Melba, a narrator full of the wisdom that allows her - and the reader - to feel all these foibles, defeats, and victories as if living them."--BOOK JACKET.