The day after her 30th birthday, Laura Chappell awoke
with a sense of relief; she was no longer just unmarried, she was officially
unmarriageable. Now everyone could find something other than finding her a
husband to occupy their time. But, in that funny way life has of turning us
upside down, a year later she met Henry McAllan, a 41-year-old bachelor. After a suitable courtship, they married and
settled down in Memphis, where she had lived her entire life, and where all her
family lived. They had two little girls, and built a nice, happy life.
One day, Henry came home and casually announced he bought
a farm in Mississippi, where he grew up, and they will be moving there in two
weeks. When they got there, Laura discovered that the farm has no indoor
plumbing, no running water, no electricity and no telephone. Moreover, when
there are heavy rains, which there frequently are, the low land floods, and
they are cut off from town, and the rest of the world. It is a bleak existence;
one exacerbated by the racism and misogyny of post-World War II Mississippi,
and her father-in-law, who moves in with them.
On one bleak night, the rains, the racism, and happenstance
combine to create a tragedy that changes the lives of everyone involved.
This isn’t a ‘feel good’ book, but it is very well written,
the characters are thoroughly developed, and the story is compelling.
354 pages
