review: gods in alabama

i judge books by their first sentences.

this one is one of the best i have ever read:

"there are gods in alabama: jack daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also jesus."

it was this sentence that was the deciding factor in purchasing the novel. i was not let down........

i have to admit, when i was in college, one of the things i struggled with the most (in hindsight it was a struggle) was trying to deny and avoid at all costs my southern past...my southern roots. my reason being i felt better than where i came from. pretty pathetic, yes, but i have learned (muchas gracias to the man i love) to reclaim my roots and let them envelop me.

arlene, our beloved protagonist (english words, children, english words!)/main character deals with this as well. she spends her entire adult life--from the very beginning of college to the present--avoiding her past, her roots. not because she feels better than where her family but because she has buried, and spends her energy continuing to bury, a deep dark secret.

with the promptings of the man she loves--it's about to, he believes, to meet her family--she returns to her hometown and is immediately bombarded with her deep dark secret.

as the plot unfolds, she learns to trust her secret the people she loves the most, aunt florence and burr (her man). in so doing, she experiences that most grace, love, and forgiveness she has ever experienced in her life.

this is a beautiful novel harping on the need to stand up for, love, forgive, and give all to the people that you love the most.

at the end of our novel, arlene feels that most peaceful she has felt in years, and as a result, the most whole she has felt in years.

i highly recommend this "not exactly chick-lit" novel to readers who are looking for something a little different. the story is not about romantic love, it is about sacrificial love. it is about embracing that which we try our hardest to leave behind.

it doesn't work, you know? trying to deny your roots. they always come back. and it is peaceful. and wholesome.

read this. you won't be sorry.