"A Closer Look at Country Music Culture!"
"...will you look at the sight of it, Jo, will you have a
look at that." Josephine and Bobby Pickering, father and
daughter, spend most of the year driving cross-country in
England. They live the life of free-spirits unhindered by
the schedules and home issues of most people. They look at
everything, exploring further when fascinated and
dismissing when the subject or object fails to hold their
attention. But what they often think about and yet never fully
explore are the people and events that have shaped their
personality, that haunt, terrorize, and plague them with
grief to the point of unresolved depression. So Bobby
reminisces about family and finds his comfort in the
sweetness and sorrow of country music. Never do we hear
much from him about Jo's mother, Rosalie, once she
disappears from their lives. It's Jo who will deal with
the disappearance in a most unexpected manner later in the
novel. Jo is a people-watcher and immediately links to a young
country singer, Cosima, with whom she later develops a
sister-like relationship that really hints of the
yearnings of a child for a mother. It is Cosima who
initially helps Jo cope with the "departure" of Bobby, but
what emerges over time becomes a hatred imploding and
threatening to become murderous. Jo will eventually come to grips with her personal demons,
but that's not the focus of this artistic work of fiction.
Albyn Leah Hall is a literary artist who knows how to get
under the character's surface appearance and reveal
the "whole" personality with all of its grace, grit, and
ambiguity. The reader is compelled to follow these
characters despite likes or dislikes. They are so
fascinating because they possess the qualities
of "everyman," - you and me! In the beginning of the novel, one of the characters is
reading a book about culture. It is the revelation of what
really drives culture that is also the brilliant subplot
threading through the rhythm of this novel. Art's motives
and visions run deep through the hearts and minds of
musicians, again touching the reader because of the
empathy in the experience. Enchanting! A writer very much worth watching now and in
the future! Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on January 23, 2007
Reviewed by Viviane Crystal
Courtesy Crystal Reviews
Posted February 20, 2007
| 
