Reported by Jeanne
Our first
Nevermore member was very excited to share two novels by Dorothy Allison. She felt Allison’s writing is wonderful, and
that she does an incredible job of portraying the lives of people some would
call “poor white trash”—impoverished people whose lives are marred by violence
and substance abuse.
Allison’s
first novel, Bastard Out of Carolina, is narrated by Ruth Ann, a young
girl whose nickname is Bone. Born out of
wedlock, Bone’s mother Anny is anxious to get her birth certificate altered to
disguise her status. Anny is now married
to Glen, who has a tempestuous relationship with Bone in this gritty, riveting
novel set in South Carolina.
Our reader was so impressed that she picked up Cavedweller
by the same author. A decade ago, Delia
had fled an abusive relationship in Georgia for California, leaving behind her
two young daughters. Now Richard, the
rock musician who helped her leave, has been killed in an accident so Delia heads
back to Georgia with a bewildered third daughter in tow. She’s desperate to forge some sort of
relationship with the daughters she left behind, but she will have to face the
judgment of the family. Several
characters narrate the story, each bringing a different viewpoint to events.
Our reviewer felt that the novel's strength was in the depiction of a network
of extended family, especially the strong women who survive in this
hardscrabble environment. As with the first novel, Allison excels in her
descriptions and rich characterization.
Our reader suggested that these books would be good to read along with Hillbilly
Elegy by J.D. Vance.
In need of something lighter, she then picked up
Louisa May Alcott’s A Long Fatal Love Chase which she said is wonderful
and a must read. Written before the
success of Little Women, this is one of Alcott’s “blood and thunder”
novels which was rejected at the time for being “too sensational.” The plot seems modern, in fact: a young woman falls in love and marries a man
who turns out not to be what he seemed, and tries to escape. The ending is a bit weak, but it was still a
most enjoyable book.
Slavery by Another Name
by Douglas Blackmon elicited a long discussion as the next reader detailed how
post- Civil War African Americans were still held in virtual slavery. A person could be jailed for any number of
minor offenses—vagrancy, failing to pay for a train ticket, etc.—and sentenced
to work for the state, a corporation, or a farm. The labor was hard, conditions were
horrendous, and many died as a result.
Our next reviewer had picked up Liberty’s
Blueprint by Michael Meyerson but found that reading how Hamilton and
Madison wrote the Federalist Papers just was not holding her attention. Instead she turned to What the Dog
Knows: The Science and Wonder of Working
Dogs by Cat Warren because it had a handsome German Shepard on the
cover. She said it was fascinating,
blending research about how dogs and other animals have been trained to help
humans. Intertwined with the overview is
the story of Warren’s own work with Solo, a German Shepard who is trained as a
cadaver dog. It’s a wonderful book, our reader said, and recommended it to any
reader.
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