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Charm and nostalgia in the deep south May 12, 2008
By Patricia A. Adams
Alabama Stories by John I Jones is a collection of short stories detailing bits and pieces of the life of one William Vernon Johnson (so called when his mama is yelling at him) or Billy as he is mostly known in the stories. The stories take place in the deep---very deep--south and begin in the middle 1940's, when Billy is about five years old and is introduced for the first time to racism by his mother and father. They run the gamut from a pool hall shooting, a high school hero dying, a 30-year high school reunion and plenty in between.
The stories themselves are easy to read, well written in a spare, succinct manner. They are also very charming, even the sad ones or the ones detailing a shooting or a dead body. They are charming, first because they describe a bygone era and secondly because they are a "slice of life" of the south that most northerners and even city southerners are not familiar with. Rural southern living was a world of it's own apparently!
There is another thing that makes the stories charming: The innocence of Billy. Although introduced to prejudice, he sees no reason for it so it never grabs hold of him. While spending the summer with his mother while she nurses a dying woman, he spends time with a grizzled, anti-social curmudgeon---who becomes something else entirely while hanging out with Billy--and seen through Billy's eyes. The story was sweetly and lovingly written, which gave it the innocence it deserved. Although this particular story is called Psychotic Love, to me it is the essence of love: I love you no matter who you are, I just love you. Forever.
Billy's teen years crack me up when he discovers pool, pool halls (with no women) and where you can cuss all you want and seem to be able to do just whatever. Being a women, I felt I was gaining some inside info into boys/men that maybe would--- if not help me to actually understand men--would at least give me glimpse of what my sons were really like when not around me!
Even as Billy grows older, works (a journalist and sports writer) gets married (several times) he somehow maintains the same innocent view point---maybe because he always seems to have the ability to see something happening without judging it----the true mandate for journalist everywhere.
It is a fun book to read and I think everyone will enjoy the stories and find something meaningful in them. Each story seems to illustrate an important moment, perception or event in his life, moments that are life altering in some way---and if we all searched back into our own lives could find many such moments ourselves---moments that define who we are becoming.
For instance, the summer Billy spent hunting relentlessly for a Gil McDougal baseball card to complete his extensive collection helped solidify who he was to be. As his father watched him, Billy not only didn't give up searching for the elusive card, but he figured out ways to earn money, trade, and hunt for the card he wanted. Billy developed perseverance and ingenuity that summer and I am sure those qualities became integral to who William Vernon Johnson was for the rest of his life. I would like to think that I have such a defining moment---summer---in my life that helped to shape me into the person I am today....
Bottom line, my most favorite story was the Grandfather story. I love Billy's experience with his grandfather and the fact that he finally remembered it and found a way to recreate a similar experience with his grandchild. Many of the stories brought tears to my eyes, but this one had me crying.....I raised my children myself, no grandparents in the picture....the story made me deeply realize an experience that was missing from my children---two boys who could have really used a male image----and I was just happy as heck that Billy had the experience and passed it on. So much better than passing on prejudice!
I believe you will find more than one of these stories will resonate with who you are and bring back memories of your own life. Not to mention you will laugh out loud at some of them and feel your heart clench at others....read them for yourself and see if I am not right. And make sure you have a ripe tomato and mayo with salt and pepper on white bread sandwich next to you, accompanied by a tall glass of sweet tea with lemon. Hmmm Hmmm good.
A great, fun read Nov 05, 2006
By Yankee Redneck
"Mike"
This novel is a roller coaster ride, a no-holds-barred character study of a wide variety of folks as seen through the eyes of a country boy from Alabama. Each chapter is a story unto itself, a penetrating study of one character, warts, blemishes and halos exposed.
This book will make you laugh and think. The author includes references to all forms of prejudice as espoused in the Old South, but presents them with the eye of someone who has traveled the world and looked back with a studious, informed eye. And the characters he has created live and breathe off of the printed page.
Thank you, Mr. Jones! This is a little treasure.
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