Looking Back - A False Sense of Well Being

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 False Sense of Well Being by Jeanne Braselton

Fiction

2001 Ballantine Books

Finished on January 19, 2002

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

“I was married eleven years before I started imagining how different life could be if my husband were dead. . . .”

At thirty-eight, Jessie Maddox subscribes to House Beautiful, Southern Living, even Psychology Today. She has a comfortable life in Glenville, Georgia, with Turner, the most reliable, responsible husband in the world. But after the storybook romance, “happily ever after” never came. Now the housewife who once wanted to be Martha Stewart before there was a Martha Stewart is left to wonder: Where did the marriage go wrong? Why can’t she stop picturing herself as the perfect grieving widow?

As Jessie dives headlong into her midlife crisis, she is aided and abetted by a colorful cast of characters in the true Southern her best friend and next door neighbor Donna, who is having a wild adulterous affair with a younger man; Wanda McNab, the sweater-knitting, cookie-baking grandmother who is charged with killing her abusive husband. Then there’s Jessie’s eccentric family. Her younger sister Ellen, born to be a guest on Jerry Springer, has taken her seven-year-old son and squawking pet birds and left her husband “for good this time” . . . while their mother crosses the dirty words out of library books and alerts everyone to the wonderful bargains at Winn-Dixie, often at the same time. And then there’s the stuffed green headless duck . . .

When a trip home to the small town of her childhood raises more questions than it answers, Jessie is forced to face the startling truth head-on–and confront the tragedy that has shadowed her heart and shaken her faith in love . . . and the future.

From a brilliant new voice in fiction, here is a darkly comic novel full of revelation and insight. The danger of secrets and the power of confession . . . The pull of family, no matter how crazy. . . The fate of wedlock when one can’t find the key . . . Jeanne Braselton weaves these potent themes into a funny, poignant, utterly engaging story of a woman at the crossroads–and the unforgettable journey she must take to get back home.

My Original Thoughts (2002):

Starts off weakly. I think the author is trying to be funny, but I don't see it that way. I'll keep plugging away.

Thought this book was a waste of time. Pretty pointless and dull. Don't recommend and won't read more by this author. 

My Current Thoughts:

I don't know why this book appealed to me, but after a little digging, I discovered that Braselton was good friends with Kaye Gibbons, Anne Rivers Siddons, and Lee Smith. I read a lot of southern fiction in the early 2000s, and this book was probably mentioned in a magazine or somewhere online.

I came across the following (on Georgia Center for the Book), which is rather sad and depressing:

Jeanne Braselton was a Georgia native whose semi-autobiographical debut novel "A False Sense of Well Being" (2001) was widely acclaimed and won her the Georgia Writer of the Year Award in 2002. She committed suicide before her second book was completed by her friend and fellow writer Kaye Gibbons and published in 2006.

Jeanne Braselton was born in Fort Oglethorpe in 1962. She was the adopted daughter of a poet who was a chief of the Cherokee nation and who gave her a love of the written word. She received a B.S. in English from Berry College in Rome in 1983. She worked as a commercial bank marketing executive but spent most of her working life as a reporter and editor for the Rome News-Tribune newspaper, for which she received a number of Georgia Press Association awards. She was married to the poet Al Braselton, a close friend of the late poet James Dickey and the source for one of Dickey's characters in the novel "Deliverance." He died in 2002.

Jeanne Braselton enrolled in a creative writing class in Rome that led her to correspond with and become friends with a number of regional writers including Kaye Gibbons, Anne Rivers Siddons and Lee Smith. With their encouragement, she wrote her first novel. The book is about a woman who is devoted to her loving but boring husband, and who, after suffering a miscarriage, becomes fixated on ways to bring about his death. There are autobiographical elements in the novel; Braselton had several miscarriages during her marriage. The book sold well; one critic called it "regional fiction at its best," and there were predictions of a long literary career for her.

But less than a year after her husband's death in 2002, a despondent author took her own life at the couple's home in Rome. Her second book, "The Other Side of Air," was completed by Gibbons and released in 2006." She had written a lot that was unusable," Gibbons said of Braselton's novel. "I started over using an e-mail she sent me when she started it about what her plans were. She was thinking clearly then, and it was realistic, and I used that for a model."

Looking Back - The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LaBlanc

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.

The Scandalous Summer of Sisy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres

Fiction

2001 William Morrow

Finished in November 2001

Rating: 2/5 (OK)

Publisher's Blurb:

It's a steamy June afternoon in Louisiana, circa 1956, and Sissy LeBlanc is sitting on her front porch, wondering -- half seriously -- if she could kill herself with aspirins and Coca-Cola. She's been living in stifling old Gentry since the day she was born and trapped in a sham of a marriage to PeeWee LeBlanc since she was only seventeen. In short, she's fed up, restless, and ready for an adventure. Sissy just never imagined temptation would come into her life that breathless summer day as she sat smoking on her porch swing. For although she may have been fixated on the taut muscles of the lineman shimmying down the telephone pole across the street, she hadn't allowed herself to imagine that he'd be none other than her high school sweetheart, Parker Davidson, who left town fourteen years before without so much as a wave good-bye. But suddenly, here he is, leaning in for a kiss that will stir up more excitement than Sissy could ever have imagined...

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Picked this book up for its cover. I thought it was going to be another Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, but I was wrong! An easy read, but I spent the entire time wondering why I kept reading it. Don't recommend!

My Current Thoughts:

I'm glad I no longer feel compelled to finish a book I'm not enjoying. 

Looking Back - A Painted House

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 Painted House by John Grisham

Fiction

2001 Doubleday

Finished on April 15, 2001

Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked hopeless. The cotton, however, was waist-high to my father, over my head, and he and my grandfather could be heard before supper whispering words that were seldom heard. It could be a "good crop."

Thus begins the new novel from John Grisham, a story inspired by his own childhood in rural Arkansas. The narrator is a farm boy named Luke Chandler, age seven, who lives in the cotton fields with his parents and grandparents in a little house that's never been painted. The Chandlers farm eighty acres that they rent, not own, and when the cotton is ready they hire a truckload of Mexicans and a family from the Ozarks to help harvest it.

For six weeks they pick cotton, battling the heat, the rain, the fatigue, and, sometimes, each other. As the weeks pass Luke sees and hears things no seven-year-old could possibly be prepared for, and finds himself keeping secrets that not only threaten the crop but will change the lives of the Chandlers forever.

A Painted House is a moving story of one boy's journey from innocence to experience.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Fantastic! Started off rather slow (character-driven versus plot-driven), but well worth hanging in there. Unforgettable characters. Touching. Humorous. Seven-year-old Luke is wise beyond his years. Witness to two killings. Loves the St. Louis Cardinals. Picks cotton with his family on their farm in Arkansas. Set in 1952. A quiet story. Subtly suspenseful. A refreshing departure from Grisham's legal thrillers.

My Current Thoughts:

While I don't remember much about the story, I do remember that I loved it. This would be a great book to revisit on audio.

Favorite Passage:

As we left town I thought about the end of the season. Baseball began in the spring, when we planted and when hopes were high. It sustained us through the summer, often our only diversion from the drudgery of the fields. We listened to each game, then talked about the plays and the players and the strategies until we listened to the next one. It was very much a part of our daily lives for six months, then it was gone. Just like the cotton.

I was sad by the time we arrived home. No games to listen to on the front porch. Six months without the voice of Harry Caray. Six months with no Stan Musial. I got my glove and went for a long walk down a field road, tossing the ball in the air, wondering what I would do until April.

For the first time in my life, baseball broke my heart.

Looking Back - Provinces of Night

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.

Provinces of Night by William Gay

Fiction

2000 Doubleday

Finished on April 7, 2001

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s 1952. Thirty years before, E.F. Bloodworth gunned down a deputy and commenced a vagrant’s life of itinerant banjo picking, but he’s finally coming home. Two of his sons won’t be home to greet him: Warren lives a life of alcoholic philandering down in Alabama, and Boyd has gone to Detroit in vengeful pursuit of his wife and the peddler she ran off with. His third son, Brady, is still home, but he’s an addled soothsayer given to voodoo and bent on doing whatever it takes to keep E.F. from seeing the wife he abandoned. Only Fleming, E.F.’s grandson, is pleased with the old man’s homecoming, but Fleming’s life is soon to careen down an unpredictable path hewn by the beautiful Raven Lee Halfacre.

In the great Southern tradition of Faulkner, Styron, and Cormac McCarthy, William Gay wields a prose as evocative and lush as the haunted and humid world it depicts. Provinces of Night is a tale redolent of violence and redemption— a whiskey-scented, knife-scarred novel whose indelible finale is not an ending nearly so much as it is an apotheosis.

My Original Thoughts (2001):

Took me a while to get interested, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Beautiful writing! Great suspense in the last 40 pages. Not really plot-driven. Fleming is my favorite character. Wise beyond his years. Humorous passages involving Fleming and Albright. Rich language filled with metaphors. A sense of poetry.

My Current Thoughts:

Reading the synopsis makes me wonder why I read this novel since it doesn't appeal to me now. My husband loved the book, which is probably why I chose to read. I have no memory of the characters or plot, but I love Southern writing. Maybe Rod told me it reminded him of Pat Conroy's writing. Reading some of the quoted passages on Goodreads makes me think I might like to read it again.

I stumbled on the following while following various links on Gay's website:

The 2010 film Bloodworth is based on Provinces of Night and is directed by Shane Dax Taylor. It stars Val Kilmer, Kris Kristofferson, and Hillary Duff.

I've never seen the film, but will give it a try since Kris is in it!

The Fortunate Ones

The Fortunate Ones by Ed Tarkington

Fiction

2021 Workman Audio

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Finished on February 21, 2022

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

When Charlie Boykin was young, he’d thought his life with his single mother was really just fine. But when his mother’s connections get Charlie into boarding school and give them access to the upper echelons of Nashville society, Charlie falls under the spell of all that a life among the wealthy can mean. Increasingly attached to another boy, Arch Creigh, Charlie learns how morality has little to do with life in Belle Meade. On into college and after, Charlie aids Arch in his pursuit of a Senate seat, only to be pulled into a growing web of deceit. The novel examines the questions: Why do the poor love the rich? Why do we envy and worship a class of people that so often exhibits the worst excesses and the lowest morals?

For fans of Ann Patchett's Commonwealth and Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here, The Fortunate Ones is an engrossing story of class, love, and loyalty.

Every January as I look back on my yearly stats, I notice that I read books written primarily by women. And yet, many of my favorite novels (A Gentleman in Moscow, All the Light We Cannot See, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Heart's Invisible Furies, and The Stand, to name just a few) were written by men. So when JoAnn (Gulfside Musings) wrote about The Fortunate Ones, I was curious and added it to my TBR list. I was not disappointed! The audio is captivating and MacLeod Andrews' performance is well done, although his voice for one of the young female characters was completely wrong. (She sounded more like a six-year-old instead of a child in 5th grade.) I agree with JoAnn's comparison to Pat Conroy's novels; this Southern family saga is filled with secrets, loyalties, class and privilege (not to mention flawed characters), which bring to mind Conroy's Beach Music (although Tarkington's prose lacks Conroy's exquisite lyricism). I love the sense of place depicted in Southern fiction and Tarkington's novel doesn't disappoint. I enjoyed the Nashville setting, and many of the surrounding communities mentioned are near my daughter and son-in-law's home in Franklin, Tennessee. 

By the way, I thought it interesting that there are at least four books with this exact title. Ellen Umansky wrote a historical novel about the Holocaust, which I read in 2017.

Thanks for the recommendation, JoAnn! Now on to get a copy of Tarkington's earlier novel, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, another coming-of-age story which has garnered high praise.  

I received a complimentary copy from Libro.fm. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Looking Back - Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind

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.

Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Fiction

1990 Perennial

Read in September 2000

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Miss Julia, a recently bereaved and newly wealthy widow, is only slightly bemused when one Hazel Marie Puckett appears at her door with a youngster in tow and unceremoniously announces that the child is the bastard son of Miss Julia's late husband. Suddenly, this longtime church member and pillar of her small Southern community finds herself in the center of an unseemly scandal--and the guardian of a wan nine-year-old whose mere presence turns her life upside down.

With razor-sharp wit and perfect "Steel Magnolia" poise, Miss Julia speaks her mind indeed--about a robbery, a kidnapping, and the other disgraceful events precipitated by her husband's death. Fast-paced and charming, with a sure sense of comic drama, a cast of crazy characters, and a strong Southern cadence, Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind will delight listeners from start to end.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

What a charming book! Simply delightful. I couldn't put it down. A Southern tale about a widow, a fortune, an illegitimate child, a kidnapping, a nymphomaniac and a televangelical minister. Laugh out loud humor. Engrossing. A cast of crazy characters you'll fall in love with!

My Current Thoughts:

What a shame that I don't still own my copy of this book. It would be nice to read something light and humorous. I'll add it to my reread list and either get a copy from the library or listen to it on audio. 

Looking Back - Sullivan's Island

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.

Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

Fiction

1999 JOVE Berkley Publishing Group

Read in March 2000

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Set in the steamy, stormy landscape of South Carolina, Sullivan's Island tells the unforgettable story of one woman's courageous journey toward truth.

Born and raised on idyllic Sullivan's Island, Susan Hayes navigated through her turbulent childhood with humor, spunk, and characteristic Southern sass. But years later, she is a conflicted woman with an unfaithful husband, a sometimes resentful teenage daughter, and a heart that aches with painful, poignant memories. And as Susan faces her uncertain future, she realizes that she must go back to her past. To the beachfront house where her sister welcomes her with open arms. To the only place she can truly call home.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Not as good as Pat Conroy's Beach Music, but entertaining. The relationships between mother & daughter and husband & wife rang true. The transition between past & present flowed well. It kept my interest. The Gullah dialogue between the two grown sisters didn't seem realistic. Not as good as The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, but I'll look for Frank's next book.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't think I went on to read anything else by this author. I am, however, inspired to reread Beach Music. I've been saying that for years!

Stars of Alabama

 

Stars of Alabama by Sean Dietrich

Fiction

2019 Thomas Nelson Audio

Read by Sean Dietrich

Finished on February 11, 2021

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

With a voice both humorous and heartfelt, Sean Dietrich—also known as Sean of the South—weaves together a tale about the dignity of humanity and the value of enduring hope. 

One child preacher traveling across the plains.

One young woman with a mysterious touch.

Two old friends, their baby, and their bloodhound.

And all the stars that shine above them.

When fifteen-year-old Marigold becomes pregnant amid the Great Depression, she is rejected by her family and forced to fend for herself. And when she loses her baby in the forest, her whole world turns upside down. She’s even more distraught upon discovering she has an inexplicable power that makes her both beautiful and terrifying—and something of a local legend.

Meanwhile, migrant workers Vern and Paul discover a violet-eyed baby and take it upon themselves to care for her. The men soon pair up with a widow and her two children, and the misfit family finds its way in fits and starts toward taking care of each other.

As survival brings one family together, a young boy finds himself with nary a friend to his name as the dust storms rage across Kansas. Fourteen-year-old Coot, a child preacher with a prodigy’s memory, is on the run with thousands of stolen dollars—and the only thing he’s sure of is that Mobile, Alabama, is his destination.

As the years pass and a world war looms, these stories intertwine in surprising ways, reminding us that when the dust clears, we can still see the stars.

I wish I could remember where I first heard about Stars of Alabama and why I added it to my queue on Audible.com. I don't have any record of using one of my credits, so it must have been listed in Audible's new Plus catalogue, which allows subscribers to try new authors and genres without using any credits. As I began to listen, I noticed that the opening credits mentioned Thomas Nelson as the publisher. My first reaction was surprise, since I don't read Christian fiction and Thomas Nelson is one of the better-known publishers of that genre. I was somewhat hesitant to continue, but once I heard Sean Dietrich's voice, which is deep and smooth, I decided to give the book a chance. I laughed out loud and felt my heartstrings tugged as I listened to this heartwarming novel. More than a week later, I'm still thinking about Vern, Coot and Marigold and the other characters I came to care about. Fans of Jenny Wingfield, Fannie Flagg and Wiley Cash are sure to enjoy this endearing Southern story.

About the Author:

Prior to reading Stars of Alabama, I had never heard of Sean Dietrich, who is also known as Sean of the South.

Sean Dietrich is a columnist, and novelist, known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Southern Living, The Tallahassee Democrat, Good Grit, South Magazine, Alabama Living, the Birmingham News, Thom Magazine, The Mobile Press Register, and he has authored seven books.

A mediocre sailor and fisherman, a biscuit connoisseur, and a barbecue competition judge when he’s not writing, he spends much of his time aboard his fourteen-foot fishing boat (the SS Squirrel) along with his coonhound, Thelma Lou.

I have since subscribed to his blog and his writing brings to mind that of Rick Bragg's. Dietrich also has a podcast, which I may have to start listening to, as well. Am I the only one who has never heard of this gifted writer?

Looking Back - Crazy Ladies

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. 

Crazy Ladies by Michael Lee West

Fiction

1990 Longstreet Press

Read in February 2000

Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the author of Mad Girls in Love comes this lively multigenerational tale of six charming, unforgettable Southern women -- a novel of love and laughter, pain and redemption.

Though she was born in Tennessee, Miss Gussie is no country fool. A woman who can handle any situation, she has her hands full with two headstrong daughters who happen to be complete opposites -- dour Dorothy and sweet Clancy Jane. Hoping money will heal childhood wounds, Dorothy marries the owner of a five-and-dime, while Clancy Jane gets into a mess of trouble, running off with a randy tomcat who pumps gas at the Esso stand. And then there are Gussie's granddaughters, the smart but plain Violet and fancy-talking Bitsy -- a new generation whose lives will reflect a nation's tumultuous times. From Tennessee to New Orleans, from psychedelic San Francisco to a remote Southwestern desert ranch, this funny, poignant novel spans more than four decades as it vividly recounts the universal loves, sorrows, and joys of women's lives.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

Held my interest enough to finish, but rather depressing. I didn't care for any of the characters and had no sympathy for any of them. One was rather irritating. Definitely not as good as The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (to which it was compared).

My Current Thoughts:

I have no recollection of this book. 

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Fiction
2018 Penguin Audio
Read by Casandra Campbell
Finished on May 4, 2019
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

It took me close to six weeks to listen to Delia Owens' debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing. As is my usual fashion, I listen here and there on my walks or on a drive into town for groceries. But I don't listen as often as I used to when I was working at Barnes & Noble. Back then, I could listen to an audiobook for a couple of hours every day while stocking displays before the store opened. Now, it's a half hour here or an hour there. It wasn't until we were on our camping trip that I found time to listen in big chunks, walking for a couple of hours at a time, not wanting to stop until I absolutely had to.

I enjoyed Cassandra Campbell's narration of the novel and could easily envision the marsh setting and characters, which are exquisitely depicted in Owens' story. I had no trouble keeping track of the alternating time periods and enjoyed the mystery, was surprised by a few turns of events, and appreciated the lack of predictability. As much as I enjoyed the narration, I wish I had read this one in print, as I believe the lyricism would have shone through more vividly on the printed page, prompting me to highlight passages to share and remember. I think I'll recommend it to my book club and that will give me the nudge to read it again. I'm anxious to see what lies ahead for this talented author.

To Dance with the White Dog

To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay
Fiction
1990 Washington Square Press
Finished on December 24, 2018
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Sam Peek's children are worried. Since that "saddest day" when Cora, his beloved wife of fifty-seven good years, died, no one knows how he will survive. How can this elderly man live alone on his farm? How can he keep driving his dilapidated truck down to the fields to care for his few rows of pecan trees? And when Sam begins telling his children about a dog as white as the pure driven snow -- that seems invisible to everyone but him -- his children think that grief and old age have finally taken their toll.

But whether the dog is real or not, Sam Peek -- "one of the smartest men in the South when it comes to trees" -- outsmarts them all. Sam and the White Dog will dance from the pages of this bittersweet novel and into your heart, as they share the mystery of life, and begin together a warm and moving final rite of passage.

This book has languished on my shelf for many years, but I finally decided to give it a try and was pleasantly surprised, not wanting to put it down, reading late into the night. I can't remember who recommended it to me, but I have a feeling it was someone from my online book group over a decade (or two!) ago. In any event, I enjoyed this quiet, gentle story, which is based on the lives of the author's parents. Not a lot happens, so it should appeal to those who enjoy character-driven novels, particularly those who like tender stories about families and aging parents. Somehow, I didn't mark any passages, but the lyrical prose is proof of Kay's Southern roots. Now to watch the Hallmark production, which is based on the book and stars Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn.

Looking Back - Little Altars Everywhere

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.

Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells
Fiction
1996 Harper Collins (first published in 1992)
Finished in December 1997
Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good!)

Publisher's Blurb:

"We are swinging high, flying way up, higher than in real life. And when I look down, I see all the ordinary stuff--our brick house, the porch, the tool shed, the clothesline, the chinaberry tree. But they are all lit up from inside so their everyday selves have holy sparks, they'd go and kneel in front of them and pray and just feel good. Somehow the whole world looks like little altars everywhere."

Little Altars Everywhere is a national bestseller, a companion to Rebecca Wells's celebrated novel Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Originally published in 1992, Little Altars introduces Sidda, Vivi, the rest of the spirited Walker Clan, and the indomitable Ya-Yas. It is now available for the first time in hardcover.

Told in alternating voices of Vivi and her husband, Big Shep, along with Sidda, her siblings Little Shep, Lulu, Baylor, and Cheney and Willetta--the black couple who impact the Walkers' lives in ways they may never fully comprehend--Little Altars embraces nearly thirty years of life on their plantation in Thorton, Louisiana, where the cloying air of the bayou and a web of family secrets of once shelter, trap, and define an utterly original community of souls.

Who can resist the rich cadences of Sidda Walker and her flamboyant, secretive mother, Vivi? Here, the young Sidda--a precocious reader and an eloquent observer of the fault lines that divide her family--leads us her mischievous adventures at Our Lady of Divine Compassion parochial school and beyond. A Catholic girl of pristine manners, devotion, and provocative ideas, Sidda is the very essence of childhood joy and sorrow.

In a series of luminous reminiscences, we also hear Little Shep's stories of his eccentric grandmother, Lulu's matter-of-fact account of her shoplifting skills, and Baylor's memories of Vivi and her friends, the Ya-Yas.

Beneath the humor and tight-knit bonds of family and friendship lie the undercurrents of alcoholism, abuse, and violence. The overlapping recollections of how the Walker's charming life uncoils to convey their heartbreaking confusion are at once unsettling and familiar. Wells creates an unforgettable portrait and funny attempts to keep reality at arm's length. Through our laughter, we feel their inevitable pain, with a glimmer of hope for forgiveness and healing.

An arresting combination of colloquialism, poetry, and grace, Little Altars Everywhere is an insightful, piercing, and unflinching evocation of childhood, a loving tribute to the transformative power of faith, and a thoroughly fresh chronicle of a family that is as haunted as it is blessed.

My Original Notes (1997):

Excellent! Just as good as Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Made me laugh and cry. What a marvelous author. Interesting device to use different characters' voices for each chapter. Varies the story's point of view. [I must not have encountered this before, but it's very common in the books I read now!] Highly recommend!

My Current Thoughts:

I wish I could remember more about this novel and I no longer own a copy, so I can't glance back and see if I highlighted any passages. Funny that I had never read (or noticed) a book with alternating points of view! I do believe it's time to reread both Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (which I talked about here) and Little Altars Everywhere. I think I need to devote an entire month to rereading some of my favorites! 

Looking Back - Before Women Had Wings

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.

Before Women Had Wings by Connie May Fowler
Fiction
1997 Ballantine Books (first published in 1996)
Finished in October 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

My name is Avocet Abigail Jackson. But because Mama couldn't find anyone who thought Avocet was a fine name for a child, she called me Bird. Which is okay by me. She named both her children after birds, her logic being that if we were named for something with wings then maybe we'd be able to fly above the shit in our lives. . . .

So says Bird Jackson, the mesmerizing narrator of Connie May Fowler's vivid and brilliantly written, Before Women Had Wings.

Starstruck by a dime-store picture of Jesus, Bird fancies herself "His girlfriend" and embarks upon a spiritual quest for salvation, even as the chaos of her home life plunges her into a stony silence. In stark and honest language, she tells the tragic life of her father, a sweet-talking wanna-be country music star, tracks her older sister's perilous journey into womanhood, and witnesses her mother make a courageous and ultimately devastating decision.

Yet most profound is Bird's own story--her struggle to sift through the ashes of her parents' lives, her meeting with Miss Zora, a healer whose prayers over the bones of winged creatures are meant to guide their souls to heaven, and her will to make sense of a world where fear is more plentiful than hope, retribution more valued than love. . . .

My Original Notes (1997):

This was a difficult book to read. I wanted to quit so many times, but hung in there. It wasn't that it was boring, but that it was full of so much physical and verbal abuse. I was sickened by Glorie Marie's abuse on her two daughters. Horrible, cruel brutality, both physically and mentally. Yet Bird proved to be a strong girl with the love and kindness bestowed on her by her new friend, Miss Zora. I was so glad the book had a happy ending. I kept hoping it would.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't remember this book at all and after reading my notes, I have no desire to read it again!

Looking Back - Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

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.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Fiction
1996 HarperPerennial
Finished in October 1997
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

When Siddalee Walker, oldest daughter of Vivi Abbott Walker, Ya-Ya extraordinaire, is interviewed in the New York Times about a hit play she's directed, her mother gets described as a "tap-dancing child abuser." Enraged, Vivi disowns Sidda. Devastated, Sidda begs forgiveness, and postpones her upcoming wedding. All looks bleak until the Ya-Yas step in and convince Vivi to send Sidda a scrapbook of their girlhood mementos, called "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." As Sidda struggles to analyze her mother, she comes face to face with the tangled beauty of imperfect love, and the fact that forgiveness, more than understanding, is often what the heart longs for.

My Original Notes (1997):

I loved this book! It's the kind that I just fell into and didn't want to end. I never would have bought it if it hadn't been so highly recommended by the BookStacks reading forum I've become involved with on the Internet.

I became envious of the Ya-Yas and their close friendships.

I loved the descriptions of Sidda's retreat cabin in the Seattle area. 

This book reminded me a bit of Pat Conroy's Beach Music. Very lyrical. Wonderful descriptions.

Many passages caused me to laugh out loud. And cry.

I loved the letters from Vivi to Necie.

I want all my friends to read this book! Rod read it and liked it a lot, but I think it's more meaningful to women.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't know if I ever got around to reading this a second time, but it's on my "keeper shelf" and I intend to eventually read it again. I also saw the movie, which was very good. Might be time to watch it again, too.

Looking Back - The Rapture of Canaan

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.

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds
Fiction
1995 Berkley Books
Finished on September 23, 1997
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Members of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind spend their days and nights serving the Lord and waiting for the Rapture--that moment just before the Second Coming of Christ when the saved will be lifted bodily to heaven and the damned will be left behind to face the thousand years of tribulation on earth. The tribulation, according to Grandpa Herman, founder of Fire and Brimstone, will be an ugly time: "He said that we'd run out of food. That big bugs would chase us around and sting us with their tails . . . He said we'd turn on the faucet in the bathroom and find only blood running out . . . He said evil multitudes would come unto us and cut off our limbs, and that we wouldn't die . . . And then he'd say, 'But you don't have to be left behind. You can go straight to Heaven with all of God's special children if you'll only open your hearts to Jesus . . .'"

Such talk of damnation weighs heavy on the mind of Ninah Huff, the 15-year-old narrator of Sheri Reynolds's second novel, The Rapture of Canaan. To distract her from sinful thoughts about her prayer partner James, Ninah puts pecan shells in her shoes and nettles in her bed. But concentrating on the Passion of Jesus cannot, in the end, deter Ninah and James from their passion for each other, and the consequences prove both tragic and transforming for the entire community.

The Rapture of Canaan is a book about miracles, and in writing it, Reynolds has performed something of a miracle herself. Although the church's beliefs and practices may seem extreme (sleeping in an open grave, mortifying the flesh with barbed wire), its members are complex and profoundly sympathetic as they wrestle with the contradictions of Fire and Brimstone's theology, the temptations of the outside world, and the frailties of the human heart.

My Original Notes (1997):

Very good! I really enjoyed this novel. I was furious with the religious fanaticism and the cruel punishments, but what an interesting story. I particularly liked the characters of Ninah and Nana. Grandpa was so easy to hate. I'd like to read her other two books now.

My Current Thoughts:

I only have a slight recollection of this book, but I do know that I went on to read A Gracious Plenty by Reynolds. She's written others, but I haven't read anything else by her.

Looking Back - Sights Unseen

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.

Sights Unseen by Kaye Gibbons
Fiction
Published November 1st 1996 by Avon (first published January 1st 1995)
Finished in July 1997
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Kaye Gibbons' award-winning novels of Southern family life have won rave reviews coast to coast. Now, she tells the "story of family dislocation and crisis in restrained prose of unflinching clarity, with a honing eye for the small domestic details that conjure a time, place and emotional atmosphere." (Publishers Weekly)

To the people of Bend of the River Road, Maggie Barnes is "the Barnes woman with all the problems." To her family, she is the unpredictable wife, elusive mother, and adored daughter-in-law, and to her maid, Pearl, she is the mistress who must be cared for like a child.

Between the suicidal lows and delirious highs, young Hattie Barnes struggles to find a place in her mother's heart. She observes her mother's vain attempts at normalcy, and then watches as she is driven off to the hospital psychiatric ward. Only later will Hattie discover the deep-seated hopes and fears of the woman she loves unconditionally, and her inevitable connection to her family's past.

In heartfelt and potent prose, through Hattie's hushed voice, Sights Unseen tells the story of a troubled relationship and the courage it takes to see it through.

My Original Notes (1997):

Good, but not great. A quick read, but not light. Heavy theme - mentally ill woman with two children and a husband. Told from daughter's perspective. Depressing. Southern family. Hattie, Maggie's daughter, is desperate for a normal mother who will love her.

My Current Thoughts:

This is the fifth and final book by Kaye Gibbons that I read in 1997. All were read within just a couple of months of each other and the details of this particular novel are long forgotten. It sure sounds pretty bleak!

A Place at the Table

A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White
Fiction
2013 Touchstone
Finished on February 7, 2017
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A rich, beautiful novel about three unlikely, complex characters who meet in a chic Manhattan café and realize they must sacrifice everything they ever knew or cared about to find authenticity, fulfillment, and love.

A Place at the Table tells the story of three richly nuanced characters whose paths converge in a chic Manhattan café: Bobby, a gay Southern boy who has been ostracized by his family; Amelia, a wealthy Connecticut woman whose life is upended when a family secret finally comes to light; and Alice, an African-American chef whose heritage is the basis of a famous cookbook but whose past is a mystery to those who know her.

As it sweeps from a freed-slave settlement in 1920s North Carolina to the Manhattan of the deadly AIDs epidemic of the 1980s to today’s wealthy suburbs, A Place at the Table celebrates the healing power of food and the magic of New York as three seekers come together in the understanding that when you embrace the thing that makes you different, you become whole.

Eager to a read a foodie-type story, I pulled a dusty ARC of A Place at the Table from the shelf, glanced at the cover and dove in cold without bothering to read the publisher's blurb. I wasn't disappointed. Told in three narrative voices (yet not in alternating chapters), A Place at the Table moves from one character's story to the next, which had me wondering if (and when) they would ever cross paths. In spite of the lack of marked passages, I thought this was a very good read, although now that almost a year has passed, I have only a vague recollection of the book. The story was entertaining and the writing impressive enough for me to give it a 4/5 star rating last February, but sadly not memorable. 

Looking Back - A Cure for Dreams

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 Cure for Dreams by Kaye Gibbons
Fiction
1992 Vintage Books (first published in 1991)
Finished in May 1997
Rating: 2/5 (Fair)

Publisher's Blurb:

In her novels Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman, Kaye Gibbons has compiled what one critic has called "a fictional oral history of female wishes [and] hopes." That tradition continues in A Cure for Dreams, a richly woven story that traces the bonds between four generations of Southern women through stories passed from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Gibbons shows us shrewd, resourceful women prevailing over hard times and heartless men and finding unexpected pleasures along the way: gossip, gambling, and the quiet satisfaction of knowing more than they're supposed to.

My Original Notes (1997):

Not nearly as good as her other books. Same sort of plot, too. (Strong women and men that leave them.) It didn't grab me like Charms for the Easy Life. A quick read, though. So-so.

My Current Thoughts:

After reading Charms for the Easy Life and Ellen Foster (both of which I loved), I was eager to read all of Gibbons' backlist and went on to read A Virtuous Woman and A Cure for Dreams. I read all four within one month and now I wonder if that's why I wasn't as impressed with this particular novel -- too much of the same sort of stories too close together. I guess I'll never know, since I only plan to reread my all-time favorites.