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Brighten the Corner Where You Are
This story of a day in the life of Joe Robert Kirkman, a North Carolina mountain schoolteacher, sly prankster, country philosopher, and family man, won the hearts of readers and reviewers across the country.
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
23 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Fred Chappell
106 books120 followersFred Davis Chappell retired after 40 years as an English professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997-2002. He attended Duke University.
His 1968 novel Dagon, which was named the Best Foreign Book of the Year by the Academie Française, is a recasting of a Cthulhu Mythos horror story as a psychologically realistic Southern Gothic.
His literary awards include the Prix de Meilleur des Livres Etrangers, the Bollingen Prize, and the T. S. Eliot Prize.
His 1968 novel Dagon, which was named the Best Foreign Book of the Year by the Academie Française, is a recasting of a Cthulhu Mythos horror story as a psychologically realistic Southern Gothic.
His literary awards include the Prix de Meilleur des Livres Etrangers, the Bollingen Prize, and the T. S. Eliot Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
May 12, 2020
Maybe I'm too much of a realist to enjoy this one, but I felt duped and tricked by this novel. First of all, it's narrated by the protagonist's son, who was not present at any of the scenes in this book, not even at school, and how would he know what his father was thinking. Secondly, it descended into magical realism in the last part of the novel, and thirdly, the last 3 chapters were so esoteric as not to be understandable, at least by me. I know this gets high ratings from others, but I can't go there.
February 3, 2013
Brighten The Corner Where You Are is a novel about Joe Robert Kirkman, a farmer who lives in the mountains of North Carolina. Joe Robert teaches. Teaching is something he is forced to do because he needs the money, but it is also something he's good at. Fred Chappell's book is about a single day during which this storytelling prankster's event filled life pushes him into situations where his humor, imagination, and capacity to think makes the lives of the people around him better. At the same time Brighten The Corner Where You Are takes on deeper issues about the responsibilities of educators.
The book starts out with a prologue about Joe Robert and his son walking in the early morning toward their barn to feed and milk their cows. It's not dark, because the moon is huge. In fact the moon is so big that it is overbearing. So Joe Robert takes it down and places it in one of the steel containers he has for the milk. Joe's son, who is also the story's narrator, is horrified by this action and convinces his father to put the moon back where it belongs. This first part of the novel is what I would call magical realism, while what happens after that is more along the lines of exaggerated story telling. But whatever label is used, the writing is beautiful and works on multiple levels.
On the surface the story is about a teacher who knows he will have to face the school board that day, because he's been accused of teaching something improper. He's nervous about his upcoming trial and wants to make a good impression, but events keep tumbling his way that bruise his body and dirty his clothing. Still, he keeps moving forward through his day.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the way it covers the Creationism vs. Darwinism argument. Kirkman seems to be saying that the actual argument is not whether people were created by God in the exact form they are in today or descended from another type of primate. The real argument is can people have the complete truth revealed to them or do they need to constantly search for truth, getting closer and closer to the goal but never quite reaching it. There are also multiple incidents in the book that make Joe Robert question what he does for a living. One of those incidents makes him wonder if the desire for knowledge is the cause of pain, while others argue against that simplistic answer.
Brighten The Corner Where You Are is perfect for readers who like books that are fun to read, but still cover complex issues.
Steve Lindahl - Author of Motherless Soul
The book starts out with a prologue about Joe Robert and his son walking in the early morning toward their barn to feed and milk their cows. It's not dark, because the moon is huge. In fact the moon is so big that it is overbearing. So Joe Robert takes it down and places it in one of the steel containers he has for the milk. Joe's son, who is also the story's narrator, is horrified by this action and convinces his father to put the moon back where it belongs. This first part of the novel is what I would call magical realism, while what happens after that is more along the lines of exaggerated story telling. But whatever label is used, the writing is beautiful and works on multiple levels.
On the surface the story is about a teacher who knows he will have to face the school board that day, because he's been accused of teaching something improper. He's nervous about his upcoming trial and wants to make a good impression, but events keep tumbling his way that bruise his body and dirty his clothing. Still, he keeps moving forward through his day.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the way it covers the Creationism vs. Darwinism argument. Kirkman seems to be saying that the actual argument is not whether people were created by God in the exact form they are in today or descended from another type of primate. The real argument is can people have the complete truth revealed to them or do they need to constantly search for truth, getting closer and closer to the goal but never quite reaching it. There are also multiple incidents in the book that make Joe Robert question what he does for a living. One of those incidents makes him wonder if the desire for knowledge is the cause of pain, while others argue against that simplistic answer.
Brighten The Corner Where You Are is perfect for readers who like books that are fun to read, but still cover complex issues.
Steve Lindahl - Author of Motherless Soul
June 30, 2009
This book is full of quotes that just beg to be quoted: "The truth was, in fact, so sacred to my father that he generally refused to profane its sanctity with his worldly presence."
It could easily be titled "One Day in the Life of the Man 'everybody knows and who doesn't understand'". It is full of wisecracking one-liners, profound truths, unusual words that have been pleading to be spoken and scenes that, I think, will remain in my memory for a long time. Without a doubt the best debate on evolutionary theory I've ever heard takes place between the "hero" of the book, the author's father, Joe Robert, who teaches high school to students he wants to "keep up with modern thought" and be well-informed so that they can "understand the world they live in", and the student who appoints himself "Socrates". The hero of a novel doesn't usually let himself be twisted and spiraled into such statements as, "Socrates, if you don't shut up, I'm going to give you a fat lip and a black eye and a bloody nose. Stuff that in your dialectic and smoke it." let alone into an admission that he loved Socrates until he met him personally.
Witty and fun and insightful, this is a book I recommend to... everyone.
It could easily be titled "One Day in the Life of the Man 'everybody knows and who doesn't understand'". It is full of wisecracking one-liners, profound truths, unusual words that have been pleading to be spoken and scenes that, I think, will remain in my memory for a long time. Without a doubt the best debate on evolutionary theory I've ever heard takes place between the "hero" of the book, the author's father, Joe Robert, who teaches high school to students he wants to "keep up with modern thought" and be well-informed so that they can "understand the world they live in", and the student who appoints himself "Socrates". The hero of a novel doesn't usually let himself be twisted and spiraled into such statements as, "Socrates, if you don't shut up, I'm going to give you a fat lip and a black eye and a bloody nose. Stuff that in your dialectic and smoke it." let alone into an admission that he loved Socrates until he met him personally.
Witty and fun and insightful, this is a book I recommend to... everyone.
March 15, 2009
This book was bizarre -- in a good way. It felt like Where the Red Fern grows meets the Scopes Monkey trial told by Richard Bach in a stream of consciousness journal entry. The story was a fun read - it all takes place in one very long and odd day for a nutty high school teacher. There were a couple of sections that I still don't really understand, and I could have done away with the last two pages, which were a bit of a hammer over the head in case I didn't get the point, but all in all, I'm glad I read it and won't soon forget it.
December 7, 2025
Borne along by its humor and unreserved benevolence.
April 21, 2018
Initially, the title, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are," attracted my attention. After all, this is one of my daily goals, to bring compassion and warmth to those around me, friends, family, and strangers.
At first, I felt like I was duped into reading this book. The paragraphs stretched on forever- eight or ten sentences, sometimes saying what could be said in one sentence. Once I got over that, I began to relax and settle into the story.
The real gem of the story is Joe Robert Kirkman, does brighten the corners where he is, just not in the traditional sense. Joe is a passionate schoolteacher, (who claims he doesn't want the job) and will stop at nothing to get his student's attention whether it be ridiculous pranks, creating dialogue with goats, or pretending to be controversial historical figures that he knows will bring unwanted attention to his teaching methods.
My parents were school teachers, and this book brought back memories, and had me laughing out loud. No, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are," is not a self help book, but it could be in the sense that getting out of your head and viewing the world as a fascinating place, awaiting your discovery could be helpful. I recommend this book as a gift for science teachers especially (because the main character holds a deep reverence and fondness for science) or anyone who likes to read about country life.
At first, I felt like I was duped into reading this book. The paragraphs stretched on forever- eight or ten sentences, sometimes saying what could be said in one sentence. Once I got over that, I began to relax and settle into the story.
The real gem of the story is Joe Robert Kirkman, does brighten the corners where he is, just not in the traditional sense. Joe is a passionate schoolteacher, (who claims he doesn't want the job) and will stop at nothing to get his student's attention whether it be ridiculous pranks, creating dialogue with goats, or pretending to be controversial historical figures that he knows will bring unwanted attention to his teaching methods.
My parents were school teachers, and this book brought back memories, and had me laughing out loud. No, "Brighten the Corner Where You Are," is not a self help book, but it could be in the sense that getting out of your head and viewing the world as a fascinating place, awaiting your discovery could be helpful. I recommend this book as a gift for science teachers especially (because the main character holds a deep reverence and fondness for science) or anyone who likes to read about country life.
November 24, 2017
Despite the title of this book sounding like some sort of self-help, it is not. This book defies description. But would you ever think an account of milking a cow could be poetic? Me either.
“Nudging head and shoulder into the comforting flanks, washing the teats and squeezing them gently at first in case of soreness and gradually building into rhythm, stream after straight stream as regular as the stately heart of the animal, bright jets of milk Xing to fill the pail with warm lace, with delicate foam that touched his knuckles like a spiderweb. These days, these hours, were of life the cream supreme...”
Much of it is like this, telling of the ordinary in extraordinary detail without being effusive or corny. And telling of major events your average joe would go on and on about in a matter of fact way.
It’s day in the life, it’s tall tale, it’s folk tale and mystical realism. It’s painterly art and sturdy sculpture, it’s the fantastic made real and the ridiculous put out in the light. It’s a weird weird book, there’s no getting around that. But I found myself smiling through most of it. And I’m really a grumpy cat sort who usually reads morbid stuff, so I think that’s a bit... extraordinary.
“Nudging head and shoulder into the comforting flanks, washing the teats and squeezing them gently at first in case of soreness and gradually building into rhythm, stream after straight stream as regular as the stately heart of the animal, bright jets of milk Xing to fill the pail with warm lace, with delicate foam that touched his knuckles like a spiderweb. These days, these hours, were of life the cream supreme...”
Much of it is like this, telling of the ordinary in extraordinary detail without being effusive or corny. And telling of major events your average joe would go on and on about in a matter of fact way.
It’s day in the life, it’s tall tale, it’s folk tale and mystical realism. It’s painterly art and sturdy sculpture, it’s the fantastic made real and the ridiculous put out in the light. It’s a weird weird book, there’s no getting around that. But I found myself smiling through most of it. And I’m really a grumpy cat sort who usually reads morbid stuff, so I think that’s a bit... extraordinary.
July 20, 2022
One of the finest, most intelligent, most delicately humorous, most magnanimous voices in fiction I have ever read.
June 6, 2021
At first, I didn't think I would enjoy this book too much as Joe tells such tall tales or comes across to his points in a convoluted manner and that's just not my type of character. However, being from the region where Chappell places the setting, I ended up enjoying the exaggeration and the preposterous events of the day in the life of a mountain school teacher more. A tangle with a bobcat and falling out of a tree, the rescue of a drowning little girl, a general science class, the discovery of "hidden" rooms in the school's boiler room, an encounter with a goat, and a meeting with the school board over evolution. My book club read this book and I am interested in hearing their take on it next month.
June 3, 2017
I like this author's writing. It's down to earth as well as ethereal and all a wonderful expression of the human condition, especially that of the good folk who live in western North Carolina. Just charming.
September 7, 2020
I know this book is supposed to be all that. It probably is all that. But the author's style got on my nerves, and so did the main character, so I liked it enough to finish it, and I actually laughed out loud a few times.
January 13, 2019
This book was definitely not what I expected. I don’t understand why this book was highly rated, but I’ve come to the conclusion that certain people will like this kind of book; probably those people who like the movie “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”. I found nothing funny or amusing about this movie, others love it. Maybe the same for this book...you either love the bland humor or not. So about this book...as I realized this was actually a story about a DAY in chronological order, I think it was focusing on Joe Robert Kirkman, a teacher in the 1940’s. He’s spent the night with friends who are hunting. They hear the dogs barking at something and Joe Robert makes up a story about the creature they’ve trapped in a tree. He even goes so far as going to the tree, climbing it, and trying to capture the animal. But the animal escapes and Joe Robert just falls out of the tree. How he expected to go to teach school the next day is not believable to me, but this is the 1940’s. Plus on the way to school Joe Robert saves a little girl from drowning.
So the big issue at school is Joe Robert having to meet with the school board at the end of the day. Could he lose his job? Slowly it’s come to me that the meeting could have to do with Mr. Kirkman teaching evolution in the classroom. Since it goes against religious beliefs, parents probably would not be happy, resulting in a board meeting. So we’re made to read about Joe Robert’s school day...teaching classes, finding a secret room where the janitor hangs out, and even chasing after a goat, getting him up on the roof and falling in the chimney. A great day of education, right? So the meeting does finally take place, but Joe Robert is probably so tired, hungry, and worn out from the day’s events that he goes to the meeting, announces he’s quitting, has second thoughts in the lavatory, goes back to the meeting but the board members have left, does a newspaper interview that’s supposed to be about saving the girl this morning; but it turns out he may be offered another job to give his educational opinions to the government. So maybe in the long run it was a good thing that he quit? I honestly couldn’t read the last “chapter” called Darwin. The corner where I am certainly was not brightened by reading this book.
So the big issue at school is Joe Robert having to meet with the school board at the end of the day. Could he lose his job? Slowly it’s come to me that the meeting could have to do with Mr. Kirkman teaching evolution in the classroom. Since it goes against religious beliefs, parents probably would not be happy, resulting in a board meeting. So we’re made to read about Joe Robert’s school day...teaching classes, finding a secret room where the janitor hangs out, and even chasing after a goat, getting him up on the roof and falling in the chimney. A great day of education, right? So the meeting does finally take place, but Joe Robert is probably so tired, hungry, and worn out from the day’s events that he goes to the meeting, announces he’s quitting, has second thoughts in the lavatory, goes back to the meeting but the board members have left, does a newspaper interview that’s supposed to be about saving the girl this morning; but it turns out he may be offered another job to give his educational opinions to the government. So maybe in the long run it was a good thing that he quit? I honestly couldn’t read the last “chapter” called Darwin. The corner where I am certainly was not brightened by reading this book.
May 8, 2019
This cannot be considered a novel in the truest sense. It is a "tall tale" that follows the speaker's father through the exploits (and lies and misadventures) of a single day. Don't get me wrong...it was an enjoyable read. It reminded me of mountain folk sitting around a fire telling tales, but was written with wonderful literary skill. Conversational in quality, the writer is obviously well-educated and skillful in his art. His character, Joe Robert Kirkman, starts the day as a well-dressed teacher at his local high school, expecting a meeting in which he will have to defend himself for teaching evolution as a possible theory to his science students (and expecting to be sacked in the process). In the course of a single day he turns into a ragged clown, so disheveled by the day's experiences (which incidentally included saving a little girl from drowning) that the school board doesn't even recognize him when he pops in briefly to say "You can't fire me, I quit!" I had some issues with the talking goat and other unbelievable parts of the day's ordeals, but after all, this is a "tall tale." It was amusing and interesting and mostly fun. However, I would love to read a more serious piece of writing from Fred Chappell.
March 20, 2018
This book focuses on one beautiful day in a simple, but fulfilled life. It follows a man who cannot tell a lie and his interactions with his students and the community. You can't help but fall in love with him. A surprisingly enjoyable read.
August 19, 2018
a day in the life of a farmer-teacher, and oh what a day of drama it is. Companion book to the recommended (but not available) I AM ONE OF YOU FOREVER. Easy read; makes me want to find/read the recommended one. 1989, via Berea Library, author rec. by CE (CS) from Jacksonville, FL, hardback
June 12, 2025
Never been the kind of reader that finds a book laugh out loud funny, but this book regularly made me smile.
The 2nd of 3 books by Fred Chappell that I’m reading for an OLLI class. First was good and filled with quirky characters. This book is one day in the life of a school teacher filled with quirky events.
Readability - 8
Fun - 9
Content - 7
“He loved geology, the way I loved catfish marmalade.”
“My father understood things I could never understand, but I knew already that he would not understand the dilemma I was in now.”
“Poor people have got plenty enough problems without you hitting them.”
“What if he was to say he saw your grandmaw giving titty to a xxxxxx man?
I felt my neck and ears burn. It embarrassed me to hear him talk.
It’s often said that the n-word is used by authors to have authentic and realistic language. To each of those authors and n-word supporters I say…. Then why don’t you/we give descriptive accounts of each time a character defecates? Or at least an occasional description of their defecations.
The 2nd of 3 books by Fred Chappell that I’m reading for an OLLI class. First was good and filled with quirky characters. This book is one day in the life of a school teacher filled with quirky events.
Readability - 8
Fun - 9
Content - 7
“He loved geology, the way I loved catfish marmalade.”
“My father understood things I could never understand, but I knew already that he would not understand the dilemma I was in now.”
“Poor people have got plenty enough problems without you hitting them.”
“What if he was to say he saw your grandmaw giving titty to a xxxxxx man?
I felt my neck and ears burn. It embarrassed me to hear him talk.
It’s often said that the n-word is used by authors to have authentic and realistic language. To each of those authors and n-word supporters I say…. Then why don’t you/we give descriptive accounts of each time a character defecates? Or at least an occasional description of their defecations.
May 23, 2023
Fred Chappell is quickly becoming not only one of my favorite Southern writers but one of my favorite writers, period. It's his playfulness I like most, the way he deftly mixes high-brow philosophical themes with low-brow humor. "Brighten the Corner" is a Quixotian tale of an intelligent-yet-silly high school teacher who limps his way through a series of absurd setbacks only to triumph at the end, albeit barely. I laughed from start to finish, and I can't wait to read more from this low-key legendary writer.
December 17, 2024
This second book in the story of the Kirkman family probably cemented Fred Chappell as one of my new favorite authors. Rich, lively, hilarious, audacious, incredibly readable — it’s a rollicking day in the life of a country school teacher who can’t get out of his own way, and you wouldn’t want him to. Brilliantly evokes a time and place (1946 rural North Carolina) suffused with beauty, sadness and the surreal happenings of folk legend. Can’t wait to read the last two books in this series, then probably everything else Chappell has written.
February 17, 2025
A day in the life of a sometimes schoolteacher. First, he cares for his farm animals and then he rescues a small girl from a creek. Once he gets to school, he meets with the parents of one of his former students, gets stuck on the school roof with a goat, leads his students in a Socratic discussion, finds a hidden lair in his school, quits his job, gets interviewed for a newspaper article, finds his favorite student is secretly married, and heads home. Charming. What a day!
January 10, 2020
I'm at a loss for words to describe how much I loved this book. I shared it with my younger sister when it first came out and we quote portions of it back and forth to each other to this day. This is one of those books that you can read every year and still thoroughly enjoy. Thank you Fred Chappell!
June 26, 2021
Amazing underrated work of fiction. A day in the life of one man will make you think on many different planes and see your own life in a new way. Philisophical, charming, and funny. I love the North Carolina small town setting as well. You can tell the author is thinking back on their own life experience as they write. Might have to read some more Fred Chappell.
July 2, 2021
Excellent comedic novel. I understand complaints about the narrator not being present during the events of the story, yet somehow knowing all actions and thoughts of those involved, but I forgive the author (this is magic-realism for the most part) on this seeming error of perspective. Look forward to more Fred Chappell.
March 5, 2021
This intelligent, excellent writer demonstrates in one day's time how to live a life and how to teach critical thinking. In the end, he is tired of talking about "what if?" and wants nothing more, after being in education for decades, to go home and farm.
July 31, 2017
This delightful yarn of a book makes you think while it entertains.
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2017...
http://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2017...
July 26, 2018
J'ai beaucoup aimé le personnage du père, sa façon de voir les choses, l'humour, les histoires décalées. Un régal
April 28, 2020
I continue to be in awe of this author. Loved this book. Absolutely LOVED I am one of you forever, this is a very good continuation. Now to the next one.
September 4, 2020
A delightful book I thoroughly enjoyed reading.
November 24, 2020
a gem of a book
January 20, 2021
Funny anecdotes of Joe Robert Kirkman, a teacher in N. Carolina. From facing a bobcat high in a tree, to coaxing a goat off the roof of the school, he catapults from one calamity to the next!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews