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Where the Lake Becomes the River
by
Kate Betterton creates an unforgettable extended Southern family and vividly brings to life its dreams, its disappointments--and yes, even its beloved ghosts.
Hardcover, 378 pages
Published
October 1st 2008
by Novello Festival Press
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I'd like to know what others think of this book. It's a fascinating read on many levels-- sometimes it reads a little like To Kill a Mockingbird, sometimes like A Thousand Years of Solitude, and sometimes like a debut novelist trying to wrestle a big story into shape. It's not from a big New York publisher, so it's not going to get big attention unless others try it and like it.
This book won the Novello Literary Award. It is a bookclub book. I didn’t hate this. I liked the story line. I liked the main character. The story is about Parrish McCullough. Her father dies when she is 6. She spends the rest of her childhood trying to figure out life vs. death. Race relations plays a big part in the storyline. The author starts the book in Mississippi out right before Parrish goes to college. Then she takes us back to when Parrish was born in Japan. One of the things I thought
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Kate Betterton writes brilliantly, with vivid settings and interesting characters, but the story hammers a life of doom and gloom. Parrish, an artistic and gifted child, dwells on death. Her school essays all recount the theme of death and hopelessness. The story begins in Japan, after WWII, but quickly changes to Mississippi with its racial tension and the supremacy of the Klu Klux Clan. Betterton explores the problems of Southern life: the tension between the "blacks" and the "whites", the dis
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This novel reminds me that good fiction tells deeper truths than non-fiction ever can. Betterton is a local author (Chapel Hill) who grew up in the Mississippi Delta, where her novel is set. Through the voice of character Parrish McCullough we follow the development of her family, meeting a wide range of characters -- human and ghostly -- and dealing with racial issues during the Civil Rights era. Parrish spends a great deal of time pondering death and what follows this life on earth. Betterton'
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I've known Kate for several years and she is a wonderful person and a great writer. This book touched me. It explored major issues such as racism and death. It was well written and the characters were full and believable.
I enjoyed reading this even though it is outside of my normal genre (sci-fi/fantasy). The only part I did not like was the very last chapter. The entire book follows one character, Parrish, but the last chapter is about her descendants and has totally different main characters, ...more
I enjoyed reading this even though it is outside of my normal genre (sci-fi/fantasy). The only part I did not like was the very last chapter. The entire book follows one character, Parrish, but the last chapter is about her descendants and has totally different main characters, ...more
Oct 28, 2008
Amy (Bossy Bookworm)
marked it as to-read
2008 Novello Literary Award, for what that's worth
May 31, 2009
Lynn Shurden
added it
A MS writer who explains the Delta in such a way that all can understand it. Great read!
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Kate Betterton grew up in the Mississippi Delta, and has lived in Minnesota, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. She now makes her home in North Carolina.
Kate's new novel, THE ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SURVIVAL, a quirky metaphysical literary romance, is now available in paperback and as a Kindle e-book edition, on Amazon:
Synopsis: Billy Charbonneau, a charismatic young homeless man, ...more
Kate's new novel, THE ROMANTIC'S GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SURVIVAL, a quirky metaphysical literary romance, is now available in paperback and as a Kindle e-book edition, on Amazon:
Synopsis: Billy Charbonneau, a charismatic young homeless man, ...more
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