Scan barcode
emzpiney's review
1.0
Although this book dealt with an important historical issue, I just really didn't connect with any of the characters. I thought it was all sort of melodramatic, with people acting in ways that weren't necessarily consistent or realistic. And the ending was a real disappointment.
tshrope's review
2.0
The writing style of this novel seems to be typical of the new writers coming out of Writers’ Workshops these days; generic. While the stories and settings are different, the overall style and tone of these new “serious” novels are the same. It’s as if they are all part of an upscale chain of restaurants. The formula seems to be: write prose that are better than average (but nothing too difficult, esoteric, lyrical or original), and write about a serious subject (war, slavery, Jim Crow laws) and you will get critical acclaim and sell a lot of books. After reading just a few pages in one of these books I know I am reading a book by an author that was part of a “workshop or writers group.”
Set in 1913 in rural Tennessee, this story is about two couples one white and one African-American. The African American couple, the Welles’, sharecrop on the farm owned by the white couple, the McNaughtons. Trouble brews when the John Welles abandons his wife and 4 children with nary a word and Alex McNaughton falls in love with Annalaura Welles, John’s wife.
While the story held my interest and attention, I did not find the characters all that believable. Alex McNaughton actually believes that his wife will have no problem bringing his black mistress and children into their house to live with them--Really? He is a Southern born and bred man who knows the order of things in the South at the time; not even he could be that obtuse or love-stricken to think this was going to fly. Most of the secondary characters are stereotypical white Southerners. Eula, John’s wife seems to be the most believable character, but she is really not a pivotal character. And I think the hardest thing to swallow is we are led to believe Annalaura is a smart woman, but with the last paragraph of the book I think we have to re-think that notion too.
Between the generic writing style and the less than believable characters I think this book is about 2 ½ stars. I also did not come away from reading this book feeling I had read something original or had any new insights.
Set in 1913 in rural Tennessee, this story is about two couples one white and one African-American. The African American couple, the Welles’, sharecrop on the farm owned by the white couple, the McNaughtons. Trouble brews when the John Welles abandons his wife and 4 children with nary a word and Alex McNaughton falls in love with Annalaura Welles, John’s wife.
While the story held my interest and attention, I did not find the characters all that believable. Alex McNaughton actually believes that his wife will have no problem bringing his black mistress and children into their house to live with them--Really? He is a Southern born and bred man who knows the order of things in the South at the time; not even he could be that obtuse or love-stricken to think this was going to fly. Most of the secondary characters are stereotypical white Southerners. Eula, John’s wife seems to be the most believable character, but she is really not a pivotal character. And I think the hardest thing to swallow is we are led to believe Annalaura is a smart woman, but with the last paragraph of the book I think we have to re-think that notion too.
Between the generic writing style and the less than believable characters I think this book is about 2 ½ stars. I also did not come away from reading this book feeling I had read something original or had any new insights.
lizjane's review against another edition
3.0
Annalaura is a sharecropper with 4 children whose husband has taken off without explanation. She tries to bring in the tobacco crop as promised to the white landowner, but even with the children's help it is impossible. The landowner starts to take an interest in her that isn't very businesslike, and none of their lives are the same again.
aartireadsalot's review
4.0
Page From a Tennessee Journal revolves around four people. Eula Mae has been married to Alex McNaughton for over twenty years. They have no children, a hole that she feels keenly. She loves her husband, but he hardly pays her any attention. She takes pride in anticipating all his needs and wants. But Eula Mae sometimes wishes that she could be more intimate with her husband; she just doesn't know how to apprise him of that fact without him thinking her too forward or, worse, a hussy.
Annalaura is a sharecropper on Alexander McNaughton's farm. Her husband, John, left some months ago without a word and now she is desperately trying to feed and clothe her four children on her own, with no money. She doesn't think John will ever return, and she is terrified that McNaughton will turn her out of her home if she doesn't bring in a good tobacco harvest. Sure enough, Alex McNaughton comes to check on her plot's progress, only to find it not performing up to par. He finds Annalaura attractive, though. Very much so. And so he brings her food to feed her children in exchange for spending the night with her. And then he keeps bringing gifts. And keeps spending the night.
Meanwhile, John Welles is in Nashville making as much money as he possibly can so that he can get his family its own farm. This is taking longer than he expects, though, and he is gone for well over a year. When he returns and sees the state of his family, everything begins to unravel. John and Alex must come to terms with their own feelings about their wives and their families, and Annalaura and Eula Mae must decide how to respond to a world that may very well turn on them.
I found both Annalaura and Eula Mae very easy to sympathize with. They were both victims of situations beyond their control, but they never pitied themselves. Each was so strong and dignified and so heartbreakingly realistic about things. In contrast to the women in this story, the men were very hard to sympathize with. I liked both of them, kind of. But I was mostly very ambivalent towards them both. John is charming and seems to believe he is doing what's best for his family (even if what's best for them is starvation for a year while he's off in Nashville). I only began to feel sympathy for the male characters towards the end of the book. Up until then, they both acted so selfishly (and even to the end, Alex seemed pretty delusional) that it was impossible for me to feel any empathy towards them. They never once wondered about how their actions would affect other people, least of all their wives, or what might happen in the future and how it might be dealt with. Alex, especially, was so unaware of the fact that Eula Mae might have feelings while being so concerned about everything having to do with Annalaura that I wanted to hit him. Multiple times. I wanted to hit John, too, but not as hard. The way that the men justify their behavior is painful to my feminist sensibilities.
I liked that Howard wrote this story within the constraints of societal norms without making her characters stereotypical. There wasn't the caricature white villain, or the victimized black woman. Everyone was fleshed out and believable.
Full review at:
http://aartichapati.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-page-from-tennessee-journal.html
Annalaura is a sharecropper on Alexander McNaughton's farm. Her husband, John, left some months ago without a word and now she is desperately trying to feed and clothe her four children on her own, with no money. She doesn't think John will ever return, and she is terrified that McNaughton will turn her out of her home if she doesn't bring in a good tobacco harvest. Sure enough, Alex McNaughton comes to check on her plot's progress, only to find it not performing up to par. He finds Annalaura attractive, though. Very much so. And so he brings her food to feed her children in exchange for spending the night with her. And then he keeps bringing gifts. And keeps spending the night.
Meanwhile, John Welles is in Nashville making as much money as he possibly can so that he can get his family its own farm. This is taking longer than he expects, though, and he is gone for well over a year. When he returns and sees the state of his family, everything begins to unravel. John and Alex must come to terms with their own feelings about their wives and their families, and Annalaura and Eula Mae must decide how to respond to a world that may very well turn on them.
I found both Annalaura and Eula Mae very easy to sympathize with. They were both victims of situations beyond their control, but they never pitied themselves. Each was so strong and dignified and so heartbreakingly realistic about things. In contrast to the women in this story, the men were very hard to sympathize with. I liked both of them, kind of. But I was mostly very ambivalent towards them both. John is charming and seems to believe he is doing what's best for his family (even if what's best for them is starvation for a year while he's off in Nashville). I only began to feel sympathy for the male characters towards the end of the book. Up until then, they both acted so selfishly (and even to the end, Alex seemed pretty delusional) that it was impossible for me to feel any empathy towards them. They never once wondered about how their actions would affect other people, least of all their wives, or what might happen in the future and how it might be dealt with. Alex, especially, was so unaware of the fact that Eula Mae might have feelings while being so concerned about everything having to do with Annalaura that I wanted to hit him. Multiple times. I wanted to hit John, too, but not as hard. The way that the men justify their behavior is painful to my feminist sensibilities.
I liked that Howard wrote this story within the constraints of societal norms without making her characters stereotypical. There wasn't the caricature white villain, or the victimized black woman. Everyone was fleshed out and believable.
Full review at:
http://aartichapati.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-page-from-tennessee-journal.html
jessieweaver's review
2.0
A glimpse into the life of a sharecropper family in 1913. I liked this ... but then some parts read like p*rn to me, so that was disappointing.
mochagirl's review
4.0
Howard's wonderful debut, Page From a Tennessee Journal, is not only a testament to her family, but also a revealing peak into a shameful aspect of American history. Although the book is tagged as a work of fiction, its premise and themes reflect the social, political, and racial attitudes and views of the American South in the early twentieth century.
The novel focuses on two couples, one black family with young children and their white landowners, a childless couple who "leases" their acreage under a sharecropping arrangement. The reader is immediately thrown into this era from the vivid descriptions depicting the harsh farm life, back-breaking, weary work under a relentless sun, and hunger pangs and weakness of the children. The inner dialogues, thoughts and interactions illustrate the social morals and values of the day and it does not take long for the white male landowner to lustfully claim the entrapped, desperate black mother as his concubine in the absence of her wayward husband. This concept of "paramour rights" was a common (and widely accepted) practice at the time; black husbands and white wives were left to accept this "arrangement" as hurt, bitter, angry, often powerless outsiders who had no choice but to tolerate the situation and endure the shame, pain, and embarrassment in silence. Ironically, the book not only illustrated the plight of a certain class of African Americans who were systemically relegated to second-class citizenship; but also illustrates the financial/legal/social subjugation and emotional alienation imposed on white wives along with their frustrations and limitations. The novel gains more momentum when the husband comes home to claim his wife against the white landowner's wishes. History tells us that such an objection could be deadly for the husband and his sons.
The characters were well drawn, the situations were steeped in realism, and the historical aspects, pacing, and dialogue were spot on. I thought the writing was solid and above par for a debut. The only nit (albeit a small one) was with the novel was with the ending; it was a bit too open as I would have liked to have a bit more closure on the fate of the characters.
This book was provided at no cost to the reviewer from the Amazon Vine Voice program.
Reviewed by Phyllis
May 15, 2010
APOOO BookClub (Online)
Nubian Circle Book Club (Orlando, FL)
The novel focuses on two couples, one black family with young children and their white landowners, a childless couple who "leases" their acreage under a sharecropping arrangement. The reader is immediately thrown into this era from the vivid descriptions depicting the harsh farm life, back-breaking, weary work under a relentless sun, and hunger pangs and weakness of the children. The inner dialogues, thoughts and interactions illustrate the social morals and values of the day and it does not take long for the white male landowner to lustfully claim the entrapped, desperate black mother as his concubine in the absence of her wayward husband. This concept of "paramour rights" was a common (and widely accepted) practice at the time; black husbands and white wives were left to accept this "arrangement" as hurt, bitter, angry, often powerless outsiders who had no choice but to tolerate the situation and endure the shame, pain, and embarrassment in silence. Ironically, the book not only illustrated the plight of a certain class of African Americans who were systemically relegated to second-class citizenship; but also illustrates the financial/legal/social subjugation and emotional alienation imposed on white wives along with their frustrations and limitations. The novel gains more momentum when the husband comes home to claim his wife against the white landowner's wishes. History tells us that such an objection could be deadly for the husband and his sons.
The characters were well drawn, the situations were steeped in realism, and the historical aspects, pacing, and dialogue were spot on. I thought the writing was solid and above par for a debut. The only nit (albeit a small one) was with the novel was with the ending; it was a bit too open as I would have liked to have a bit more closure on the fate of the characters.
This book was provided at no cost to the reviewer from the Amazon Vine Voice program.
Reviewed by Phyllis
May 15, 2010
APOOO BookClub (Online)
Nubian Circle Book Club (Orlando, FL)
kristaj's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the book and the story, which I think is based on truth from the authors family history. SO glad I did not live in this era. To not be allowed to love someone because of the color of their skin has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. :(
More...