Yeah, she's one of the good ones. ]]>
Wow, that seems to me an inspired choice. I would add Madison Jones to that as well! ]]>
I'm just beginning the novel now finally. I don't have much to say in the way of comments yet because to me it seems a very straightforward story. It does bring to mind 'Must the Novelist Crusade' by Eudora Welty. In most novels I think taking a didactic approach could be problematic, but Caldwell handles it well I think for the lack of authorial intrusion in the text. He does leave it to the reader as Ben says which in the hands of a great writer makes for enduring literature. If the author tells you what you should think about the plot then the kind of dialogue were attempting here is unnecessary. Unless you then want to discuss the merits of what the author said.
On a different note I'd add that I saw a piece on the History Channel about the Depression. It told stories of the dust clouds creating so much friction it caused static electricity on such a massive scale it was like watching blue flames travel the fence lines and up the steel in the Sears and Roebuck windmills used for pumping water from the wells. ]]>
"The woman and child are a strange and cumbrous burden..."
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"You also have to get a certain amount of bullshit out of your system to tell what's genuine from what's fake."--Larry Brown
I can't get too far down the road on The Rough South group without taking a moment to discuss Larry Brown as a writer and his profound influence. I didn't come to Brown until about 1996 or so and read some short stories of his. The one that really hit me between the eyes was A Roadside Resurrection. If you haven't read that one just do yourself a favor and read it.
I must have come across his collection Facing the Music next. Well, I was starting to see that this guy was really writing about the sort of people I grew up around my entire life. I read Joe. After I read Father and Son I knew this guy was my new favorite writer. The monkey fight scene is so amazing and weird. I'd read a lot of Harry Crews before that and I wondered if there was someone around who was writing in the same vein. Despite what some folks I say I was just amazed at how he handled Fay in the novel of the same name. I won't say much more here but I will say Larry Brown is a certifiable genius. In his interviews which you can read in Conversations with Larry Brown, Edited by Jay Watson, he's very matter-of-fact and is proud of his hard work and ability to withstand rejection. He's a real inspiration to me and I just felt awful when he died back in 2004. It was like my own uncle had passed. I'd also recommend films: The Rough South of Larry Brown, by Gary Hawkins and Big Bad Love. ]]>
Amen to that. ]]>