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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Well. I just finished reading Gods in Alabama. And. Well. The ending sure sucker-punched my assumptions. Joshilyn Jackson has crafted a story that lassos you in and hog-ties you until you are done reading.
Arlene Fleet makes a deal with God. He won't tell on her, and she will be a good Southern Baptist. And she keeps to her side of the bargain, pushing off her family for a decade. Well, ok, that's probably not a good Southern Baptist. But she did promise to never return to Alabama. Then someone from her past shows up, dredging up old nightmares, and Arlene doesn't know what to do. What do you do when God doesn't hold up his end? It's not like she wants to revert ot the teenager she was, after all... She worked hard enough to bury that Arlene, as deeply as she can.
So. Since God broke the bargain first, she ends up making the trek back to Alabama, and she brings her boyfriend with her. Her African-American boyfriend. Because he insists on meeting her family, even when she tries to convince him that they're probably going to be the craziest people he's ever met in his life.
The cast of characters in Gods in Alabama make you laugh out loud, shake your head, and want to do a lil' straightening-them-up. But you want them to come out A-OK in the end, so you end up cheering the good decisions, too. Put aside some time for this one--you won't want to put it down once you've started reading.
Arlene Fleet makes a deal with God. He won't tell on her, and she will be a good Southern Baptist. And she keeps to her side of the bargain, pushing off her family for a decade. Well, ok, that's probably not a good Southern Baptist. But she did promise to never return to Alabama. Then someone from her past shows up, dredging up old nightmares, and Arlene doesn't know what to do. What do you do when God doesn't hold up his end? It's not like she wants to revert ot the teenager she was, after all... She worked hard enough to bury that Arlene, as deeply as she can.
So. Since God broke the bargain first, she ends up making the trek back to Alabama, and she brings her boyfriend with her. Her African-American boyfriend. Because he insists on meeting her family, even when she tries to convince him that they're probably going to be the craziest people he's ever met in his life.
The cast of characters in Gods in Alabama make you laugh out loud, shake your head, and want to do a lil' straightening-them-up. But you want them to come out A-OK in the end, so you end up cheering the good decisions, too. Put aside some time for this one--you won't want to put it down once you've started reading.
I'm only 20 pages in, but so far, I'm unimpressed. I picked this up because it was in the Guardian Review. It was on a list of notorious reads (can't remember the name of it) along with some cracking titles (e.g. "Boy A") so I thought it'd be worth a glance. Very first novel-ish, very chick lit, very meh. I'll soldier on in the hope that it'll get better.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
Arlene Fleet is a graduate student in Chicago, Illinois, who suspects that her boyfriend is about to propose to her...until he overhears a phone conversation with her aunt and suspects that she might be ashamed of him, as she's never taken him home to meet her family. He demands that she attend the party her aunt is trying to harangue her into going home for, and that she take him with her. A fight ensues. In the midst of it, a girl from Arlene's Alabama hometown shows up on Arlene's doorstep asking questions about a guy named Jim Beverly, and suddenly the book isn't a romantic comedy anymore, because Arlene knows exactly where--or, more accurately, what--Jim Beverly is, and that's dead. The rest of the book follows Arlene and Burr as they head down to Alabama to throw Rose Mae off Jim's trail, though Burr doesn't know that's the real purpose of the trip. Arlene is trying to work up the guts to tell him, but faced with everything against her, it's not exactly easy.
I thought I was absolutely going to love this book up until the last chapter. Five stars, all the way. The writing is phenomenal, and I can completely imagine Arlene, her crazy family, Rose Mae Lolley, Burr, and the small town of Possett, Alabama. I loved the multi-faceted way in which she portrayed not only Arlene, the grad student, good Southern Baptist girl, slut, and murderer, but also Jim Beverly, who could protect his girlfriend from her abusive father and usher a girl to the nurse's office so she doesn't have to be embarrassed by having blood all over her pants, but also turn into a violent drunk. Arlene and Burr's relationship was very real, with conflicts and bumps and moments when you think it might be over, but always lasting because they really and truly do know each other. I loved the way Burr dealt with Arlene's crazy, mostly-racist family, and I was really loving the book in general.
And then there was that last chapter. See, in the last chapter, Jackson pretty much unravels the gorgeous narrative she had built up until that point. I was expecting a House of Sand and Fog-type ending, and I would have been okay with that. That's not the way this goes, though. In the end, everyone gets away with what they've done, Jim is a monster after all, Arlene and her family are reconciled, and she and Burr presumably live happily ever after. It's just too perfect. Murder doesn't end that way. Or, it does, sometimes, but very, very rarely. Arlene & Co. are just primed to be starring on an episode of Cold Case 25 years from now. That last chapter knocked a couple of stars off my rating of this one. A more "flawed" ending for Arlene & Co. would have been more satisfying, I think; heart-wrenching, yes, but I think Jackson could have pulled it off if she tried. She just didn't try.
2.5 stars.
Arlene Fleet is a graduate student in Chicago, Illinois, who suspects that her boyfriend is about to propose to her...until he overhears a phone conversation with her aunt and suspects that she might be ashamed of him, as she's never taken him home to meet her family. He demands that she attend the party her aunt is trying to harangue her into going home for, and that she take him with her. A fight ensues. In the midst of it, a girl from Arlene's Alabama hometown shows up on Arlene's doorstep asking questions about a guy named Jim Beverly, and suddenly the book isn't a romantic comedy anymore, because Arlene knows exactly where--or, more accurately, what--Jim Beverly is, and that's dead. The rest of the book follows Arlene and Burr as they head down to Alabama to throw Rose Mae off Jim's trail, though Burr doesn't know that's the real purpose of the trip. Arlene is trying to work up the guts to tell him, but faced with everything against her, it's not exactly easy.
I thought I was absolutely going to love this book up until the last chapter. Five stars, all the way. The writing is phenomenal, and I can completely imagine Arlene, her crazy family, Rose Mae Lolley, Burr, and the small town of Possett, Alabama. I loved the multi-faceted way in which she portrayed not only Arlene, the grad student, good Southern Baptist girl, slut, and murderer, but also Jim Beverly, who could protect his girlfriend from her abusive father and usher a girl to the nurse's office so she doesn't have to be embarrassed by having blood all over her pants, but also turn into a violent drunk. Arlene and Burr's relationship was very real, with conflicts and bumps and moments when you think it might be over, but always lasting because they really and truly do know each other. I loved the way Burr dealt with Arlene's crazy, mostly-racist family, and I was really loving the book in general.
And then there was that last chapter. See, in the last chapter, Jackson pretty much unravels the gorgeous narrative she had built up until that point. I was expecting a House of Sand and Fog-type ending, and I would have been okay with that. That's not the way this goes, though. In the end, everyone gets away with what they've done, Jim is a monster after all, Arlene and her family are reconciled, and she and Burr presumably live happily ever after. It's just too perfect. Murder doesn't end that way. Or, it does, sometimes, but very, very rarely. Arlene & Co. are just primed to be starring on an episode of Cold Case 25 years from now. That last chapter knocked a couple of stars off my rating of this one. A more "flawed" ending for Arlene & Co. would have been more satisfying, I think; heart-wrenching, yes, but I think Jackson could have pulled it off if she tried. She just didn't try.
2.5 stars.
Audiobook - I really enjoyed this book. Great twists and turns of a complicated family in a small town.
Mystery element was okay.
The weird racist family side plot was 1000% not needed to move the story along and I don’t get why it was included.
The weird racist family side plot was 1000% not needed to move the story along and I don’t get why it was included.
I did not know where this was gonna go, and it surprised me all the way through it. Lots of character development, lots of twists and turns to keep you on your toes. I really enjoyed it!! Modern Mrs. Darcy has talked about Joshilynn Jackson for a long time, and this was my first book by her—probably won’t be the last!
This book was a mixed bag for me - lots of on the one hands, but on the other hands.
On the one hand, this is a pretty typical borderline chick lit book with the requisite whacky Southern family and a number of stereotypes that I wish Southern writers would begin to avoid. In this way the book is pretty cliched and that's irritating.
On the other hand, the relationships between Arlene and Burr and in particular her relationship with her Aunt Florence (a wonderfully written character) are dynamic and real and make the book worth reading despite the stuff on the other hand (already mentioned).
On the one hand, this is a pretty typical borderline chick lit book with the requisite whacky Southern family and a number of stereotypes that I wish Southern writers would begin to avoid. In this way the book is pretty cliched and that's irritating.
On the other hand, the relationships between Arlene and Burr and in particular her relationship with her Aunt Florence (a wonderfully written character) are dynamic and real and make the book worth reading despite the stuff on the other hand (already mentioned).
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars rounded up. I love the way Joshilyn Jackson writes about the nuance of life and race in the South. This story is a nice balance between plot and character. It's a mystery that helps the main character reckon with her past and future. It's got heart, wit and humor which is always something I seek out.