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A review by sjj169
Liar's Bench by Kim Michele Richardson
2.0
Muddy Summer's seventeenth birthday went straight to hell. Her mama Ella has been found and it appears that she has hung herself. Muddy refuses to believe Ella would do such a thing and knows that her mama's husband beats her ever chance he gets. Once she starts digging she realizes that the whole town has secrets and lies.
Set in the early 1970's this book pretty much centers itself around the town landmark. The Liar's Bench.
The Liar's Bench came into being a century before when a slave named Frannie Crow was hanged based on her mistresses lies. Her son dismantled the gallows and built the bench.
If you read this book get used to hearing about that bench. I think it's only mentioned in every chapter at least twice.
Muddy's sorta boyfriend is Bobby Marshall who is a mixed race descendant of Frannie Crow's. So into the story you have some racism and bigotry. The thing is I felt that Muddy even showed signs of it. I think I would have liked her better if she hadn't been so wishy-washy. He's the only person that sticks up for her and she sorta whines her way through any confrontations that pop up.
The story line is not bad for this book. I love southern fiction. I have lived in the south my whole life and one of the big things that sticks out in this book is the language. I have never heard of a southern person using the language that gets used in this book.
It's one of those things that I felt demeaned southern people. We have slang and we have some southern drawl but I don't think I've ever heard the phrase.....It doesn't do anyone any good to pluck their chickens in the wind.
Huh?
It completely threw the book off for me. The whole book is written in the oddest language.
Set in the early 1970's this book pretty much centers itself around the town landmark. The Liar's Bench.
The Liar's Bench came into being a century before when a slave named Frannie Crow was hanged based on her mistresses lies. Her son dismantled the gallows and built the bench.
If you read this book get used to hearing about that bench. I think it's only mentioned in every chapter at least twice.
Muddy's sorta boyfriend is Bobby Marshall who is a mixed race descendant of Frannie Crow's. So into the story you have some racism and bigotry. The thing is I felt that Muddy even showed signs of it. I think I would have liked her better if she hadn't been so wishy-washy. He's the only person that sticks up for her and she sorta whines her way through any confrontations that pop up.
The story line is not bad for this book. I love southern fiction. I have lived in the south my whole life and one of the big things that sticks out in this book is the language. I have never heard of a southern person using the language that gets used in this book.
It's one of those things that I felt demeaned southern people. We have slang and we have some southern drawl but I don't think I've ever heard the phrase.....It doesn't do anyone any good to pluck their chickens in the wind.
Huh?
It completely threw the book off for me. The whole book is written in the oddest language.