PDF Gods in Alabama Joshilyn Jackson 9780446694537 Books
Download As PDF : Gods in Alabama Joshilyn Jackson 9780446694537 Books
For 10 years Arlene has kept her promises, and God has kept His end of the bargain. Until now. When an old schoolmate from Possett turns up at Arlene's door in Chicago asking questions about Jim Beverly, former quarterback and god of Possett High, Arlene's break with her former hometown is forced to an end. At the same time, Burr, her long-time boyfriend, has raised an ultimatum introduce him to her family or consider him gone. Arlene loves him dearly but knows her lily white (not to mention deeply racist)Southern Baptist family will not understand her relationship with an African American boyfriend. Reluctantly, Arlene bows to the pressure, and she and Burr embark on the long-avoided road trip back home. As Arlene digs through guilt and deception, her patched-together alibi begins to unravel, and she discovers how far she will go for love and a chance at redemption.
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PDF Gods in Alabama Joshilyn Jackson 9780446694537 Books
"I bought it because I am from Alabama and the title was catchy. It was thoroughly entertaining. Funny parts along with suspenseful. I loved the dialog and the interaction between the two main characters. Read it !"
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Gods in Alabama Joshilyn Jackson 9780446694537 Books Reviews :
Gods in Alabama Joshilyn Jackson 9780446694537 Books Reviews
- Gods in Alabama was the book I picked for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge for this month. The challenge was to read a book from the backlist of new favorite author and having recently discovered Joshilyn Jackson I decided to go with another one of her books. I read The Almost Sisters in August and loved it so I felt in the mood for more southern fiction.
GIA gave me feels that were very Fried Green Tomatoes. Very Southern, at times relatable and definitely quirky-funny, but it is also dark and full of sinister secrets. I liked Arlene and most of the characters for that matter, but everyone is messed up. I don’t just mean your everyday messed up but semi-normal, I mean girl has got some issues! You know she’s hiding a secret from everyone and you will take guesses throughout most of the book but you will more than likely be wrong.
This book is full of twists, which I don’t mind, but I was occasionally confused and had to re-read a paragraph or two just to re situate myself. There were times I felt like there were too many issues being bandied about to deal with all at once but overall this was still a really good fictional novel. - Arlene Fleet is a graduate student in Chicago, Illinois, who suspects that her boyfriend is about to propose to her...until he overhears a phone conversation with her aunt and suspects that she might be ashamed of him, as she's never taken him home to meet her family. He demands that she attend the party her aunt is trying to harangue her into going home for, and that she take him with her. A fight ensues. In the midst of it, a girl from Arlene's Alabama hometown shows up on Arlene's doorstep asking questions about a guy named Jim Beverly, and suddenly the book isn't a romantic comedy anymore, because Arlene knows exactly where--or, more accurately, what--Jim Beverly is, and that's dead. The rest of the book follows Arlene and Burr as they head down to Alabama to throw Rose Mae off Jim's trail, though Burr doesn't know that's the real purpose of the trip. Arlene is trying to work up the guts to tell him, but faced with everything against her, it's not exactly easy.
I thought I was absolutely going to love this book up until the last chapter. Five stars, all the way. The writing is phenomenal, and I can completely imagine Arlene, her crazy family, Rose Mae Lolley, Burr, and the small town of Possett, Alabama. I loved the multi-faceted way in which she portrayed not only Arlene, the grad student, good Southern Baptist girl, slut, and murderer, but also Jim Beverly, who could protect his girlfriend from her abusive father and usher a girl to the nurse's office so she doesn't have to be embarrassed by having blood all over her pants, but also turn into a violent drunk. Arlene and Burr's relationship was very real, with conflicts and bumps and moments when you think it might be over, but always lasting because they really and truly do know each other. I loved the way Burr dealt with Arlene's crazy, mostly-racist family, and I was really loving the book in general.
And then there was that last chapter. See, in the last chapter, Jackson pretty much unravels the gorgeous narrative she had built up until that point. I was expecting a House of Sand and Fog-type ending, and I would have been okay with that. That's not the way this goes, though. In the end, everyone gets away with what they've done, Jim is a monster after all, Arlene and her family are reconciled, and she and Burr presumably live happily ever after. It's just too perfect. Murder doesn't end that way. Or, it does, sometimes, but very, very rarely. Arlene & Co. are just primed to be starring on an episode of Cold Case 25 years from now. That last chapter knocked a couple of stars off my rating of this one. A more "flawed" ending for Arlene & Co. would have been more satisfying, I think; heart-wrenching, yes, but I think Jackson could have pulled it off if she tried. She just didn't try.
2.5 stars. - This book is a winner on so many levels. It’s a provocative, smart, surprising, sad, happy, tragic, funny tale of a Southern Baptist family with a secret so big nobody knows the whole truth until ten years of denial and deals made with God have been kept. I can’t wait to read all of Joshilyn Jackson’s other books. The writing is beautiful and the characters are beloved. There was never a lull and I couldn’t put it down.
- I bought it because I am from Alabama and the title was catchy. It was thoroughly entertaining. Funny parts along with suspenseful. I loved the dialog and the interaction between the two main characters. Read it !
- Wow.... That first line got me
"There are gods in Alabama.... I left one under the kudzu to rot..."
This book had mystery, a bit of humor and Southern ties. It had universal truths all teens share and look back on years later knowing how it molded us to who we are or thought we were. It also had a few twists to keep the truth a bit of a surprise. I didn't just read it. I felt it all. - If you have not read this book, honestly you are missing out on a fantastic novel. Far easier to read than Dostoevsky but packing some serious story power and insight into America on multiple dimensions including the pressures on adolescents to achieve, race relations in which the author refreshingly pulls no punches, and faith, I cannot think of a novel that I have read in the past decade that really is this good.
Many books you read them, enjoy the ending you saw coming the moment you picked up the book, and other than "that was nice" there is nothing to really think about. This book, the more you think about it the more you may discover, and honestly that richness of vivid storytelling and fidelity in the setting lend a masterful touch to a story that is at times disquietingly real while at the same time being artfully paced to not overwhelm the reader. If you have not read this book, you should. - Gods in Alabama was a great book with excellent characters who put all their flaws and idiosyncrasies on display for the world to behold....Joshlyn Jackson kept me interested until the very last word all the while building to an ending that I never expected or anticipated....She built this story around the traditional Southern roots of family, fortitude, and forgiveness....I highly recommend this book especially to the Southerners out there who love Southern literature.....you won’t be disappointed!
