Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews, a pseudonym for Kathy Hogan Trocheck, has come through again! MKA, who lived in Raleigh for a couple of years, is well-known as the creator of sassy, southern women, and Annajane Huggins is no exception.

The setting is familiar: a small town in North Carolina that revolves around a soft-drink manufacturing plant (can anybody say “Cheerwine?). Having been divorced from Mason for five years, Annajane is as surprised as anyone to find herself sitting in the church at his wedding. As you might expect, nothing goes as planned, and Annajane finds herself wondering if leaving Mason was a mistake.

The first third of the book has a lot of flashbacks and background, and it made me a little impatient to get back to the present and move forward. But once we got going, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Pascoe, NC. The advantage to the slow build is that the relationship between Annajane and Mason seems real and understandably complex. Andrews provides an eerily accurate description of what hard work relationships are as we watch Annajane and Mason struggle to define exactly who they are to each other. MKA is a master at including witty, bright, and fun supporting characters, including the irrepressible Pokey, Annajane’s best friend, who just happens to be Mason’s sister, and perfectionist Celia, Mason’s fiancee with a thing or two up her sleeve.

The narration of the audio is especially well-done, even Mason’s daughter Sophie, and I often don’t like how narrators play the roles of little children. Whether you read or listen to Spring Fever, you’re about to enter a town you’ll never want to leave.

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Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Mary Kay Andrews is one of my favorites. Her characters are witty and her story lines usually have an unforeseen twist. Andrews’ Summer Rental is about three girlfriends who rent a North Carolina beach house. As this story of friendship and obstacles unfolds you will laugh and cry with these ladies.

Lifelong friends Ellis, Dori, and Julia decide it’s time for a much needed get-a-way. The girls rent a beach house in Nags Head, NC.  Ellis has been fired, and Dori is troubled by finances while something much bigger is bothering her as well. Julia, the model, has a secret she has been holding onto for years and has finally decided to share with her friends. Each lady is very uncertain about her future. When Dori’s sister backs out of the trip the trio is in need of a fourth roommate.  While at a local eatery, Dori overhears that Marin, a.k.a. Madison, is looking for a place to stay for a couple of weeks. Dori offers Marin the extra room and Marin accepts. Unbeknownst to her new housemates, Marin is on the run and like the others she is speculative of her future.

Ebbtide, the house the girls are renting, is a little less than desirable with its noisy window units, old appliances, cramped bedrooms and pests. The ladies are very curious about their handsome and mysterious neighbor, Ty Basemore, who lives in the apartment above the garage. Ty, a day trader and bartender, has some secrets and issues of his own that he is dealing with. Love is in the air when Ty and Ellis discover they have a “thing” for each other. Despite the fact that each character is dealing with their own personal battles they lean on each other for support, and manage to have fun and make the best of their time at the beach. Suspense, romance, trouble, and good fortune await the characters and will have you hanging onto Andrews’ every word.

Like her other books, this story has a good mixture of humor, romance and mystique. As usual, Andrews does a fabulous job of drawing you into the story. By the time you finish the book you will be longing for a week at the beach.

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Greatest Hits: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

This week we’re featuring some of our “greatest hits” – the most popular Book-a-Day blog posts since we started this almost three years ago. Today’s is As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, reviewed by Clare B.

Story telling is considered a Southern tradition, and perhaps one of the greatest of Southern storytellers is William Faulkner.  I often hear people say that Faulkner is too difficult to read.  He can be difficult. As I Lay Dying is certainly is not.

As the novel opens Addie Bundren is dying.  Outside her window, her son Cash is building her coffin.  Addie has had a difficult life.  Her husband is no count; her children are hardly better.  She has made her husband promise that he will bury her body in Jefferson, a neighboring town where she grew up.  This simple request is actually anything but simple.

Sons Jewel and Darl are away with the wagon, and return two days after Addie is dead.  Floods wash out two bridges, further delaying the trip.  Two days into the trip, an accident while they are attempting to ford the flooded river leaves Cash seriously injured and the mules dead.  In the mean time, buzzards are following them, and the smell of the Addie’s body is overwhelming.

As I Lay Dying is funny, horrifying and fascinating.  Each chapter is told in the voice of a different family member or friend.  We see this journey in the bewilderment of young Vardaman, who cannot understand his mother’s death; of Dewey Dell who is too absorbed in her own unplanned pregnancy to grieve, and Anse Bundren, whose main goal, besides burying his wife, is to buy false teeth.

I think the key to reading and enjoying Faulkner is to not think about it too much.   We read him in English class, and spend hours examining what he was trying to say.  Instead, perhaps, we should just read him.  Enjoy the language and loose ourselves in the humor, satire and train of thought.

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Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

I have come to love southern gothic literature in the last few years. I think I needed life experience in order to truly appreciate the humor and the truth in it. For this reason, I have never been a big fan of Flannery O’Connor, until now. I recently read O’Connor’s novel Wise Blood. From the first chapter I became a fan. This is the story of Hazel Motes, a young man recently released from the Army and in search of a new life. His family is dead, and he is struggling to deny the faith he was raised under. He meets Asa Hawks and his daughter Lily Sabbath. Asa is an apparently blind street preacher, and Lily is searching for a better life for herself. Motes recognizes the truth about Hawks, and decides to prove himself a greater cynic, by creating his own “church”, The Church of Christ Without Christ.

There are only a few characters in the rich novel, but each one is searching for something that they believe Motes can give them. Enoch Emery, another lost soul, is sure that Motes is right, and he does all in his power to befriend him. Mrs. Flood, Mote’s landlady believes they can have a life together. Hoover Shoats wants to work with Motes to develop a money scam.

Early in Wise Blood, you know that all of these people are on a collision course, with Motes in the middle. There is simply no way this novel is going to end well. And yet, it is a thoughtful, compelling and lyrical novel you will not want to put down.

Wise Blood was O’Connor’s first novel, in her very small body of works. She died at age 39. One has to wonder what incredible characters she would have created had she lived and written longer.

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Mama Makes Up Her Mind by Bailey White

Don’t mess with Bailey’s Mama. She’s not afraid of anything. She sleeps on the front porch during a hurricane. She kills rattlesnakes by rapping them sharply on the head with her walking stick. She keeps skydiving worms in a bowl in her kitchen.

Bailey’s Mama is feisty, but you can’t help but love her. She’s the only elderly white lady campaigning for the town’s only black political candidate. When a crowd of marine biologists start poking around in the swamp next door, Mama spends hours staring at them with her binoculars. Next day they invite her to join them, so she spends the afternoon examining clam specimens and then stays up all night reading books about bivalve mollusks.

Along with her incomparable Mama stories, Bailey treats us to tales of her other eccentric friends and relations, from Aunt Belle, who tames an alligator in the swamp, to Luther, the town taxidermist, who is so desperate to learn how to cook that he asks Mama to give him lessons.

Bailey’s adventures as a first-grade school teacher are included, as well as tales of her travels, from taking the train to New York City disguised as a pregnant lady to her trip to the North Florida town of Micanopy, which is so overgrown with vegetation that tendrils of wisteria creep in through the back door and curl around the bookshelves.

In fact, Bailey can make anything sound like an adventure, even if it is just buying a used car or taking Mama to the doctor. It is nice to know that Southern literature does not have to be just dreary tales of family skeletons in the closet. Bailey’s “skeletons” are on display, right next to her brother’s snakeskin collection, the rusted 1930s typewriter on which Mama writes her memoirs, and the dark oak bed that has a disconcerting habit of folding up on its occupants in the middle of the night.

You never know what you are going to find at Bailey’s house, but you can be sure it will be an interesting experience.

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Best New Books of 2011: Mary P.’s Picks

Hi from your friendly neighborhood book blogger extraordinaire, Mary P.!  As a regular reviewer on this blog I’ve been lucky to share my thoughts on a number of books, and of course I have a few more favorites to recommend.  My reading taste is eclectic, but I tend to lean towards non-fiction, humorous works, historical fiction, chick lit, and books for teens.  I think my picks for the 5 best books of 2011 reflects this, with a tinge of supernatural thrown in for fun!

Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Set in the buildup and terror of the French Revolution, this novel follows the path of the young wax sculptress, Marie Grosholtz, who would eventually become the famous Madame Tussaud, as she and her family walks the fine line of survival during the tumultuous times. A self proclaimed survivalist, Marie and her family pays court to both royalist and revolutionaries as she serves as a tutor to a princess of France and obeys the demands of the mobs.  Moran’s excellent historical novel brings to life a fascinating time in history and a moving portrayal of Madame Tussaud.

BossyPants by Tina Fey
Before 30 Rock, before Sarah Palin, before even SNL, Tina Fey was just a Greek girl growing up outside Philadelphia with overly protective father and an already quirky sense of humor.  In her memoir, Fey tells the story of childhood and rise to fame from her summers in children’s theater to the long days of travel for the improv group Second City in Chicago to the challenges of working in the male dominated world of comedy writing.  And of course, since she is Tina Fey, this memoir is hilarious.  For fans of Fey, this books is a sure hit, and for you other five people, don’t worry you’ll enjoy it too.

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
On a hot summer day in 1954, 13-year old Jubid Watts heads south from her Charlotte, North Carolina home on vacation with her family and Mary, the family’s black maid.  Mary has always been Jubie’s favorite; her protector from her father’s violent temper and her mother’s indifference and a source of unconditional love.  As the family travels further south, Jubie witnesses the growing racism towards Mary.  When a tragedy occurs on the trip home, Jubie must come to terms with what others think and feel and what she knows is right.

I’m Kind of a Big Deal by Stephanie Wilder-Taylor
Stephanie Wilder-Taylor is not a household name.  She has had a successful writing career on television and with books, but not the fame she was sure she would have as a 17 year old running away from home to become famous.  Her memoir chronicles her struggling years as a stand-up comedian, a lousy actress (her words), and a worse waitress.  Her stories of trying to make it big by being an obscure extra in an obscure Bob Dylan video or a cynical contestant on a dating show will keep you laughing and cheering for the author’s eventual success.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
This book is the cure for all the supernatural fans who like the idea of vampires, witches, love, and much more, but want a mature book that goes beyond teenage romances and angst.  Diana Bishop is an American scholar doing research in the famed Bodleian Library in Oxford when she unwittingly comes across a bewitched alchemy manuscript.  Descendant of a long line of distinguished witches,  Diana has spent all of her life denying her powers and living as a human.  However, the discovery of the manuscript and the arrival of vampire Michael Clairmont will soon force Diana to come to terms with her past and her powers.

If any of these titles interesting you, they are linked to the Wake County Public Libraries catalog so you can find them at the libraries.  And if you have read any, please feel free to add yoru opinion in the comments (but only if you agree with me … Just kidding).

Long Story Short: Flash Fiction by Sixty-Five of North Carolina’s Finest Writers edited by Marianne Gingher

A relevant quotation by Fantasy Author Lynn Abbey states: “Short-story writing requires an exquisite sense of balance.”

Short stories have always been a major favorite of mine both for discovering amazing new authors and for the sheer pleasure of  immersing myself in one of the stories – especially on my front porch in the summer! Front porches in the summer just call for the sheer pleasure of taking a break to enjoy a short story (or seven!)

Familiar authors such as Orson Scott Card, Haven Kimmel, Sarah Dessen and Daniel Wallace are included in this eclectic mix as well as many emerging new talents.

An intriguing element of Flash Fiction is that these “short-short stories” must be between approximately 300-1000 words long. This title compiles some short-short stories; in this case none longer than 1,800 words (a little over the “flash fiction” definition at times) and within these tales are breathtaking ranges of intensity, magic, comedy … all the ranges of emotion which keep these stories resonating long after the story is finished.

Discover new authors and experience imaginative fiction at its fullest!

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“This is Just Exactly Like You” by Drew Perry

“This Is Just  Exactly Like You” by Drew Perry introduces Jack Lang, an admitted  screw-up. He does things  – buy a second house he can’t afford it, knock down his best friend and business partner’s mailbox for sleeping with his wife — that he can’t explain and does not seem particularly interested in analyzing. His wife Beth blames him for most everything, including her problems. Jack’s bedding his best friend’s girlfriend is the topper in a squirming mess of marital discord set against a relentless cataloguing of Americana. Much of that cataloguing is through their autistic son, Hendrick, who reproduces in pitch perfect form NPR, weather forecasts and the relentless American media babble.

Jack, indifferent to the failure of his academic career due to the embrace and kiss of a coed, is equally indifferent to the operation of his mulch and dirt business. Hendrick is about the only thing that keeps him even slightly focused.  That Jack is complex, that life is inexplicable, that 21st century America is all a bit much is trenchantly rendered by Perry in terms that are uncomfortably familiar for anybody who has a charge card or flat screen television. Eventually Jack and Beth sign back on with each other realizing that “you gotta’ do what you gotta’ do”, while changes in their son offer hope that he might be able to eventually plug into a world that is, well, highly dysfunctional.

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The Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living by Martin Clark

Meet Evers Wheeling, his brother Pascal and their other friends who like to hang out for extended periods of time in Pascal’s modest trailer home, the one with the boarded up window. Hold this book at arm’s length when you read it as the alcohol fumes emanating from its pages are sure to induce a stage of virtual intoxication. The good life is truly being doped and drugged throughout the day. Now please don’t get the wrong idea about all of this. Author Clark loves these guys. He can’t bear to make them ordinary rednecks. No indeed. One is a judge, and one a doctor -an emergency room physician no less- and they all seem to be college graduates, one from Princeton, one from William and Mary. They speak in an ornate language that would impress an Oxford don. They are generally very polite folks, who would not think of making a pass at the beautiful lady who decides to stay overnight at the trailer home. They have a code of honor that places loyalty above honesty. Pascal, the philosophical one who drinks for a living, states that while you cannot remain a child, you can sure spend your life perpetually immature.

What else goes on besides the serious drinking? Well, the guys get involved in helping an attractive woman retrieve some stolen money, and a strange murder infringes on their imbibing rituals. Judge Wheeling also decides to punish his wife for a marital no-no by chaining her naked to the freeway exit sign at Climax, North Carolina. The judge also has some strange mental lapses that suggest some sort of  brain damage.

What I liked best about this book is that it works on two levels. On the first level, it’s an enjoyable read; quirky, funny characters, good description, intriguing story. On the second level, it’s a spiritual novel that makes us think about the chain of events in our lives and how often things seem to happen for some cosmic reason. I highly recommend this one.

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Off For the Sweet Hereafter by T.R. Pearson

I first came across the writings of T.R. Pearson when my book club read A Short History of a Small Place. Many of the members didn’t care for it, but I thought it was good fun Southern dysfunctional family fiction. This is the sequel to Short History and is even more over the top and more enjoyable. This is the book Faulkner would write if he were alive today. Both writers are great portrayers of the South and it’s many interesting characters, also they have similar writing styles and are not big on ending sentences. Filled with every other punctuation available, this type of writing is more difficult to follow, but eerily reminiscent of how us southerners tell stories.
Mr. Pearson is, well, hilarious. He has a clear perception of his fellow human beings, so when he describes us and our behavior and our thoughts, he doesn’t need to embellish or exaggerate to get the reader to laugh out loud – after all, we all do pretty freaking funny stuff every day. Another plus is Pearson’s characters – they are incredibly well developed and three dimensional. Readers will almost surely come to love just about every character in this book, in some way or another.  Take Raeford Benton Lynch, the focus, such as there is one, son of the fat Jeerer Lynch and her chicken-raising husband, this horse-faced, pointy-nosed, square-toothed, lumbering fool takes to a life of crime in order to win the heart of a girl he meets while digging graves. But Jane Elizabeth Firesheets, who offers Benton Lynch his first “physical therapy,” is indeed no ordinary girl. She’s a stone-cold tramp, who slips out of her snug clothes and into the ammonia-smelling hay faster than you can say Fuquay-Varina, which figures prominently in Lynch’s robbery routine. Things take a decided turn for the worse when Benton “steps in some big, big shit,” as the inarticulate bumpkin himself puts it. His low-rent Clyde Barrow act results in some untimely deaths, including his own. And, once again, events in Neely and thereabouts bring us to Commander Avery’s funeral parlor, for that’s where Neely’s Freest like to get together–in the presence of death itself. This is a book that makes you want to wrestle people to the ground so you can read it out loud to them.

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