frankiethek
"The South: 1954"
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I bought this book as a gift for my wife, but she told me how much she really enjoyed it, so I thought that I would read it myself. I'm very happy that I did, for it is a wonderful, well-written book about people and attitudes about race in the deep South in 1954.
+5
The story is told by a precocious 13 year old girl, one of four children, whose family has a "girl", euphemistic talk for a black maid. Mary, the "girl", does all of the heavy lifting and other work around the house, even taking care of the children, while the mistress of the house can just be one of the "ladies who lunch". There is genuine affection between the narrator and Mary, but there tends to be a problem when the family drives from North Carolina to the Florida panhandle, and then back through Georgia.
Remember, this was 1954, when segregation was the rule and way of life in the South. Even those folks who were not overt racists didn't even consider the feelings of their black employees: meals at separate tables, separate bathrooms, etc.. It was a difficult way for the blacks to live, but they seemed to have no choice in the matter.
The plot gets into serious territory when the narrator, her older sister, and Mary attend a black revival meeting, and then walk back to their motel through the "white neighborhood". Violence and tragedy ensue, and the narrator does some very brave things, and proves that the attitudes of her time do not lie heavy on her head. In addition to the main plot, there are intimations that all is not well in the family between the parents, and some unusual misdealing in the father's business.
Having traveled through the South in the early `60s I saw some of the signs of overt racism written about in the book (in addition to roadside signs saying "Impeach Earl Warren").
This was a sad time in our history, and the author deals with the situation quite well. This is a book which should be read (along with "To Kill A Mockingbird") by those who were either too young, or were not yet born during these troubles times in our history. Hopefully we have grown beyond these parochial attitudes concerning race, but there are times when I'm not quite sure about it. Read the book, and learn.
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carolinawoman
March 17, 2012
Frankiethek, thank you for a lovely review of my novel! I hope young adults read it as well (and it does seem to be crossing over into young adult literature) because it would be so easy to forget that such awful social attitudes existed, just a couple of generations ago. I deeply appreciate your fine comments. A.J. (author)
frankiethek
March 19, 2012
I'm pleased that you appreciated my review of your wonderful book. As I was reading it I felt the same as when I read "To Kill A Mockingbird" when I was 15. I hope that this book may sometime be included as a book to read on many high school English book lists. Those who were too young to remember these times will learn a lot about how and why we developed into the country which we are now. Also, I believe that, in the right hands, it would make an excellent motion picture.
carolinawoman
March 19, 2012
Thank you, and re the movie, from your lips heavenward! My agent has been sending it out to film agents for a year, and thus far nothing, but given that it took him three years-plus to sell the book, it's not time for me to give up hope on the movie.
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About the reviewer
Frank J. Konopka (frankiethek)
I'm a small town general practice attorney in the hard coal region of Pennsylvania. Books are my passion, andI read as many of them asI can. Being the President of the local library board for over … more
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About this book
On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation. Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her mother, and the family's black maid, Mary Luther. For as long as Jubie can remember, Mary has been there - cooking, cleaning, compensating for her father's rages and her mother's benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally. Bright and curious, Jubie takes note of the anti-integration signs they pass, and of the racial tension that builds as they journey further south. But she could never have predicted the shocking turn their trip will take. Now, in the wake of tragedy, Jubie must confront her parents' failings and limitations, decide where her own convictions lie, and make the tumultuous leap to independence...Infused with the intensity of a changing time, here is a story of hope, heartbreak, and the love and courage that can transform us - from child to adult, from wounded to indomitable.
Author Q&A with Anna Jean Mayhew
Q: You're a seventy-one-year-old first-time novelist. What made you decide to write a novel at this age?
A: Actually, I didn't get such a late start; my first national publication was a short story when I was forty-five. That was so thrilling that I decided maybe this writing business was something I should take seriously. Then life happened and it was another two years before I wrote the first paragraph--in 1987--of what became The Dry ...
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