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Sudie
Sudie's best friend, Mary Agnes Clark, describes how, in Georgia in the 1940s, the young Sudie becomes involved with Simpson, an embittered Black widower, who finds in the girl a daughter who needs him
280 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 1, 2026
Sudie is another of my beloved hardcover books that walked away back in the late 80s, early 90s by a so-called friend. I say so-called because stealing from friends is the lowest of lows, especially after denying I loaned out the book to her. Sadly, this little book has long been out of print.
Unknown to me, my BFF went searching for it to gift me this past Christmas. She located a gently used first edition (1986) hardcover copy at a teeny roadside used book store in the small village of Shongaloo, Louisiana, of all places, but I digress.
REVIEW: Sudie, a historical fictional poignant coming of age story set in the racially segregated South during the 1940s, revolves around a small Georgia town. The narrative is told by Sudie’s best friend, Mary Agnes Clark, an opinionated, uninformed and gossipy 10 year old character (she’s a riot in her storytelling! 😂). She narrates in a Georgian backwoods dialect.
She relates the life of the lonely and neglected nine year old Sudie who is largely ignored by her family and has endured hardships, including abuse. Seeking solace from her harsh home life, Sudie ventures into the woods along the railroad tracks, where she discovers and secretly befriends Simpson, an acrimonious black widower who lives and hides in an old abandoned house. Isolated by grief over his lost wife and child, and burdened by the deep seated racism of the era symbolized by the infamous sundown sign warning black people not to stay after dark, Simpson becomes a source of comfort and understanding for Sudie.
Simpson finds in Sudie the daughter he never had. In return, she receives the genuine kindness, love and understanding that have been absent from her own life.
Their forbidden cross-racial friendship becomes a quiet act of defiance and healing, but it faces the threat of the town’s prejudices and inevitable discovery, leading to heartbreaking consequences that ripple through the community.
The novel explores loneliness, prejudice, unlikely bonds, the turning of blind eyes to a pedophile due to his higher societal position, compassion and the innocence of childhood clashing with societal bigotry. It offers a heartfelt portrayal of human connection amidst racism, shedding light on the complexities of relationships in an era plagued by racial discrimination.
(An aside: Contrary to what Wikipedia states, my state of Louisiana had eight sundown towns at some point during the Jim Crow years. In fact, the small town of Pollock that is mentioned, didn’t remove their statue of a black man with a sign, complete with a noose and the N word, until the early 80s, nearly 20 years after the Jim Crow era.)
I highly recommend this little novel as a must read for anyone interested in 1940s rural Georgian history and the Jim Crow period in the South. Check both online and brick and mortar used book stores for a copy. You won’t be disappointed.
Unknown to me, my BFF went searching for it to gift me this past Christmas. She located a gently used first edition (1986) hardcover copy at a teeny roadside used book store in the small village of Shongaloo, Louisiana, of all places, but I digress.
REVIEW: Sudie, a historical fictional poignant coming of age story set in the racially segregated South during the 1940s, revolves around a small Georgia town. The narrative is told by Sudie’s best friend, Mary Agnes Clark, an opinionated, uninformed and gossipy 10 year old character (she’s a riot in her storytelling! 😂). She narrates in a Georgian backwoods dialect.
She relates the life of the lonely and neglected nine year old Sudie who is largely ignored by her family and has endured hardships, including abuse. Seeking solace from her harsh home life, Sudie ventures into the woods along the railroad tracks, where she discovers and secretly befriends Simpson, an acrimonious black widower who lives and hides in an old abandoned house. Isolated by grief over his lost wife and child, and burdened by the deep seated racism of the era symbolized by the infamous sundown sign warning black people not to stay after dark, Simpson becomes a source of comfort and understanding for Sudie.
Simpson finds in Sudie the daughter he never had. In return, she receives the genuine kindness, love and understanding that have been absent from her own life.
Their forbidden cross-racial friendship becomes a quiet act of defiance and healing, but it faces the threat of the town’s prejudices and inevitable discovery, leading to heartbreaking consequences that ripple through the community.
The novel explores loneliness, prejudice, unlikely bonds, the turning of blind eyes to a pedophile due to his higher societal position, compassion and the innocence of childhood clashing with societal bigotry. It offers a heartfelt portrayal of human connection amidst racism, shedding light on the complexities of relationships in an era plagued by racial discrimination.
(An aside: Contrary to what Wikipedia states, my state of Louisiana had eight sundown towns at some point during the Jim Crow years. In fact, the small town of Pollock that is mentioned, didn’t remove their statue of a black man with a sign, complete with a noose and the N word, until the early 80s, nearly 20 years after the Jim Crow era.)
I highly recommend this little novel as a must read for anyone interested in 1940s rural Georgian history and the Jim Crow period in the South. Check both online and brick and mortar used book stores for a copy. You won’t be disappointed.
December 31, 2011
What a marvelous story about friendship, kids innocence, and the relationships with others.
This story is set in the 1940's and is about a lonely young girl in a small Georgia town that secretly befriends a black man that no one knows is living there. The relationship that develops is so sweet and innocent yet forbidden.
Well worth the read.
This story is set in the 1940's and is about a lonely young girl in a small Georgia town that secretly befriends a black man that no one knows is living there. The relationship that develops is so sweet and innocent yet forbidden.
Well worth the read.
March 15, 2025
je l’ai reçue à noël pis c’était le 2 alors que j’ai pas lu le 1
JAVAIS 11 ANS CEST TELLEMENT TROMATISANT
LA FILLE SE FAIT VIOLER ET MOI JE LIT SA TRANQUILLEMENT JETAIS TELLEMENT MAL À LAISE QUE JE LAI PAS FINIE
pis c’est full raciste
JAVAIS 11 ANS CEST TELLEMENT TROMATISANT
LA FILLE SE FAIT VIOLER ET MOI JE LIT SA TRANQUILLEMENT JETAIS TELLEMENT MAL À LAISE QUE JE LAI PAS FINIE
pis c’est full raciste
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2008
Another southern fiction novel - a white girl, Sudie, meets a black man in the woods by her town (Simpson). He is kinder to her than her own family and they form a bond until events occur that may tear them apart permanently. Hard to find copies. I just happened upon this book and the author about 15 years ago.
July 16, 2008
Another one of my favorite southern novels.
August 22, 2014
Slow to start, but ultimately interesting. Limiting the point of view to Mary Agnes creates a distance between Sudie, Simpson and the reader that is sometimes off-putting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews