April 15, 2011
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Swan
The South is like the ancient Greek plays.
Things happen in Idaho and Michigan but they don’t happen the way they do here.It’s different. relates Ginger to her brother J.J.
Disturbing news interrupts the normally tranquil lives of the citizens of sleepy Swan, Georgia, established 1875.
On a routine visit to the cemetery to remember the dead and cut roses for the Bridge Club centerpieces, Eleanor and Lily happen upon an exhumed body.
None other than their dearly departed friend, Catherine,
a suicide 19 years prior, is lying exposed.Springing into action the only way they know how, the ladies start talking.
Which means the town starts talking*.
Over the course of a week (September 7th to 13th, 1975),
Georgia born and bred, author and poet, Frances Mayes details the facts and clues in this crime drama, leading us to a satisfying resolution almost reminscient of *they lived happily ever after.*The host of characters, most related by blood, others by location, relives their reactions through the course of the novel, learns new information, and comes to an entirely different conclusion.
Easy to read and full of Southern charm, Swan is not dark like Pat Conroy’s South of Broad; more like Gail Godwin’s A Southern Family or Sue Monk Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees.
Perfect vacation reading.
Here’s a link to what other items are on my reading list.
*to give or reveal confidential or incriminating information
Comments (2)
You did it again! You introduced me to a book I want to read, which I’ve never heard of before I came to Hidden Art. Thank you. Frances Mayes knows her prose. This is a treat for me to anticipate. Thank you…again!
@magistramater - wow, Carol, you’re up early. In addition to enjoying her prose, I’m on a mission to fine some of Mayes’s poetry. It’s a disgrace that my local library doesnt even have some of this Georgia-born author.