J is for Jordan

I love finding author's first published novels. I guess that's because of that desire I have to write and be published. The "J" stop on our journey is with Hillary Jordan who has written an intriguing and very sad story of the Mississippi Delta during the 1940's.

"Mudbound" is a haunting tale of two families trying to survive the hardships of cotton and soybean farming in Mississippi. This is the story of the white farm owners, the McAllans and one of their black farm families, the Jacksons. Henry McAllan has dreamed of being a land owner and farmer since his father sold the family farm when he was young. He worked hard and saved to buy a farm in the tough Delta. Henry is married to city-born Laura who is not thrilled with her husband's sudden announcement that they are leaving Memphis to work the farm. Henry, Laura and their two young daughters pack up everything and head to Mississippi where they land on their new farm which Laura and the girls quickly name Mudbound. Henry's father, Pappy, also moves with the family. Saying Pappy is cantankerous would be a very nice thing. He is a mean, ugly racist who makes life miserable for Laura and for Florence Jackson, who helps Laura around the house. When the war winds down, Henry's brother Jamie joins the family on the farm. He brings smiles to the little girls and a completely different feeling to Laura.

"Mudbound" is about two families scraping their way on the farm, but it's about so much more. It's about the attitudes of people towards people of color in America. In 2010, we don't think much about the ugliness, the evilness that was spewed at blacks in America just a few decades ago. We think we're above it and beyond it. I think "Mudbound" reminds us that it wasn't that long ago that a crazy man in Germany was trying to eradicate an entire race while here at home, we were making another race of people ride in the back of the pickup, use the back door and never, ever look us in the eye. Even the supposed good people in "Mudbound" followed the norms of the day. This book made me angry for what happened, sad for those to which it all happened and fearful that if we do not remember history, we will repeat it.

Hillary Jordan wrote a powerful first novel. I think readers, like me, who never attended a segregated school or saw a whites only water fountain will learn a great deal from the novel. I enjoyed the story, loved the writing style and was reminded of what terrible things we as humans are capable of doing. I recommend "Mudbound" to those who need a refresher course in why all men and women are truly created equal.

I is for Ishiguru

When I was browsing the "I" section of the Reidsville Public Library, the title of this book caught my attention. When I grabbed it, I noticed that the author had also written "Remains of the Day." I was intrigued, so I checked it out. For our "I" stop on the journey through the alphabet, I read "When We Were Orphans," by Kazuo Ishiguro.

"When We were Orphans" is the story of Christopher Banks, an Englishman born in Shanghai in the early 20th century. Sounds good so far, right. Banks is just a regular privileged kid living in a very sheltered area of what was apparently a pretty rough and tumble city. Shanghai took everything from the young Banks. The city took his father, then his mother. Banks was forced to move to England to grow up with his aunt. All he dreamed of was finding his parents and became a detective to do just that. Banks solves several high profile cases in England before bowing to pressure to return to Shanghai to solve the one case which has haunted him since he was a boy.

The story sounds so intriguing, but honestly, I kept feeling like I was missing some inside story. I felt throughout the book that I was hearing two separate conversations and trying to make them into one. While the writing was good, I just never could get into the story. Did I want to find out what happened to Banks' parents, yes; did I care how he found out, not really. I hate when I don't bond with any character in a novel, but I never bonded with Banks or any of the peripheral characters. Maybe it was me. The reviews on the book are great, but it just didn't click with me.

H is for Hyde

I am one of probably a handful of Americans who has never seen the movie "Pay it Forward." I think I've seen bits and pieces on TV, but I've never sat and watched the entire thing. I do know it starred that little "I see dead people" kid. I think it also starred Kevin Spacey. Since I've not seen the movie, I can't compare it to our "H" novel on which the film is based. I do know I wish it were not a novel, but rather a reality. Our "H" author is Catherine Ryan Hyde and her novel is Pay it Forward.

Trevor McKinney is your typical 12-year-old boy or at least what you want your typical 12-year-old boy to be. He is industrious, he's smart and he really loves his mom. His mother, Arlene is an over-worked recovering alcoholic who is trying to raise her son alone, again. The boy's father has vanished. His wrecked truck has been found and hauled back to Arlene's house. She co-signed the loan on the truck and has to make the payments despite it just being a shell of a vehicle. It wasn't like he was ever much of a father for Trevor or a man for Arlene, but she did love him. She won't give up on him, though she's the only one in the world who thinks he's ever coming back.

A new teacher arrives at Trevor's Junior High. His name is Reuben St. Clair and he's a Vietnam veteran. Mr. St. Clair has a face no one can forget, actually, it's only half a face. Reuben returned from Vietnam with scars to his face and his soul. He is a good teacher though and immediately bonds with young Trevor. In a teaching assignment for extra credit, Mr. St. Clair encourages his students to come up with an idea to change the world. Only a few students take him up on the extra credit offer and most of those have pretty pedestrian ideas. Only Trevor's idea really seems to fit the bill, though Trevor thinks it's a failure.

Trevor's idea to change the world is to do something really nice for three people. In return for his good deeds, those three people would pay it forward and do good for three people each. Trevor sees this as a true way to change the world. His plan doesn't come together to easily though. His first act of good seems to fail when his person goes back on drugs and ends up in jail. In his second attempt, his person dies before he believes she can pay it forward. The third person he chooses is Mr. St. Clair, who he decides should fall in love and marry his mom. How does this one work out?

If you've seen the movie, you know that the ending is not a happily ever after kind. If you've not seen it, I won't ruin it for you. Do be prepared for tears. I really enjoyed Pay It Forward for the ideas it put in my mind. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if everyone paid it forward, if people weren't selfish and went above and beyond the Golden Rule? Where would we be if when we saw someone in need, we actually did something about it? This is supposed to be a book review, so I'll stop with the moral aspects of the book. The writing is just ok, but the ideas are so good, they get you past some lackluster characters.

Enjoy Pay It Forward for the ideas, if not for the stellar writing. Learn from Trevor and even from Mr. St. Clair and Arlene. Check out Pay It Forward even if you've seen the movie. I'm sure there will be some surprises.

G is for Gearino

Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall? We've probably all heard that question at sometime in our lives, I know I've heard it and said it. It would be great, wouldn't it? You could hear and see everything that's going on, but no one would realize you were there. People would open up, tell their deepest secrets, do things and say things they'd never say if they knew you were there. What fun! Well, that's the premise of my "G" novel, What the Deaf-Mute Heard by G.D. Gearino. The premise is great, but the book falls a bit short of it's promise.

The main character in this novel is Sammy Ayers who woke up at age 10 in the back of an empty bus. His mother was gone and he was at the end of the line in a small town in Georgia. Of course, he is in a state of shock, but rather than crying or asking for his mother, Sammy just clams up. He doesn't answer when adults ask him questions and he acts like he can't hear them. Sammy becomes a deaf-mute by choice. The manager of the bus station takes Sammy under his wings in a way. He allows the boy to stay in the storage room at the station. Sammy grows up in the station, seeing and hearing everything, but basically invisible to the town. You really want to cheer for Sammy because of the hand he's been dealt, but he just never becomes that kind of hero. For me, it was sad to see this boy become a man but never desire to be anything more than the handyman living in the bus storage room. His only real goal in life is revenge on the bully from school who has become the town's top preacher. He does make a couple of huge discoveries in his life, but they don't change him much. He remains the fake deaf-mute living in the storage room.

I was so excited after reading the inside cover of this book. It had such promise. I mean, who wouldn't want to hear all the juicy secrets in a small town? The characters were just never really fleshed out. You don't grow to love anyone or for that matter really hate anyone. There are no real good guys or bad guys, just people doing what they do, mostly for their own gain. I think the author missed a great opportunity to write a wonderful novel. He had a fantastic idea, but he just didn't follow through all the way. What the Deaf-Mute Heard could have been a great book, but in the end, it was just ok.

I realized in my journey that all my choices wouldn't be great, but I was disappointed in my first mediocre book. We're still early in the journey and hopefully my choice in the category of "H" will get us back into pleasurable reading.