Jenn's Review: A Little Death in Dixie

Summary:  The Blues were born out of need, anger and pride. Murder comes from those same dark places. Memphis has both. One of Memphis' most seductive and notorious socialites has vanished. Either she's off on another drunken escapade or the disappearance is something much more frightening. What begins as an ordinary day's work for Detective Billy Able quickly grows into a complex spider's web of tragedy, mystery, suspicion, and sordid secrets including a few of Billy's own. With the help of Mercy Snow, the estranged sister of the missing socialite, Billy follows a twisted trail of human frailty and corruption to disturbing truths that undermine everything he thought he knew about himself and the people he loves.

Review:  This was a very slow start, but eventually took off.  I didn't have any expectations for this book, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the plot and breadth of the story telling.  However, that's not to say it was flawless. 

Lisa Turner writes this story from different viewpoints, Billy the detective, Mercy the sister, and Buck the Judge, and Dexter the coroner.  Because of that, I think it took me a little longer to warm up to the characters. Turner eventually settles on Billy as the central character, but I almost wish it was Mercy.  While it would have made it harder to tell some of the meat and bones of the case, it would have given it more of an emotional pull.  I found Mercy to be interesting, but perhaps a little underdeveloped. 

The plot has lots of twists and turns and even surprised me a little, which is not easy to do.  I won't divulge the end but I was impressed with the complexity of the plot.  The devil is in the details, though, and there were many that need to be attend.  Although, for the most part these details weren't central to the plot, they were distracting, for example the dog from the car accident with 30 stitches that is up moving around the next day or the slightly muddled section where the coroner goes investigating... The ending was solid and well resolved. 

All in all, this was a solid debut novel from Lisa Turner, and I will be interested to see how her writing develops.

Final Take:  3.5/5

Alice's Review: Sold

Summary:  Lakshmi, 13, knows nothing about the world beyond her village shack in the Himalayas of Nepal, and when her family loses the little it has in a monsoon, she grabs a chance to work as a maid in the city so she can send money back home. What she doesn't know is that her stepfather has sold her into prostitution. She ends up in a brothel far across the border in the slums of Calcutta, locked up, beaten, starved, drugged, raped, "torn and bleeding," until she submits. In beautiful clear prose and free verse that remains true to the child's viewpoint, first-person, present-tense vignettes fill in Lakshmi's story. The brutality and cruelty are ever present ("I have been beaten here, / locked away, / violated a hundred times / and a hundred times more"), but not sensationalized. An unexpected act of kindness is heartbreaking ("I do not know a word / big enough to hold my sadness"). One haunting chapter brings home the truth of "Two Worlds": the workers love watching The Bold and the Beautifulon TV though in the real world, the world they know, a desperate prostitute may be approached to sell her own child. An unforgettable account of sexual slavery as it exists now.  Hazel Rochman for Booklist

Review:  I know we should never judge (or buy) a book by it's cover, but I did just that when I picked up Sold by Patricia McCormick.  The eyes of the young girl on the cover were so haunting and raw, I knew right away I wanted to know her story.  After reading the summary on the back, I was sold.  Not only did this novel tell a story about a culture I’m not at all familiar with, her was a life so different from mine, I found it completely fascinating.

To be honest¸ I’m not quite sure where to begin. This has been a very difficult review to write because of the subject matter.  Childhood prostitution and slavery are heartwrenching topics.  Heartwrenching isn't even the right word, it's much more severe than that.  It's sick and preverted.  It blows my mind that something like this is allowed to happen in the world.
 

This work of fiction is beautifully written and reads like a diary of a thirteen-year-old girl sold into prostitution by a step father who cared more about his clothes than the protection of his family. She grew up in a culture where “a son will always be a son, they say. But a girl is like a goat. Good as long as she gives you milk and butter. But not worth crying over when it’s time to make a stew.”  Lakshmi had a life that was never hers to live as she choose.  Her life was dictated to her, from how long she was allowed to study to whom she married.  Her allies in this book are Ama, her mother and her pet goat, Tali. 

I loved the relationship between Lakshmi and her mother. Her mother taught her to be strong, to dream. I believe her mom taught her everything she needed to know in order to be strong enough to endure what was to come. 

There is so much in this book that stuck with me.  Lakshmi went from a girl imprisioned but with a strong spirit “But I do not cry.”  To someone who was so emotionally and physically broken that during the rape she says, “Then I understand: I was the person crying.”  She wants nothing more than to hold onto her life with her mother and pet goat Tali.  My absolute favorite line is this:

“Trying to remember, I have learned, is like trying to clutch a handful of fog. Trying to forget, like trying to hold back a monsoon.”

Although the subject manner was hard to read without feeling anger and sorrow at the injustice for Lakshmi and the other girls in the brothel, I'm glad that I read it. It opened my eyes to something I can't believe actually exists. 

Final Take: 3/5

Julie's Review: Promises To Keep

Summary: Callie Perry is a happily married photographer with two wonderful kids, a lovable sister, Steffi, and a best friend, Lila. Problems are minor: Steffi can never settle down, Lila has finally found love but the guy has a nightmare of an ex, and Callie and Steffi's divorced parents haven't spoken in 30 years. But then Callie, a breast cancer survivor, is diagnosed with a rare and incurable complication of the disease. Suddenly realizing that she has only months to live, she begins the painful process of saying good-bye. While the subject matter is intense and personal, it's far from depressing; the characters are warm, funny and realistic. Green (The Beach House) manages to create an authentic tale of a woman who truly loves her life and family and is trying to do the right thing for them before she dies. While Green breaks up her chapters with recipes (presumably because Steffi is a cook), this peculiar modern conceit in women's literature feels like a misstep. Overall, Green once again delivers an enjoyable emotional story. ~amazon.com

Review: Well people, Jane Green has knocked this one out of the park. I always find her books delightful, light read and while Promises to Keepis delightful and wonderful, it is anything but light. I think in part because writing this book for Jane was personal and also because it deals with a pretty heavy subject.

We are first introduced to Steffi and immediately I like her,even if she is a bit of a lost soul. It seems like she's finally taking charge of her life and well we don't even know alot about that life. She's a vegan chef who is head chef at a successful NYC restaurant. Through the book she makes positive changes in her life that bring her out of NYC and into the countryside. This provide Steffi a way to start her own business and become successful at it. It also removes her from the lifestyle she was used to living...rock star's girlfriend.

We then meet her sister Callie and while I liked Callie, I thought she was almost a bit too perfect. Let me say this, it made feel utterly inadequate as a mother and wife. She had no problem with her husband travelling and her being left to run her business and raise the kids. She was used to is and didn't mind it. This just rang a bit false to me but maybe that's because at my kids ages (5 and 2.5) I need my husband around or I'll go crazy. Also, the relationship with her huband Reece seemed to good to be true as well. They were even more in love than when they first got married? Really? What's the secret? :) Don't get me wrong I adore and love mine but life is so different than when we first got married, I don't have time to think if I love him more or less. I just love him. This is the part of the book that bothered me because if you are young and impressionable then this is what you think marriage is and well it isn't. Do we all hope/wish for this yes? Does it occur? I'm sure but it's not prevelant.

Lila, Callie's best friend is a major part of the book as well. I really liked Lila, a lot. She was real, down to earth and a strong, independent soul. She has finally found the love of her life at 42 and is now ready to go to the next step. She sticks with Callie through thick and thin and is there for her as she battles the disease. She's a wonderful "aunt" to Eliza and Jack.

The book is truly about family and friendships, about hard times and rallying around each other to get through them. It's about coming together to support those you love the most and need you the most. It's about finding out that Love really is a verb.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great Labor Day read. You'll breeze through it and find yourself crying and laughing.

Swapping Lives and The Other Woman will always be two of my favorite from her. I will keep by her books because I know when I sit down to read them, in the end I will be satisfied.

Final Take: 4.25/5

Giveway: Come Sunday

We are thrilled to be able to giveaway a copy of Isla Morley's debut novel Come Sunday.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, you must:

1. In the comments section, tell us how you follow our blog (Google Friend, Twitter and/or our Facebook page).
2. Tell us what excites you about this book and why you want it
3. Enter the contest by September 9th at Midnight EST.
4. Be a resident of the US or Canada.

Good luck!!

UPDATE: Come Sunday has just won the 2010 Kafka Prize! Congratulations to Isla Morley!

Author Interview: Isla Morley

Yesterday, I reviewed a wonderful book, Come Sunday by Isla Morley. She was kind enough to answer my questions.

GJR: I didn’t really like Abbe but I didn’t dislike her either. I felt for her but I also felt that she was self-absorbed and not really mindful of others around her. Was this intentional on your part or just how the novel/character unraveled?

Isla Morley: It’s more important that we somehow relate to her, even in a small way. Haven’t we all had those days when we’re not our best selves? Abbe, before the tragedy, is flawed, she’s got baggage, she’s wounded beneath that layer of irritability. And after the tragedy, she’s ripped open. You see her at her worst, but you gradually begin to see her get better. And so “liking” isn’t as important as hanging in there with her, pulling for her and hoping she’ll find a patch of peace where she can be herself. I think we’re cautious to judge her; who knows what we’d be like in her situation? But if we’ve endured just a little bit of suffering, we know that it can make us very self-absorbed. The journey, then, is moving from that position to a more outward- or other-oriented one. If Abbe had started off being Mother Teresa and ended up in the same place, what’s the point? And the same applies to us. I’d have to say that from the onset I knew she’d have to make that inner journey, but the extent of it and all the ramifications along the way were mostly her doing. By the end of the book, I think I’d learned almost as much as she did.

GJR: In my opinion, I don’t think you have to love the heroine to enjoy a book. Would you agree?

Isla Morley: This is a tricky question. Some readers like to fall in love. They meet the main character in the first paragraph and by the end of page one, it’s a full-blown crush. I probably fall into this category most of the time. And this is all well and good when page one opens on a rainy day when our heroine has to cast aside her journal where she has just been recording her latest dieting failure to go apply a tourniquet to a soldier all shot up with shrapnel. But what if the story shows our heroine in a pitbull mood setting fire to her kitchen curtains? Maybe we’re not so quick to give away our heart. For this book I’ve written, I’m deeply grateful for those readers who are the slow-burners, who eventually grow to love the heroine and as they do, become fiercely loyal.

GJR: Before the tragedy, you can almost see the writing on the wall for Abbe and Greg. Why did you decide to have them move apart rather than come together?

Isla Morley: Again, this wasn’t my doing as much as it was Abbe’s. And Greg’s too. They choose different paths, and rather than Abbe relying on Greg to heal her pain and save the day, she realizes she has to do it herself.

GJR: Obviously where we are raised has a tremendous influence on who we become, how do you feel that South Africa shaped Abbe? Do you think her experiences were different because of the political turmoil there?

Isla Morley: Most definitely. Abbe was battered from living with a violent father, but she was also wounded by the violence in her own country. She was terrorized for much of her early life, and instead of dealing with it, she relocated. So the next big trauma comes along, and suddenly she’s confronting everything: the death of her daughter, the abuse of her father, her mother’s untimely death, as well the injustices and atrocities she’s witnessed in the land of her birth. Healing can only come when she deals with the issue of blame, figures out what forgiveness looks like, and tests her heart rubbed raw to see if it’s willing to risk again.

GJR: Why title the novel “Come Sunday”?

Isla Morley: It’s the title of a great song by Duke Ellington. There’s a refrain in it that says, “God of love, look down and see my people through.” We all go through great trials, but the song speaks of hope, like it’s shining through grey clouds and falling on the path just up ahead. I thought this was perfect for Abbe’s struggle, and also for the struggle of her homeland.

GJR: What are some of your favorite books that are set in South Africa? Or books that are about South Africa?

Isla Morley: My Traitor's Heart by Rian Malan; Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog; Towards the Mountain by Alan Paton; The Smell of Apples by Mark Behr; Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller (although she writes about the neighboring countries of Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia), and The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.

GJR: Since this is your first novel, did you have any preconceived notions about writing a book? What is easier or harder than you thought?

Isla Morley: I had no preconceived ideas at all, particularly since I didn’t set out to write a novel. It started out as a vision, of sorts, and after I told my husband about it, he told me to make a note of it. So, the next day, I did, except the note starting getting longer and longer, and eighty pages into it some three months later, I said, “Hang on a mo’.” It only got hard when my next thought was, “You silly girl! You’re writing a novel! Quick, go look up how to do it.” All the advice was paralyzing. Finally, I had to put it all aside and tell myself what I tell my daughter almost every day, “Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

GJR: Are you working on a new novel? If so, can you tell us the premise?

Isla Morley: I am working on something, yes. But no, I can’t tell you about it. If it makes you feel better, I didn’t show my husband the manuscript of Come Sunday till it was almost ready to be sent to an agent.

GJR: What are you currently reading?

Isla Morley: I just started Anne Tyler’s book, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurantand I am still wading through Steinbeck’s East of Eden.

GJR: What authors do you always go back to? What books do you gravitate towards reading over and over again?

Isla Morley: I like literary fiction with the redemption theme, stuff that makes me cry, and I like books where I just marvel at the craft. Cormac McCarthy, Annie Dillard, Carol Shields, Richard Russo. For the first time since college, I am about to re-read a book: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. For wit, Anne Lamott and Bill Bryson.

I want to thank Isla Morley for taking time to answer my questions. I'm definitely going to have to check out some of those books regarding South Africa!

You can also find her on Facebook, Isla Morley's Page.

(photo courtesy of Molly Hawkey)

Julie's Review: Come Sunday

Summary: In her poignant first novel, former South African magazine editor Morley explores a mother's grief. Abbe Deighton, part-time journalist and full-time wife and mother, finds herself living in Hawaii with her preacher husband, Greg, and precocious three-year-old daughter, Cleo, thousands of miles from her South African birthplace. Her flight from an abusive father and complicit mother is not accidental—her poet brother also fled to America—and when Cleo is killed in a car accident, Abbe re-examines the choices that have brought her so far from home. She and her husband become estranged as he turns to God and forgives the man who killed their daughter while Abbe descends into self-pity and anger at the unfairness of life. Their marriage suffers and Greg loses his job, forcing Abbe to turn homeward for financial help. Upon returning to South Africa, she confronts the ghosts of her family's past and the reality of her homeland's future. Morley convincingly depicts a grief-stricken woman without resorting to clichés, and though she telegraphs the resolution of Abbe's plight early on, the storytelling, line by line, is rather beautiful. ~amazon.com

Review: Come Sunday is one of those books where place has a great influence on the character. This is true for Abbe who grew up in South Africa. Not only is it the place but it's what happened to her there that shapes her personality. I didn't particularly care for Abbe or identify with her. Sure, my heart went out to her because she loses her daughter in a horrific accident but she's not really likable.

I don't think I liked Abbe because Abbe doesn't like herself. I understand there are times in our lives, especially for women, where we lose sight of our self. We lose it to work, family, children and husbands. Her husband, Greg, seemed more concerned about his flock at the church than what was going on at home. It's only after the tragedy with Cleo, where Greg starts to pay attention and by then it's too late.

I loved the way Ms. Morley's prose stands out in the novel. It's her writing and weaving of the old South African traditions that get me through the book. There are some remarkable passages throughout the book that really spoke to me but here is just a sample of one:

It seems to me the older I get, the more I yearn for my past. For the neighborhoods I grew up in, the little community events, my old school pals. I suspect that if I went back there I would still feel nostalgic. So it's a deceptive thing, isn't it? Nostalgia traps you into believing the past was better than what's up ahead. ~page 177

Isn't that so true? It's because we can re-create the past to be what we believe it to be and the future is so unknown that we can't do anything about it in our heads.

The book takes us from the shores of Hawaii to the mountains/plains of South Africa. Going to South Africa is going home for Abbe. It is here in South Africa where she learns the truth about her family, specifically her mother and learns about forgiveness. What it takes to forgive and how to forgive herself. Forgiveness is one of the hardest lessons to learn because it means learning to let go.

There are some terrific secondary characters in the novel. From her brother Rhiaan, her sister-in-law Cicely, Jenny and Beauty.

I would love for Ms. Morley to explore the relationships between whites and blacks in South Africa. Much like Kathryn Stockett did in The Help. South Africa is a place rooted in history and trying to change. This is what intrigues me.

I'm looking forward to what Ms. Morley explores in her next novel.

Final Take: 3.75/5