BOOK: A Death in the Family by James Agee

A Death in the Family by James Agee, 310 pages

Book Awards III: Pulitzer 1957; Southern Reading Challenge: Tennessee

Before I read this book, I thought the story would follow the months after the death of the father of a young family in 1915 Tennessee. It turns out that it follows the family in the couple of days before and after the death of Jay. This was only a problem in that those three days of shock were magnified and examined minutely. I've had to spend some time analysing the book to find why it didn't work for me.

Agee died before this book was published. From the Note on this Book - How much polishing or re-writing he might have done is impossible to guess, for he was a tireless and painstaking writer. The editors inserted two scenes at the end of parts I and II, which to me, didn't add much to the story, a little background to the characters.

I really wanted to like this book and thought I would, but it just didn't seem to match the way brain likes to read. The sentences ran on and on, and there were page-long paragraphs and every little detail was excruciatingly described. I understand that this effect was meant to illustrate the effects of grief and the way that time would slow down, but holy hannah, it was painful to read. Add to that the thought processes of a confused six year old boy and I was ready to throw the book. I kept reading and I did like the third section the best but it wasn't enough to salvage the book for me.

For example, the analysis of feelings was so in depth, and exacting, it didn't read true to me. Or maybe just too obvious. Catherine is a three year old girl - Catherine felt more virtuous and less troubled than she had for some time, for she had watched Rufus being scolded, all to himself, and it more than wiped out her unhappiness at his telling her to come along when of course she was coming and he had no right even if she wasn't. page 263 More virtuous?


He could see his mother's face while she told them about it and hear her voice, over and over, and silently, over and over, while he looked around the sitting room and through the window into the street, words repeated themselves (page 239).

That quote there summed up the whole book for me. Over and over, the same words repeated themselves.

Other reviews, much more glowing than mine:
laura at musings
michelle at onemorechapter

If I missed your review, let me know and I'll add you.

BOOK: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen, 228 pages

celebrate the author; southern reading challenge

Colie gets sent to stay with her aunt in North Carolina for the summer as her weight-loss guru mother takes a tour of Europe. Colie and her mother have both lost a lot of weight, but as Oprah fans know, losing weight doesn't make everything better, you have to make the inside feel better too. This is the lesson that Colie has to learn over the summer as she develops a friendship with Morgan and Isabelle, her fellow waitresses at the Last Chance Bar and Grill.

Nice, light and breezy young adult novel to kick off the summer. The setting was summery and the tone of the book was light. Self confidence comes from within, and you can't let other people decide your happiness.

Sarah Dessen's birthday is in June, like my own, so this is my book for the Celebrate the Author challenge. Most of her books are set in North Carolina, and many of her books have characters who appeared in other novels making guest appearances. I haven't read enough of her books yet to see this, but I always like that effect.

BOOK: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, 290 pages

Southern Reading Challenge, Once Upon a Time III, herding cats

What led you to pick up this book?
I've seen it at the library for months, on the popular fiction shelf; it was recommended by jenny for the herding cats challenge; and it was time to read a southern book.

Summarize the plot, but don't give away the ending!
The estranged Waverley sisters of North Carolina are magical with an apple tree in the back yard. Each has a gift - one with food, one with hair, and are trying to learn to love.

What did you like most about the book?
It was very charming, and the magic worked in ways that I don't usually get, but it was so gentle and seemed natural.
The men were mostly perfect, and the southern local flavor was all over it.
I liked how the families in the town had traits, that everyone in the town knows about, and it is just understood. Like one family where the men marry older women. It's true in small towns with families that have been around for ages.

What did you like least?
Can't think of much. I'd give it a 4.5/5.

What did you think of the main character?
I really liked the sisters, Claire and Sydney, each making huge changes in their life and trying to begin a new relationship.

Any other particularly interesting characters?
I loved Evanelle, the old aunt whose gift was to give people something they would need. She never knew why they needed it, but she had to give it to them.

Share a quote from the book:
She was so southern that she cried tears that came straight from Mississippi, and she always smelled faintly of cottonwood and peaches.

You are who you are, whether you like it or not, so why not like it?

Some things couldn't be explained. Some things could. Sometimes you liked the explanation. Sometimes you didn't. that's when you called it myth.

Share a favorite scene from the book.
There was a pretty steamy scene under the apple tree, and I liked the scene with Sydney's high school sweetheart and his wife as they come to grips with Sydney's return.

What about the ending?
A little perfect but it matched the tone of the book and I would have been disappointed with any other ending.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why?

most of these people liked it

also reviewed by : tinylittlelibrarian,
marg at reading adventures,
les at lesley's book nook,
lori at shetreadssoftly,
melanie the indextrious reader,
terri at reading,writing, and retirement
stephanie at confessions of a bookaholic
icedream reading in appalachia
maggie at maggie reads

CHALLENGE: Southern Reading Challenge

May 15 - August 15, 2009

three months, three books, win!
Southern Reading Challenge Three
haikus, pecans, win!


Before I joined Maggie's Southern Reading Challenge in 2007, I didn't even realize that southern books were a genre. And they may not be a real genre, but I get them now. We were watching Because of Winn-Dixie, based on the book by Kate diCamillo and it just reeks, reeks in a good way, of southern characters and settings. It was set in Florida which is southern, but it also had the feel that I've come to enjoy and recognize in southern literature. So Yay! to Maggie for hosting again. Last year I read the following:

Miss Julia Throws a Wedding by Ann B Ross

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan (Mississippi)

Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (South Carolina)

Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White

The Awakening by Kate Chopin
A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines

I wrote a haiku for The Secret Life of Bees - which was fab, and then won and read an autographed copy of Mudbound, also fab. Maybe this year I'll join in one of the other contests during the challenge. And keep an eye out for dead mules, apparently they appear in a lot of southern fiction.


This summer I hope to read from the following list:
Miss Julia Meets Her Match by Ann B Ross (continuing series)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (on www.dailylit.com)
Beach Music by Pat Conroy (South Carolina)
Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigiani
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

1. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
2. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
3. A Death in the Family by James Agee

UPDATE: Summer Challenges Completed

I seem to by cycling with the reading challenges this year. I try a few, then get carried away and suddenly I'm stressing, and I know, they should be just fun, but, I really like to finish a list, and cross it off. And I'm picking books I want to read, so I'm not torturing myself here. I found June got a little crazy, with the Spring Reading Thing, Once Upon a Time and the Chunkster all finishing around the same time. So, to reward myself, I signed up for a bunch of summer ones, but a little more carefully. Here's what I have recently finished:

The Summer Reading Challenge, Round 2
1. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

2. Good Intentions by Joy Fielding

3. The Translator by Leila Aboulela

4. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

All good reads, but the best was, Arthur & George.



Aah, mysteries. I couldn't pass up this challenge: read 6 new to you mystery authors. I could have done this one with already-read authors, because this just adds to my never ending list of books to read.
1. Murder on a Girl's Night Out by Anne George
2. The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson
3. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
4. Restless by William Boyd (not a series)
5. Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
6. Killer Swell by Jeff Shelby

All perfect little mysteries. I'll read more in each series, but I particularly liked Shakespeare's Landlord.


Then, was Joy's Nonfiction Challenge. I need this challenge more often, because I don't read as much nonfiction as I could, and I always enjoy when I do. Bring on more, Joy.
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Zlato's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

I liked all of these in different ways, and would recommend any of them.

This was my favorite challenge, because it really exposed me to some authors and novels I would never have read. I didn't even realize it could be called a genre, or style. Maggie did a lot of prep work before this one started, and she got me intrigued. I still resisted, but finally succumbed, reading:

1. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind: Ann B. Ross
2. Murder on a Girl's Night Out: Anne George
3. A Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toule
and for extra credit, because it got really hot here:
4. Quite a Year for Plums: Bailey White
5. Shakespeare's Landlord: Charlaine Harris
What perfect books for the lazy, hazy days of summer.


These challenges are so much fun. I'm reading good books I might never have found, meeting interesting people who also love books, and just having a lot of fun. What are you waiting for? Go try one. This group has a list of all challenges ongoing, and lets readers talk about the challenges they are doing, and completing. Or, this blog lists most ongoing challenges and links to them. Wendy (caribousmom) has been great to keep us all organized. I think she likes lists even more than me!

BOOK: Murder on a Girls' Night Out by Anne George

How appropriate that I finish the Southern Reading Challenge during a heat wave here in PEI. I'm sure it isn't as hot as Alabama can get, but we are not used to having 31 degrees (Celsius!) temperature. I am glowing like a Southern belle today.

Great mystery here with the sisters, as Mary Alice impulsively buys a country bar, and then the former owner is promptly killed. Sensible sister Patricia Anne narrates the story as the sisters look into the murder, somewhat. Between trying to set up their daughters, attending political fundraisers, and putting up fall preserves, the girls, who do not appear related other than their ability to read each others thoughts, are involved in the investigation up to their proper shoes and important necklaces. This was a great little mystery, and wonderful humorous, slice of southern life. There are many more books in this series, and they make a great single day read.

I started this last night, waiting in front of the library to meet booklogged and her husband, who were visiting PEI. We had a great seafood supper - chowder for booklogged and me, Oysters Rockefeller for her husband, and a wonderful visit. As we came out of the restaurant, a marching bagpipe band walked down the street. They were then headed to see Anne of Green Gables, the musical. I forgot to check if they had Kleenex before they saw the show. They left PEI today and are headed in a general way to Utah now. Have a safe trip, youse guys.

BOOK: Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris

This is a brand new series for me, and I think I'll be reading more. I came across it reading some reviews for the Southern Reading Challenge, but it's more for the Summer Mystery Challenge for me. It has everything you need for a good mystery series: a wounded yet tough as nails female narrator, two possible male love interests, and a mystery to investigate, reluctantly, by our narrator. On top of these standard requirements, it is southern, so I know that we need a small town, this one is in Arkansas, colourful and nosy characters all over the town, and unusual names like Pardon Albee, and Bobo Winthrop. I'm sure I saw more books in the library starring Lily Bard, so I better go request a few more books. See, her name is Bard and she lives in Shakespeare.


I used to love finding a mystery series that was new, because it made finding books at the library so much easier. Mystery series writers also tend to be quite prolific, so there are always more books to look for. And it amazes me how many of these mystery series are around, and that I haven't heard of so many of them. Hopefully, I'll find the time to read all these great books. They really are my comfort food of reading.

BOOK: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

ha ha ha ha ha
I don't know what I thought this book was going to be about, especially as it was a Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction in 1981. Often, award winning books are, important or precious. This was more of Seinfeld meets Abbot and Costello. How have I never heard of Ignatius J Reilly before? Because he is a character like no other in popular fiction and hopefully not in real life either. I was feeling a little of the eccentricity of Kramer crossed with the boorishness of George Costanza. So I laughed. A lot.
The story behind the novel is quite tragic. Toole wrote the book and tried to get it published for years. After his suicide, his mother persevered and the book was eventually published, but this is the only book by Toole. Full of interesting characters, Ignatius spreads havoc wherever he goes. A thirty year old still living home in one of the most dysfunctional mother-son relationships, Ignatius is educated, and delusional. His adventures begin when his mother insists he needs to get a job to help out with money.
As Ignatius goes through several jobs he meets more interesting characters. (Quite honestly, all these southern books are scaring me a little. I know there are stereotypes at play, but are southerners truly this strange? I remember the old Burt Reynolds comedy with oddballs wandering around and thinking, how strange. Does nobody work? How many eccentrics can be in one small town?) All the characters and their seemingly disparate lives will eventually be connected, just like the best of the Seinfeld episodes. New Orleans is a character itself, but I couldn't help thinking how different the city is probably now after Hurricane Katrina.
I loved all the minor characters, especially Patrolman Mancuso and his undercover assignments, and the sub story involving the homosexual community on Bourbon Street, not that there is anything wrong with that. I seemed unusual for a book written in the sixties to include such references; it felt more modern.
This counts for my third Southern Reading Challenge book and it is also an Award Winning Book for that challenge. Well worth the read and a nice diversion in the summer.

BOOK: Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White

Simple little story, not much happens. It was what I would call, with my limited experience, a typical southern story. Quirky characters, full of setting and not much really happened. I enjoyed reading about Roger and his extended ex-family, and some of the neighbours during a year in their southern Georgian town. Thankfully there was a list of characters and I relied heavily on it for the first few chapters, trying to keep everyone straight. White's writing was wonderful and "heartbreakingly tender, often hilarious". Reading this book reminds me of other southern experiences and characters, like The Golden Girls, and Junebug (movie starring Ben McKenzie.) I don't often identify with the characters, but they are unusual and interesting to read. Is there a crazy person in every small southern town? They seem to be tolerantly amused by their neighbours, not judged. Themes of nature and change and tolerance; gentle read.
Here's a better review than mine, which sums up the book excellently: a review

BOOK: Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B Ross

How perfect, that as I began reading the first book for the Southern Reading Challenge, the weather here turned steamy. Well, as steamy as PEI can get, which means humid and a little windy. We are finally able to wear shorts. Miss Julia is a delightful little read, not too heavy and just the right amount of humor. I knew I was hooked into the story and characters when I realized I was wondering what would happen between Julia and Sam, her lawyer, and how she would finally solve some of her problems.
Julia Springer is a recent widow, and she discovers her late husband's infidelity when his mistress drops off his son at her door and asks her to take care of Little Lloyd. Poor Julia has to deal with this shocking revelation in her small southern town, with its standards and 'southernness', which I am getting a feel for even after just one book. Complicating the situation is the minister across the street who feels he/his church should have the money Miss Julia inherited. Miss Julia led a sheltered, simple life before her husband died, and she learns to think for herself, act herself, and look after herself and the assorted characters in her life. She grows up a lot in this book, even though she is in her sixties, and while everything gets resolved, Julia still has a way to go. I will look for the next book in this series, especially when I need a nice, light, enjoyable, nothing to get worked up about, book.

CHALLENGE: Southern Reading Challenge

I said I wasn't going to do this challenge, but I've been going over to Maggie Reads and checking out all her great suggestions and she is full of ideas. I was resisting until she started posting about mysteries. Fun, humorous little mystery series. So I'm in now. I plan to read, during the sweltering southern days of June, July and August, although we never quite get to sweltering here in the Maritimes:

1. Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind: Ann B. Ross
2. Murder on a Girl's Night Out: Anne George
3.A Confederacy of Dunces: John Kennedy Toule

and for extra credit, because it got really hot here:
4. Quite a Year for Plums: Bailey White
5. Shakespeare's Landlord: Charlaine Harris

This looks like fun and quite managable.Thanks for all the suggestions Maggie.

CHALLENGE: Southern Reading Challenge

Hmm, what to do? Because I hate to miss out on anything. However, there are no books in my pile that even remotely connect to this lovely idea by maggie at maggie reads - read three books set in the south, written by southern authors. But there is the problem: there is a genre of books I've been ignoring. There are suggestions posted here, generously compiled and posted by Lisa at Books.Lists.Life.

So, I will think on this. Appropriately it will be held in the summer months of June, July and August. I must peruse the list to see if anything catches my eye and then check my lists to see how crazy and ambitious I feel. And ambitious is not usually an adjective that gets thrown around with my name very often. I think I'll have to pass, but see me being sneaky, and getting to put the cute button on my blog anyway. Score.