Posted by Anne M on Monday, Aug 13, 2012
I like a good farm novel. The remote landscape, the impossible work, the fickle mercy of the elements, and the quiet, isolated existence are characteristics of place that lend themselves to great narratives. Characters grow, fail, escape or accept often because of these natural confines. It was on the farm that Cather and Steinbeck wrote their best work. And I should mention all those Southern writers, like Warren and Faulkner.
C. E. Morgan's first novel, All the Living, takes advantage of this natural isolation. Aloma moves to rural Kentucky to live with her boyfriend Orren, who inherited the family tobacco farm. Orren only took over the farm after losing his mother and elder brother in a tragic automobile accident. He is suffering from this loss and coping at an emotional distance. He is also the only one working the farm, relegating Aloma to the farm house, which is in need of repair. Aloma, a pianist, is unable to find solace in the family's piano, which earns its place in the derelict house. She looks for another instrument at the church, befriending Bell, the preacher, and setting into motion a crisis for Aloma. Stay with the distant Orren? Accept the subtle advances of Bell? Can her talent at the piano fit into a future here?
A gifted prose writer, Morgan's greatest strength is her sense of place. I enjoyed watching the author build a landscape on a page, making Kentucky as an important a character as Orren or Bell. I look forward to more from C. E. Morgan.
About the Author
Anne Mangano has worked for the Iowa City Public Library since 2008, serving as the Collection Services Coordinator since 2013. In this position, she oversees ICPL's collection, including the selection, cataloging, processing, repair, and removal of materials, including the library's digital collections. Anne holds a Bachelor of...
Cece Cordell, newly promoted to principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, is facing history. She is the first Black ballerina for the company, knows she worked twice as hard as everyone else to get there, and is worried it isn’t enough. It is a lot of pressure—not to mention how incredibly difficult it is just to just be a professional ballet dancer. She also has to face her past, especially as a significant life decision might throw her off a course she has strived for her entire life. Dances is a novel that shows you the physical and psychological wear and tear of being an athlete. Nicole Cuffy shows you through the writing every muscle stretch and strain, every twitch, every sharp pain of Cece’s. All the reviews of this book comment on the physical nature of Cuffy’s writing in describing ballet steps and moves and they are right. It is stand out. However, Cuffy also successfully captures the minds relationship with the body. The control and inability to control. The thoughts of feeling not worthy, that you do not belong, and that you are being judged. It is a great read. -Anne M