Civil Wars

by Rosellen Brown

Tragedy thrusts married Lefties Jessie and Teddy Carll into the role of parents when Teddy's rich, bigoted sister and her husband are killed in a car accident and his sister's children move into their home. Reprint. NYT. LJ.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literary Fiction, Book Club

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Rosellen Brown (born May 12, 1939) is an American author, and has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston. She has won several grants and awards for her work. The 1996 film Before and After was adapted from her novel of the same name.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Nathan "N.R." Gaddis]

dnf 119.

I'm going to hang this one up. Not that there's anything particularly wrong with it. It's a very fine novel for what it is. And in this age of bigotry its content is probably as pertinent as it ever was. But it's just not the kind of writing I want to be spending my time with. I've stacks and stacks of stuff pouring in on a nearly daily basis. So there's that. Onward!

[David]

novel on civil rights movement praised by Richard King

[JennyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got off to a rough start with this book, and doubted I would stick around for all 500+ pages. There was something about the writing that was a bit... much -- A LOT of highly stylized wordiness not adding up to much. But it turns out, I am so glad I kept reading, because Civil Wars more than won me over by the end (and seriously, how often is that the outcome?).

Civil Wars is about a time and a place that don't get much attention in fiction -- Mississippi, circa 1979. The story is set in Jackson, where a newly expanded family of five is struggling to keep it together. The story is about many things -- race is important, especially since the two main characters, Teddy and Jessie, were Civil Rights activists in the 1960s. But race is ultimately secondary to ideas about family and growing up, love and growing apart, grief and moving on.

The characters here are vivid and detailed, but that does not mean you will like them. In fact, each one alternates through being loathsome, pathetic, exasperating and heart-rending, as some get closer to redemption, and some drift further away. Their shortcomings make the characters seem especially real, and Brown's skill as a writer occasionally lifts them to the realm of the poetic.

At times, her skill also leads her into lengthy and pointless digressions, and this book really is already quite long enough. I could have lived without, for instance, certain digressions about Jessie's family history, and some of the voluminous detail about the Movement and the Party (Communist) back in their heyday. These sections about Capital I "Ideas" aren't half as absorbing as the parts about people and relationships -- that is where the book really shines. Finally, I loved the ending, which is also something I rarely have occasion to say.

Overall, Civil Wars was more than a pleasant surprise for me, particularly given my rough start with it. For being such an excellent book, it seems to be surprisingly -- and undeservedly -- little known. Seek it out, and I hope anyone who does finds it as rewarding as I did.

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civil Wars, many years ago, made a very powerful impression on me in terms of race relations—it was one of the first novels I ever read that showcased the inherent differences between blacks and whites & the civil rights movement.

[Celine Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brown explores where personality and politics meet. Extraordinary writer.

[Amanda Mecke · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever wonder why America still needed the Civil Rights Movement long after 1964, you will understand by reading this book.

[Elana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosellen Brown for President!