Mon Feb 13 2012
Two recent novels offer a bit of Southern hospitality, along with memorable characters. Both are pretty hard to put down, and I think both would make good choices for book club discussions.
"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" is Beth Hoffman's nearly flawless debut novel. Set in 1967, it tells the story from the point of view of 12-year-old Cecilia Rose, growing up in Willoughby, Ohio, in a kind of nightmare world. Her mother has a severe problem coping with reality -- "something's wrong with her mind" -- and CeeCee's father ignores them both. CeeCee writes that she took the role of caretaker and basically had to parent her own mother. Her only outlet is reading: "Books became my life, or maybe I should say books became the way I escaped from life."
When her mother is accidentally killed, CeeCee is taken under the wing of her great-aunt Tootie, who drives her to Savannah, Ga., to live in her big, beautiful house. "I was catapulting into a new world," says CeeCee, and "I was weak-kneed from sensory overload." In this new world, she is treated well and tastes luxury, both for the first time.
She meets the diverse women of the neighborhood and their relatives and friends ("I had been plunked into a strange, perfumed world that, as far as I could tell, seemed to be run entirely by women"), and she bonds particularly closely with her aunt's housekeeper, Oletta.
Her experiences range from frightening to tragic to funny and joyous. But the power of the book lies in the eccentric characters (one neighbor lady, for example, has an outdoor bathtub and is accompanied by a voyeuristic peacock) and in the lovely language: "It was at that moment when I first felt the powerful undertow of beauty," writes CeeCee; and I just love this line about one of the strange people she encounters: "Why she was wearing a shower cap on a hot summer's day I couldn't imagine, but, in all truthfulness, I have to say it suited her."
As CeeCee interacts with these women over one long summer, she discovers graciousness and prejudice, and she learns about friendship and love. Writes CeeCee: "While listening to the laughter swirl around me, the strangest thing happened: my whole world turned pink, and an effervescent kind of warmth filled me with a sense of belonging I'd never known." There are moments in this coming-of-age story that are just so full of wonderfulness I'd find myself smiling with tears in my eyes. Some of the author's lines are absolute gold, such as "I folded the memory into myself." When the mother had her breaks with reality, it made my blood run cold, and later, I cried for the young girl's well-earned, healing, heart-warming, soul-singing joy.
Parts of the book remind me of "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" and "The Help." I found the author on Twitter and told her that I had set the book aside at first, thinking it was "chick lit," but once I started reading, I was ashamed for pre-judging it, because it is so much more literary than that. The book seems to be full of colors -- and not just because of the beautiful cover art. I just fell in love with these characters. I even laughed out loud. Do not miss it. This will end up being one of my favorite reads of the year.
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Leila Meacham has given us the novel "Roses," set in Howbutker, Texas. It tells the story of several generations of close families in the Southern town, centered around one main character, Mary Toliver, born in 1900 to a cotton farmer. It's 1985 as the book opens; she knows she's dying, and as she makes some bizarre final arrangements with her attorney, she looks back over her life.
When Mary turns 16, her father dies and leaves Somerset, the Toliver estate, to her, hoping she will maintain it as a cotton plantation. Her brother and her mother resent her for this inheritance and persecute her because of it. Their hatred only adds to the curse of Somerset, which has something "to do with the procreation of children."
Young Mary has always been drawn emotionally to Percy Warwick, the son of a lumberman, and the two families' business interests are only part of the conflict that comes between them. During the Great War in 1917, Percy and his two best friends, as well as Mary's brother, enlist and are sent to Europe to fight. When they return in 1919, some have been damaged by the war.
Meanwhile, Mary has been at finishing school and comes home to find her mother has been damaged in her own way. The friends all marry and start families of their own, and in the book's 609 pages we follow the history of their children and then their grandchildren, and at the end we find out about the reasoning behind Mary's mysterious will.
The title comes from a symbolic tradition, repeated throughout the book, that was passed down to the descendants of families involved in Britain's War of the Roses.
It's a great read, except that I was confused -- several times. Mary's motivation was often sketchy to me, especially regarding that will. The book reminds me of "The Thorn Birds," with its love of land, strong and determined main female character, pride, passion, doomed love, secrets, loss, hate, resentment, bitterness, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, and, like "The Thorn Birds," I wasn't thrilled with the last section. There isn't really any beautiful language to quote, as there's very little description; the book is composed mostly of dialogue and interplay among characters -- and there's nothing wrong with that; some readers prefer it. The story moves right along and is never dull. It's a solid saga of several generations of families and traditions that you can sink into for a while. Adult language and situations.
Copyright © 2010 by Mary Louise Ruehr. Find book news and more online at www.recordpub.com; click "News" in the menu bar, then "Lifetimes," and find "One for the Books" or visit my blog at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light; Twitter @One4TheBooks. Send e-mail to Books@recordpub.com.
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For best-seller lists and more book news, go to
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Here are links to other recent One for the Books columns. More links are available on my blog at http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/one-for-the-books/
Marriage -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4805797
Politicians Behaving Badly -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4796121
A Vicarious Vacation in Ireland -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4786929
Sex, Drugs, and Rock ’n’ Roll -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4768003
The “Dome” Tome and “U” -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4753011
Revisiting Jane Austen -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4743712
Palin-Tology -- http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/4718844
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“One for the Books” appears the second and fourth Fridays of the month in the Record-Courier. Extra columns may appear on occasion, especially preceding Christmas and Hanukkah.
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