Reading the South
New Fiction by Regional Authors, October 2005
by Hal Jacobs
for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Like father, like son? A 14-year-old boy from rural North Carolina must answer that question in Michael Parker's heartbreakingly good novel If You Want Me to Stay (Algonquin Books, $19.95). In this case, the father hears loud voices in his head that make him perform violent, deeply troubling acts. His oldest son, Joel Jr., carries on imaginary conversations as well, but they are kind and loving -- at least for now.

As the novel opens, Joel's father has turned into the monster of dark fairy tales -- the evil daddy who turns medieval on one of his three sons. Unable to save one brother, Joel flees to save himself and his youngest sibling, Tank, beginning a road-trip quest through a bleak countryside to find their runaway mother.

What gives this novel such authenticity and lyrical beauty is Joel's voice as narrator. In a world of poverty and meanness, Joel has his own language of survival and cunning mixed with incredible naivete. He has little education or religious training, but he's a walking encyclopedia of classic soul music. Instead of hearing the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, he's moved by the gospel of love according to Curtis, Aretha and Otis.

When [Aretha] hit those highest notes," Parker writes, "it felt like the whole house was rising up off its foundations, about to float off to some place where lovers came back to you and men did right by their women and everybody, whether they believed in Jesus or not, said -- each morning they woke up, before they even put on their makeup -- a little prayer for you.

What emerges most strongly in this energetic, bass-thumping novel is the power of family. Even though Joel has been abandoned by everyone -- parents, grandparents and society -- he understands that leaving his brother behind was unforgivable. "Love will make you do right, and it will make you do wrong," sings Al Green. Joel understands that -- and he's determined to do right, even if it means risking his life to return home and confront his father.

Parker is the author of three previous novels, including "Towns Without Rivers" and "Virginia Lovers," and a short story collection. He teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

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In Bev Marshall's Hot Fudge Sundae Blues (Ballantine Books, $13.95 paperback), an adolescent girl struggles with a different type of in-house predator. Layla Jay is entering puberty in the early 1960s, developing into a young woman whose best friend is her mother, a randy young widow who enjoys carousing and doesn't mind being the talk of their small Southern community.

The mother-daughter relationship, however, is upended after a dashing Baptist preacher enters the picture. Before long, Layla Jay's new stepfather is making life uncomfortable for her, especially because she thinks she can no longer confide in her mother about this and other personal matters.

Finally, an act of violence occurs that prompts mother and daughter to re-evaluate the bonds -- and deceptions -- that hold them together.

To Marshall's credit, the characters and story, both somewhat familiar, maintain an aura of believability that transcends the Hollywood PG-13 trappings. Layla Jay is anything but a goodie two-shoes. Like any self-respecting adolescent, she carries around dark secrets and betrayals that she never quite resolves -- and her ability to handle this kind of complexity sets the stage for her entrance into adulthood.

Marshall, the author of two previous novels, lives in Ponchatoula, La., where she is the writer-in-residence at Southern Louisiana University.

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Two new anthologies of Southern writers let readers choose between a VIP list of top short stories from a decade (1996-2005) of Algonquin Books' annual collections, or a yearly round-up of fresh fiction from Stories From the Blue Moon Cafe IV (MacAdam/Cage, $25) edited by Sonny Brewer. The latter includes more than 30 stories from the likes of Rick Bragg, Daniel Wallace and Suzanne Kingsbury, as well as many other up-and-coming authors.

The highlights from Best of the South, Volume II (Algonquin, $15.95 paperback) include stories from Lee Smith ("The Happy Memories Club"), William Gay ("Those Deep Elm Brown's Ferry Blues"), Pam Durban ("Gravity") and Jim Grimsley ("Jesus Is Sending You This Message"). It also features an insightful introduction by Anne Tyler on what is most distinctive about the Southern narrative style: "the run-on stream of associations, the dreamlike interweaving of the past with the present, and the fondness for verbatim he-said-she-said reported with such dead-to-rights mimicry of inflection that the speakers come alive before the listener's eyes."

An edited version of these reviews appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sunday, October 9, 2005.

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