More thrilling late summer reading awaits those who pick up a copy of this story of twin twisters, separated by only thirty minutes and following nearly the same path, that ripped through Limestone County, Alabama on the date of tornadic infamy in America - April 3, 1974. On that day 148 tornadoes streaked across the middle and southern United States, killing 315 people and injuring 5000. Mark Levine, a journalist from Iowa City, Iowa (which ironically received a direct hit from a violent tornado on April 13, 2006) has written a vivid and detailed history of the lives and deaths of several residents of northern Alabama on one horrific Wednesday night over thirty years ago.
You don't have to be tornado-obsessed, like me, in order to enjoy this story - but if you have ever been scared or thrilled by a twister you will it hard to stop reading once you start. Levine has a wonderful literary voice that illustrates the events with detail and emotion. He does interweave the stories of the victims, which can be frustrating when trying to keep all the characters straight. His "montage" technique does not, however, diminish his skill in funneling (pardon me) the narrative from a quiet, hot afternoon in spring toward the inexorable horrors of the night - splintered, crushed, bloodied and in despair from the F5 that devastated Limestone County. It is obvious that he has done a tremendous amount of work in illuminating the memories buried within those who survived that awful night. If you enjoy tales of disaster and courage you'll like this recounting.
DISCLAIMER: I am a three-time tornado survivor (1966, 1968 and 1974) so I do have a certain interest in collecting books like F5. I understand all too well the abject terror provoked by the sound of a tornado siren. It is precisely the existential allure of that siren song, though, that compels me to remain tied to the mast of my ship, ears and eyes open, waiting for the skies to darken with circling, seething fury.
