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Literary Friday: Georgia Bottoms

Friday, March 9, 2012

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*Reporting live from Starbucks  :/   *   Hopefully we will be back online by noon tomorrow.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

Recently I read Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress.  I love Childress' style, and Crazy in Alabama is one of my all-time favorites.  I did not like Georgia Bottoms as well, however it was very well-written.  Georgia Bottoms is an archetype that all women hate and fear: the other woman.   In spite of Childress' more than sympathetic treatment of Georgia, she still did not win me over.  I simply could not relate to her on any level.

Georgia is small town Six Points, Alabama's, most beautiful woman: And she knows it!  In order to supplement her income of reselling handmade quilts she buys from rural black women, Georgia is the one night per week mistress to six of the most powerful men in Six Points.  She gives herself the day off on Mondays.  No one knows about her secret life other than the married men with whom she fools around; in Six Points she is known for her gorgeous quilts and her delicious cooking.  She hosts one of the best annual luncheons in town, and she never misses church services at the local Baptist church. Things almost fall apart for Georgia when her Mr. Saturday Night, the Baptist minister, almost confesses to his sin of adultery during a service. But Reverend Hendrix's plans are foiled when Georgia faints in the middle of the aisle and causes such a scene that the sermon is cut short.

Georgia's life is like a house of cards.  She cares for both her demented mother and her loser brother.  Plus she is juggling six married men while preparing and cooking for her annual luncheon.  When only two guests attend her September 11, 2001 luncheon, things begin to spiral downward for Georgia, and it seems that her "spinning plates" are about to crash.

Here is a list of why I do not care about Georgia Bottoms:

1.   She is a hypocrite: She does not believe in God, yet she never misses church.
2.   She uses married men for money with little or no regard for their families.
3.   She thinks that she is actually "saving" the marriages of the men she uses.  Huh???
4.   She has been keeping a secret for twenty years, and it makes me hate her when it is revealed.
5.   She passes off others' art as her own.   :/
6.   She only cares about appearances.

I hate to be so negative about one of Mark Childress' books....really I do.  But it is not his writing, and it is not the story that I dislike, it is Georgia.  However, I must admit that there is a glimmer of hope for her at the end of the book. Georgia Bottoms desperately needs a fresh start at a new (less selfish) life, and she seems anxious to get started.

Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill

3 comments

  1. I loved Crazy in Alabama, too. I might try reading this one, too! Hope you are back online soon! It's been a quiet weekend! ♥

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  2. It sounds like the book was probably a success if you hated the character/ woman so much!,,, I understand how you feel, but just sayin... She mst have been "alive". For you... Hope you get back online... Although Starbucks sounds fabulous right now!

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  3. Hi Ricki,
    Sounds like I wouldn't like Miss Georgia either..will have to read Crazy in Alabama, since my mother's family is from there. Thanks for your sweet comments and visit. I am following you back! Have a wonderful Sunday!
    Miss Bloomers

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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