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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A dated but beautiful tale of Florida's past
I really enjoyed portions of this book, and some chapters were very difficult to get through. Readers have to continually remind themselves of the social contexts in which the book was written and received; explicit stereotypes and racism are not uncommon and can be uncomfortable to encounter. However, doing so is important, particularly since the book is not that old. Living not far from Cross Creek and having traveled extensively around rural Florida, I did wonder how much license Rawlings took in documenting her experiences, but given that she was generally a fiction writer (to my knowledge, at least), that may be expected.
The casual racism is keeping me from enjoying the actual literature so I’m calling it quits.
Some poetic language, helpful for northern Florida
This is a book I think about with ♥️ even after decades since I first read it. You might just ♥️ it too.
Holy cow, this book has had such an impact on me in the way few books have.
This narrative nonfiction is primarily set at the author’s house in Cross Creek, Florida, where I have spent some time so I could perfectly visualize a lot of what she spoke about. It’s one of those books where I put it down after a chapter of being so immersed in the environment and then felt disoriented upon seeing that my surroundings were not Cross Creek.
Each chapter shows a different element of living in rural central Florida in the 1930s and early 40s. Although it is written in first person, it isn’t really a memoir, and MKR feels more like just one of the characters among many interesting figures. You do get a sense that she was a very tough lady, going on boat journeys, hunting trips, and camping expeditions—and then running a huge property complete with orange groves, without a husband in a time where you’d expect a single woman to struggle with such endeavors.
As I delve deeper into my journey of being a Florida naturalist, this book felt like it was the perfect fit for where I am, and will probably continue to be a perfect fit as I flip back to reread passages in the coming years.
However, although this book has imprinted on my heart, there is a huge problem with it, which is the way that MKR discusses (and treats) the Black individuals in her life. She does consider some of her Black maids and neighbors to be friends, but then she does make clear that she believes in some racial stereotypes. She was certainly much more progressive than the average white woman at the time, and I think that if she had lived longer, she would certainly have shed her problematic language and beliefs. However, the reality is that she does perpetrate racism in this text.
It’s taken a few months to process the above, but I’ve decided that rather than feeling guilty for enjoying a book whose author is racist, I will instead supplement this text by seeking out books that portray the beauty of the old Florida nature from other perspectives. Zora Neale Hurston seems like a good place to start, as she was a contemporary of MKR and the two even visited with each other!
This narrative nonfiction is primarily set at the author’s house in Cross Creek, Florida, where I have spent some time so I could perfectly visualize a lot of what she spoke about. It’s one of those books where I put it down after a chapter of being so immersed in the environment and then felt disoriented upon seeing that my surroundings were not Cross Creek.
Each chapter shows a different element of living in rural central Florida in the 1930s and early 40s. Although it is written in first person, it isn’t really a memoir, and MKR feels more like just one of the characters among many interesting figures. You do get a sense that she was a very tough lady, going on boat journeys, hunting trips, and camping expeditions—and then running a huge property complete with orange groves, without a husband in a time where you’d expect a single woman to struggle with such endeavors.
As I delve deeper into my journey of being a Florida naturalist, this book felt like it was the perfect fit for where I am, and will probably continue to be a perfect fit as I flip back to reread passages in the coming years.
However, although this book has imprinted on my heart, there is a huge problem with it, which is the way that MKR discusses (and treats) the Black individuals in her life. She does consider some of her Black maids and neighbors to be friends, but then she does make clear that she believes in some racial stereotypes. She was certainly much more progressive than the average white woman at the time, and I think that if she had lived longer, she would certainly have shed her problematic language and beliefs. However, the reality is that she does perpetrate racism in this text.
It’s taken a few months to process the above, but I’ve decided that rather than feeling guilty for enjoying a book whose author is racist, I will instead supplement this text by seeking out books that portray the beauty of the old Florida nature from other perspectives. Zora Neale Hurston seems like a good place to start, as she was a contemporary of MKR and the two even visited with each other!
This was a read of a classic for a reading challenge and for background information for another project of mine. I will say that Rawlings was pretty badass, but the treatment of black people and women in the book, which accurately represents their treatment during this time period in our history, was disgusting. It made this difficult to get through without breaks. Beautiful portrait of wild Florida, ugly portrait of people especially knowing its nonfiction.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced