May 15, 2020

Looking Back - A Gracious Plenty

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.




A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds
Fiction
1997 Crown
Read in August 1999
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In the lush and isolated cemetery of a small Southern town, Finch Nobles, the narrator of this brilliantly inventive novel, tends to the flowers and shrubs that surround the monuments of people who were not known to her while they lived but who in death have become her lifeline.

Badly burned in a household accident when she was just four, Finch grows into a courageous and feisty loner. She eschews the pity and awkward stares of the people of her hometown and discovers that if she listens closely enough, she can hear the voices of those who have gone before. Finally, when she speaks, they answer back, telling their stories in a remarkable chorus of regrets, explanations, and insights. But the infant Marcus, son of the town's mayor, died before he learned to speak and can only wail away the hours. The roots of his anguish are revealed in a crescendo of lasting resonance that ties together the outcast Finch, her dead friends, and the living community outside the cemetery's gates.

With prose that is spare, yet richly poetic, Sheri Reynolds creates a vision of a world that is at once fantastic and palpably real. She teaches us that neither our capacity to suffer nor our ability to be healed ends with the grave--and that love is all we have. A Gracious Plenty is a reading experience you will not soon forget.

My Original Thoughts (1999):

What an interesting and enjoyable book! Quite imaginative. 

My Current Thoughts:

I didn't care for this one quite as much as The Rapture of Canaan, which I read a couple of years prior to this one. As with most of the books I read during this time period, I'm sure it was a book group selection. These are the only two books I've read by this author.

8 comments:

  1. I like the sound of this one and will also keep The Rapture of Canaan in mind. Thanks, Les!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenclair, if you enjoy Southern fiction, these won't disappoint. Enjoy!

      Delete
  2. I read Rapture of Canaan, but I missed this one.

    I was thinking about what prompts you to post a review. I wonder if you just focus on those you enjoyed or are you trying to post them all, I wonder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deb, I decided to share these "Looking Back" posts in chronological order every Friday in order to have a record of what I read prior to the creation of this blog. I have so many print journals of the books I was reading in the late 80s and 90s, but no digital record of those books. It's nice to be able to search for my thoughts on these books without having to flip through numerous journals, which have no sort of index to help me locate a book or author. Some of the books I "review" made no impression on me and others are some that I loved and hope to read again someday. It's a fun trip down memory lane. :)

      Delete
  3. Another familiar title, Les. Pretty sure I read that one with you and others as well. I can't look because for some reason (have no idea why), I decided to not keep my 'reading journal' from March-Dec 1999. Sigh. Seriously? LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder why you stopped keeping your reading journal during that time period. I wonder what was going on in your life back then. We were living in Texas and I was working at Borders. I was reading so much back then!

      Delete
  4. I just looked at my own book journal and sure enough I read it back in 99 too and with a book group. My thoughts, simple and engaging. Cannot remember anything about this book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Iliana, I wonder if we were in the same online book group. I can't remember the name of it now, but Nancy, Heather and Andi were all in it, as I recall.

      Delete

I may not answer your comments in a timely fashion, but I always answer. Check back soon!