Welcome to another week of Noontime Book Chat. This week, we are discussing Going Down South, a book written by Bonnie J. Glover.
Before I begin discussing the first part of this book, I want to make mention my feelings about Southern Literature. This might come as a shocker, but I really don’t like it whatsoever. I can just picture some of you right now, eyes staring your monitor like it’d just grown two screens, asking the most logical question. Why in the world did you accept this book to review? Better yet, why have it for a Noontime Book Chat?
My answer is this. I don’t judge a book by its genre. If I did, I’d miss a lot of good books. A good example would be this book. Going Down South is probably the best book, at least so far, that I’ve read in this genre. Most are polluted with southern jargon. I think the authors do this for realism, but I find it offensive and belittling. Up to this point, Glover has adequately depicted an era, the 60’s, with grace and style. To keep it real, she sprinkles in terms such as “coochie” - a word I haven’t heard in a very long time. Her sentence and phrasings are a work of art as well as highly addictive. I found myself not wanting to close the book last night.
The book is divided into different points of view. The first part of the book is told in Olivia Jean’s young voice. Olivia Jean, her mother, Daisy, and father, Turk Stone currently live in New York until Olivia Jean finds herself pregnant. As to not bring shame on the family, her parents head to Cold Water Springs, Alabama to Daisy’s mother’s home so that she can give birth.
The pregnancy is surely an issue, but there is more drama to this. Olivia Jean worships her father, but she takes a backseat in his life. Turk is self-absorbed person. He can’t stay home for very long and when he's gone, it's for periods of time. The only stable one is Daisy, but she’s distant with her daughter.
What did you all think of Olivia Jean’s only request for her birthday was for her father to sing her a song and what Turk did? I wanted to get the broom after him like Daisy did at the beginning. Did that part really stand out for you? If not, what part did?
This discussion will continue on throughout the week. If you are just now tuning in, here is this week’s schedule:
Monday: J. Kaye’s Book Blog
Tuesday: Peeking Between the Pages
Wednesday: Literarily
Thursday: She Is Too Fond of Books
Friday: APOOO Book Club
Grab a copy and come join us as we read a portion of this book each day and discuss it at noontime.
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29 comments:
Okay I'm here to chat if that's allowed. The scene that you've mentioned, when Olivia Jean asks her father to sing to her, was a very difficult scene to write. Striking that balance -- showing how her father was so fickle and Daisy even more so. They weren't giving Olivia Jean what she needed as a child, as a daughter.
So, you didn't feel as though Daisy needed a swift kick in the keister too?
Bonnie G
Hey Bonnie!
**Big Wave**
Actually, no, I reserve the right to judge Daisy for later. She's with a man who she suspects isn't faithful. Any woman who has been in her shoes with children shouldn't judge so harshly. (My opinion.)
This is the 1960s, not 2008. Life was different and again, in my opinion, she was lucky to have a steady job. Some didn't. She was also raising Olivia Jean by herself when Turk would take off.
I think there is more to her story and maybe there is a reason she is the way she is. I'll hold off until I read more.
Oh and as far as allowed...lol...you are the author. Hon, your book is the star of the show. The welcome mat is always out for you. :) You are an amazing writer!
I am not sure abt Southern LIT.. I can't say I hate it :)
And well I can't discuss anythign :( I have not read it :) But i m sure I will!
um - interesting that we seem to let women off the hook so easily. understand what you're saying about reserving the right to judge until later but if we are talking about being a mother -- there were (and still are) plenty of good mothers out there that do a better job of taking care of their children than Daisy. You're giving her a pass because her husband was a cheater?
I'm not trying to be harsh but boy are you "sweet."
I've read emails from males who tell me that they think Daisy is horrible, mean and a b----. They don't mince words. Interesting that you see her a bit differently. Does this mean that men would read the book differently than a man?
Yay! I'm so glad Bonnie is joining us :)
J.Kaye, I have to echo your positive comments about the lack of "southern dialect". There was just enough to set us in the time and place, without distracting.
I was so sad for Olivia in this scene. And, yes, I wanted to shake both Turk and Daisy!
(J.Kaye, I haven't been able to get my hands on the book. I lent my copy to a friend out-of-state, and the copy at our library is checked out. The good news is that the library bought that copy based on my request, and that someone else is reading it and disovering Olivia and her family :) Please check your email for a note from me)
I'm about 50 pages in and still have no idea what Turk was doing when he would be gone for days at a time, but he IS a man, after all, so I have my suspiscions.
You know, I think the whole issue of a husband loving his wife more than his children is a very fine line. Obviously, in this case, it really bothered the child. I think that, growing up, I always felt like my dad loved my mom more than my sister and I and that she was more important to him than us, but only slightly and I found it reassuring versus demeaning.
I guess I said all of that to say this - obviously there is more going on in this family and I need to keep reading to see what it is exactly!
You know, if you had asked me even a year ago if I liked Southern fiction, I would have said no. But I have read a few really great books from this genre lately that have changed my opinion.
J. Kaye - do you think the fact you live in the south makes you more discerning in terms of authenticity?
I wondered about that while listening to Darkfever. I was thinking, hmmmmm, I wonder if the narrator's accent seems authentic to J. Kaye. I mean, to me it does, but then, to my Midwestern ear, a southern accent is a southern accent and I can see where that totally would not be the case for you.
Shana
Literarily
Shana - don't get me started on accents! Do you know how many people butcher Boston accents?!
We don't "pahk tha cah in Hahvahd Yahd" all the time :)
I like the voices Bonnie employed in *Going Down South* because they seem real to me. Olivia Jean never knew the south, so she doesn't have a regional accent. Daisy may occasionally use a Southern regional phrase, but tends to add to the scene.
LOL @ Bonnie. No! I am not giving her a pass on that alone. I have to wait and see what made her that way. Sure, there were a lot of good mothers out there, but I've had a bad mother. I know what a truly evil mother is all about. I don't see Daisy being that way. I think something bad happened to her and I am waiting to hear her side before passing judgment.
Turk I can't excuse. He walks in and out of his child's life as well as his wife's. He's not driven out. Bad or good, Daisy doesn't walk out of her child's life for days at a time and is there when Turk returns. No she isn't perfect and yes, she is a bitch - so am I and so are many of the women I know, that doesn't justify what he does. On the flip side, maybe if Turk had be faithful and not had coals under his feet, she wouldn't have been so abusive. Again, that's no excuse...but I'm just saying. If anyone has had a free pass it's men. Women need to stop putting up with second rate men as though it's okay. Gosh, I hope my daughter won't pick someone like that. Doubt it since her father isn't, but Daisy would have been a happier person if she stopped waiting for Turk to return from where ever he'd go.
There is a reason we do what we do, I am holding out judgment for her until later.
I am a Southern Man at the core but I lived in New York and New Jersey for a number of years and also have lots of relatives in the Northeast. I don’t understand the dislike of Southern genre books outside of the jargon. We still force students to read Shakespeare and he continues to be embraced in stories written in a jargon that is foreign today.
One of the compelling things for me in reading Southern stories is that they slow down enough for you to connect with the characters and not get distracted by the noise and bright lights of the city. I was drawn in by Going Down South by the DNA connections of four generations. How the Grandmother is still trying in a backhanded way to raise her daughter, as to minimize passing flaws to her granddaughter and future great grandchild. Bonnie Glover’s website (www.bonnieglover.com) has excerpts from the book to give readers a flavor for the book and characters.
Going Down South has interesting character interaction like Daisy beating Turk with a broom at 4AM and Olivia being concerned that one of the neighbors would call the police if they didn’t stop the entire ruckus. She really loves Turk, but she will whip him when he doesn’t act right.
The book is about people, compelling and interesting in how they deal with the challenges and the pursuit of happiness. Geography and time are minor to me in this book. Bonnie Glover in her writing seem like a person that you would want to sit with and have a cup of tea or two just to hear her tell you a story.
NottHead
Well J. Kaye -
So many things I want to say but the first is that I'm glad that some are trying Southern lit. This was my first hand at it and I didn't want to overdo the dialect thing.
Ultimately, if nothing else, we know that both parents have failed Olivia Jean. But doubt if they even realize how "dysfunctional" hey all are. The song scene made sense because it was supposed to highlight the triangular nature of
their relationship -- Olivia Jean chasing Turk, Turk and Daisy chasing each other depending on the day
Shana - should a dad love his children more than his wife? You thought that as a child, did you resent it?
Is daisy supposed to love Olivia Jean more than Turk?
One of my pleasures in life is food. I can remember that when my mother served breakfast, my father always got the biggest plate of food. That pissed me off. I always wondered why.
Hey Dawn -
Ask your library to order another copy! Actually, if you email me thru my site, I will try to help you get a copy quickly.
Bonnie, I'm so glad you're dropping in our chats. That's just great!
Secondly, I wanted to slap both Turk and Daisy upside the head. Why have a child if you're going to make them feel so isolated. I was angry more than once reading about Olivia Jean not going back to the apartment because her parents were being 'busy'. Or all the times Turk had only eyes for Daisy and it was like Olivia Jean was an afterthought. The song scene-I think if I would have been Olivia Jean I would have walked away-that was completely insensitive.
I guess for me my strong opinion comes from being an only child and the apple of my papa's eye-still am at 42 yrs old. I don't have children so maybe I'm not entitled to an opinion but I think it's a fine line and it's wrong for either side to feel unloved. It hurts and that's what I feel from Olivia Jean.
Tomorrow, that will be my focus- Olivia Jean and some of what I've said here. I look forward to getting deeper into this novel and learning more of what's going on because, as we know, things are not always as they seem at first.
dawn ~ I just replied to your email. Let me know if that's doable.
Shana ~ I love what you said about the love between the two. I thought about the same thing. I wonder how much he really loved her or the sex. If she could no longer provide sex, would he still be around?
In Darkfever, she wasn't from Louisiana...lol! But she was still good. It could also be I am listening to True Blood shows and anything has to be better than that. The reader with Darkfever wasn't like listening to nails on a chalkboard, which is what most sound like. Her voice was pleasant and enhanced the story, didn't take away from it.
NottHead ~ Thank you for stopping by. Thank you for your point made about other "stories written in a jargon". I don't read those either. A couple of modern day authors came to mind, but I didn't want to mention names. I thought it would be a bit tacky, ya know?
Dar ~ You have me laughing so hard with "I wanted to slap both Turk and Daisy upside the head." You go!
Bonnie ~ With your comment "I didn't want to overdo the dialect thing." You balanced it perfectly. It was as smooth as butter to read....awesome.
Today has been great chatting with all of you. Loved the line about slapping both Turk and Daisy. I didn't like them so much either!
This sounds like a really good book! I am going to have to see if I can get a hold of a copy sometime soon! These noontime chats are so great!!
This sounds like an interesting book. I will have to add this to my wish list.
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/
It's been fun reading all your comments back and forth. I am looking forward to reading this book.
Bonnie, I didn't give Daisy a pass...maybe because I know as black moms (not a slight against white moms...but it can be a cultural difference in that many of us tend to put our kids before even our husbands) how we do it when it comes to our kids. Most of us don't men before our kids (or our spouse...but that's another book...lol).
As far as Turk...I told my husband about him...had him to read a few passages and he thought Turk was a jive-arze--you fill in the blank...lol. ;)
Hmmm...Southern fiction...see I don't consider this Southern fiction...is it because I'm African-American...the characters are African-American and so I consider it African-American fiction...if I had to put it in a genre I would probably say literary fiction...Daisy, Turk and Olivia Jean were city dwellers...who went down South because Olivia Jean got pregnant...but they had assimilated in the North and Olivia Jean know nothing about the South until she was forced to go down there. We didn't start this story with these characters in the South...and I really don't recall many scenes that are commonplace to Southern tales. Let's just say, after reading Going Down South, I didn't have the same feeling that I did after read or watching Roots. Or To Kill a Mockingbird. Or Gone With the Wind.
Is daisy supposed to love Olivia Jean more than Turk?
I love my husband more than my kids but in a different way...at the same I love my kids more than my husband...but in a different way. LOL. I share a conjugal bed with my husband that I don't share with my kids...but anybody that I brought into this world (ie my kids) ain't no way I'm going to allow any man, including husband mistreat them. In my household, we also understand our roles and limits. My kids, not to my knowledge, do not think I love my husband more than them...but I know in my heart I do because when I took my vows I said that I would put him before all others in so many words...but at the same time...hubby knows he's a grown arze man...and that there are certain things that he can do for himself...if the kids need me more. But, my kids also know that one day they will leave home and start their own families, and it will just be me and the hubby...so, there might be an underlying theme that 'mommy loves daddy more' but with my kids as long as they're getting their needs taken care and a few of their wants...I don't think they care one Iota...lol. Cause they know how to try and make it all about them. Not! :)
Hey Bonnie...that scene was sad and poignant. I couldn't imagine a father doing that to his daughter...well maybe an uneducated, UNloving one. Sigh. But Daisy wasn't a bed of roses either...lol.
Very well said Yasmin!
Yasmin - you are toooo funny. I understand where your husband is coming from but I do think we have to look at this book with a bit of a different perspective. It was 1960. Young girls were "ruined" they got pregnant. Not saying that he was right but he did act within the parameter (at least when he heard about pregnancy). I have an older friend, in her seventies and she told me that when she dropped out of college, her father refused to speak to her for quite sometime. He wanted the best for her and he was so disappointed that she was not going to get where he wanted her to be. Any chance this might be the case with Turk -- wanting more for Olivia Jean than she wanted for herself? Or was he just a bum all the wa around?
Sorry - that last post was from me.
Bonnie
Any chance this might be the case with Turk -- wanting more for Olivia Jean than she wanted for herself?
Hmmm...maybe but since I know how the book ended I believe Turk had some other issues. ;) He probably knew more than we were led to believe...initially.
April & naida ~ It is a book well worth reading.
Teddy Rose ~ I really hope that you'll join us in on of these chats. It's been a really neat experience for me. Each reader has a different point of view.
Yasmin ~ A book can have more than one classification. It can be both Southern Lit and African-American fiction. Books don't have to have one label.
I felt so bad for Olivia Jean in that scene. I didn't like Turk from the start, and I hated him in that scene. But it really showed what Olivia Jean was up against in trying to gain her parents' love. So sad.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
I agree, Anna. Turk was a bad guy all the way around.
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