Monday, April 6, 2009

Eat, Drink, and Be from Mississippi


I just finished Eat, Drink, and Be from Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid and I really liked it!

The book cover states:
At least the young man on Truely Noonan's doorstep is from the South. Truley and his sister, Courtney, are transplanted Mississippians who have made their fortunes in California, but they're due for a change. They have more money than they ever dreamed of, homes with spectacular views, and their brother-sister bond is sweet and strong.
But their marriages have disintegrated. Something inside rings hollow. They are both lost.
The young man, Arnold, doesn't exactly look like a savior. A troubled teenager from the streets, he is talkative, thuggish dressed, and clueless. Truley and Courtney turn Arnold into their mission, introducing him to books on tape, buying him new clothes. Arnold resists their good intentions at first, but he needs a place to stay, and at least he has good Southern manners. Then something shocking happens that show Arnold in a new light- and it's no longer clear who's been changing and teaching whom.

I received this book from a drawing at Lattes and Life and The Hachette Book Group sent me a copy...and boy, did I hit the Jack Pot! It was a great read...interesting characters that you were sad to stop reading about...and for me that is sometimes rare to find.
My only complaint...this book is told in the third person and it is from a male character who other characters basically describe as someone who doesn't want to see things...
Let's think about that a moment...I am reading the perspective of someone who doesn't want to see things!
Many times while reading this novel I was praying the next chapter would have another character tell what was going on because the character of Truley Noonan either didn't know or wasn't telling.
This left me with a feeling like I never got the full story...which I guess might be good as I let my imagination fill in the gaps!
I enjoyed this book none-the-less!

3 comments:

Roshni said...

would you consider rating these books on a scale of 1-5 or 1-10? I know its sometimes difficult to put in an exact number... its more a feeling you have for the book, but could be helpful for us, nevertheless!

Diane said...

Sounds like a good one... will have to put it on my list (which is getting longer by the minute).

Kori said...

Thanks for the encouragement on my blog today. And this book sounds good!