On the Southern Literary Trail discussion
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Buddy Read: The Clearing by Tim Gautreaux
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I agree, Diane, he makes you bleed right along with his characters.Yes, Candi, I think we could plead equal culpability.
Like Sara, I've left everything possible undone today because I just cannot put this book down. My goodness . . . I need a massage because my whole body is "tight as a tick" trying to finish this one. Almost done.
And my sweet hubby just called and offered to pick up Chinese take-out on his way home since he sensed I might not be cooking tonight :-)
Oh Diane, I love that description of the swamp. I'm so glad I can read about it rather than walk through it.And Chandler, blessed indeed to have such understanding in a relationship.
The Chinese food was good, but the book was better! I do have a good man. Whew - I'm relieved to get out of the clearing alive. What a read. I'm not sure how to hide spoilers, so I won't post any "reveals." I mainly wanted to chime in on all the comments here so far. I agree with Leanne that the brotherly love in this one is touching. These men made so many sacrifices for each other. As Candi brilliantly put it, Byron was indeed a "crushed soul." Also Candi, the relationship between Merville and Father Schultz, and their gentle, non-judgmental conversations, was one of my favorites in the book. This story did overwhelm my senses at times, Tom - I often felt overloaded with grit and in need of a shower - but I think that was the nature of the place. Diane, you have an outstanding memory: "He wondered if the many-fanged geography rubbed off on people, made them primal, predatory?" What a line. Laura, last year when Diane and I saw Ron Rash, I remember being amazed that a man who could write a book like 'Serena' had such a great sense of humor. I would love to have attended the panel you chose - Gautreaux and Rash?! To those who are still reading this or about to start, I look forward to your comments. Sue, the train ride is just the beginning of one heck of a journey. Thank you Sara for setting up the thread and for sharing your final thoughts on this one - perfect. 'The Missing' is now a must-read for me. I raise a toast to Kirk and the 'Trail' for yet another outstanding read.
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Still waiting for my copy of The Clearing to show up. Used books are a mixed experience, buying-wise. Some show up super fast, others meander their way to me. Natural disasters do not help. We had to order a new copy of our marriage license (as my husband misplaced file with our papers while I was bedridden & I still have not found it, sigh) & we were told UPS sent it by way of Florida somewhere around Hurricane Irma. Anyway, looking forward to the read.
Chandler and Laura...you are going to love The Missing.Kim, sorry it is taking so long for your copy to arrive. I know that feeling! We'll still be wanting to hear your reaction whenever you get to read it.
Well, it’s not as if I do not have other books to read, ;-). Just frustrating when they are sitting on a shipping dock somewhere.
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True, Diane - I owe him one. Your meal sounds perfect for a sultry October dinner. Kim, do you use an e-reader? I've had good success finding hard-to-get books on Hoopla through my library. And free. If not, this book is worth the wait.
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Laura, I'm not totally sure if each of us has access to the same material. My understanding is that Hoopla is a "national" book source. Whatever they have digitally stored on their site is accessible to anyone, but access to the site requires a local library membership. My Hoopla app also allows 8 borrows per month. Check your Hoopla and see if 'Lamb In His Bosom' is there. That might be a way to test my theory, since Hoopla is the only way I could find this book.
Well, it should be here by the 23rd. I have an e-reader, but like physical books as I lend them to friends & family, then send them onto friends on the East Coast.
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I'm not sure, Laura. I'm new to it, too. What I DID discover is that if I download a book but return it immediately (in my case, I didn't like the start of the book), it still counted toward my borrows for the month. So beware the download button :-)
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Laura, it starts at the first of the month. I sometimes binge-borrow around the 29th 😜
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Since I have been out of town for a week or so I haven't contributed anything to the discussion of this remarkable book. But in catching up on the comments I am happy to see that the acclaim is apparently unanimous. I have also read some excellent reviews written by those who have been participating. Here is my review that I earlier posted after reading the book:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I'm still reading--over half way finished. What an amazing book. I just read your review again, Howard, and it resonates even more as I have knowledge of this place and these people. The blind horse almost seems like a metaphor for all of the people...hoping somewhat passively to survive, not really having a clue where he is or what the world is around him but simply existing and reacting. And he has no name...he's Everyman.
Marvelous observation about the horse, Sue. It struck me that the horse was living on trust and that in the end he was left on his own, live or die, succeed or fail...all up to him. In the end, that was all these people had as well, their own will to survive.
Sue wrote: "I'm still reading--over half way finished. What an amazing book. I just read your review again, Howard, and it resonates even more as I have knowledge of this place and these people. The blind hors..."Great insight, Sue. I had not thought about that, but I think you are squarely on target.
I also enjoyed re-reading your review, Howard and especially like how you describe this one as a "journey tale." Excellent points by all about the horse, one of my favorite 'characters' (along with Merville and Minos Thibodeaux and Father Schultz).
I finished very early this morning -- actually I found I couldn't stop and had to continue to the end. I imagine some of you felt the same at various points. Thank you all for a great buddy read and discussion. I won't soon forget The Clearing.
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Did y'all know Tiger Island is a real place? Morgan City is its name now and serves as a major helicopter port serving the offshore rigs and platforms. I flew in and out of there twice a week while I was working offshore but until reading the book, I never knew that it used to be called Tiger Island. Loved learning that!Also, on the topic of bizarre family names, the mayor's named "Boo." There's your little bit of Louisiana for the day!
I dated someone who was an oceanic engineer and flew off and on oil rigs in Louisiana back in the day. Wonder if he flew out of there. One thing I remember was his telling me about a time it rained and rained, and when he was about to try and head to his car, he realized the parking lot was writhing with snakes (cottonmouths/water moccasins) that had been flooded out of their normal hidey-holes. He decided company did not pay him enough to try and make it across the lot to his car, so he took a vacation day. This brought to mind another friend who lived in the lower segment of San Antonio and had to be careful as snakes got into the toilets and if one left the lid up, into the hallways of her childhood home. Bbrrr! I am with Indiana Jones on that one. Although when I worked at the UC Botanical Garden, we were constantly running into snakes in inconvenient places...the rattlesnakes we came across in the restroom and sunning themselves on the step into the greenhouse were very Zen, at least. The one that got dropped at my feet by a hawk wounded and exceedingly irritated was less so, I was startled but had enough presence of mind to let him work himself into the underbrush while counting myself lucky the hawk did not drop him ON me.
Kim wrote: "I dated someone who was an oceanic engineer and flew off and on oil rigs in Louisiana back in the day. Wonder if he flew out of there. One thing I remember was his telling me about a time it rained..."WOW!!!!!!!!!!11
I do not have an inordinate fear of snakes, but I would not wish to live where they occupied my toilets or fell from the skies. :)
Kim wrote: "I dated someone who was an oceanic engineer and flew off and on oil rigs in Louisiana back in the day. Wonder if he flew out of there. One thing I remember was his telling me about a time it rained..."BTW, have you read Serena? A snake falls out of the sky there too!
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Well, and these were all encounters with venomous snakes, which are even more disconcerting and fear-inducing. I always remember the snake scene in True Grit. And the true life experiences of my grandmother beating one to death on her front steps with a broom when I was six, and my brother killing a baby rattler that popped up when we were working on his garden, he weed-whacked it. Later that same summer he killed a big one in the garage, shot it. Their housing development in Texas was new, displacing flora and fauna, and the snakes seemed to be hard to convince that they no longer lived there. Always kind of thought they had a point.
I have Serena on my Kindle, intend to read it. Have heard a lot about it, and like Ron Rash.
I don't think I'll ever forget the snakes, Diane! *shudder*