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Playing with Matches
When I felt truly lost—which was most of the time—I went out to the narrow lot and sat down in the weeds. From there I could observe both houses. After all, I had two eyes, didn’t I? Two nostrils, two arms, two knobby knees. The trouble was, I had only one heart.
Growing up in False River, Mississippi, Clea Shine learned early that a small town is no place for big secrets. Having fled years ago in the wake of a tragedy and now settled with a family of her own, she faces a turning point in her marriage and seeks refuge in the one place she vowed never to return.
Clea’s homecoming is bittersweet. Reunited with Jerusha Lovemore, the kindly neighbor who raised her, Clea gains a sense of love and comfort, but still cannot escape the ghosts of her the abandonment by her disreputable mother, her constant search for belonging, the truth behind that fateful night from long ago. Once outspoken and impulsive, Clea now seeks only redemption and peace of mind. And as a hurricane threatens to hit False River, everything she has tried to forget may finally be exposed once and for all.
A mesmerizing and poignant work by a master of the Southern novel, Playing with Matches is a stunning tale of guilt, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family.
Growing up in False River, Mississippi, Clea Shine learned early that a small town is no place for big secrets. Having fled years ago in the wake of a tragedy and now settled with a family of her own, she faces a turning point in her marriage and seeks refuge in the one place she vowed never to return.
Clea’s homecoming is bittersweet. Reunited with Jerusha Lovemore, the kindly neighbor who raised her, Clea gains a sense of love and comfort, but still cannot escape the ghosts of her the abandonment by her disreputable mother, her constant search for belonging, the truth behind that fateful night from long ago. Once outspoken and impulsive, Clea now seeks only redemption and peace of mind. And as a hurricane threatens to hit False River, everything she has tried to forget may finally be exposed once and for all.
A mesmerizing and poignant work by a master of the Southern novel, Playing with Matches is a stunning tale of guilt, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
88 people are currently reading
1414 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Wall
5 books57 followersCarolyn D. Wall is the author of the novel Sweeping Up Glass (Poisoned Pen Press; available in bookstores August, 2008). Her short stories, articles and photographs have appeared in over 100 publications. For many years she worked as Senior Staff Writer for Persimmon Hill, the award-winning publication of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and was chief writer for the museum’s children’s magazine. For six years she served as Fiction Editor and columnist for ByLine magazine.
A full-time freelance writer and lecturer on university campuses and in conference centers around the country, Wall conducts intense workshops in Fiction, Short Story and Feature Writing, Journaling, and Writing for Children. She is perhaps best known for her six-week classes: "How To Write What You Feel", and for motivating writers everywhere.
As an Artist-in-Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council, she has taught creative writing to 4,000 children in her home state and now runs a freelance editorial service. Through her company, The Write Page, she has established a prison-writer mentoring program, working with incarcerated men and women in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan and Texas.
In 1995, she wrote for and edited the book Braced Against The Wind, the only literary history of the bombing of Oklahoma City. In the fall of 1998, she wrote, produced and recorded The Journaling Tapes: Writing From The Heart, a six-week’ course in daily journaling. She has done voice-over work for radio and television.
The Department of the Interior and Wyoming's Bearlodge Writers presented her with a writing residency at Devils Tower, Wyoming in 1998. The recipient of regional and national honors, she is the only writer to have the distinction of receiving the regional Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.'s coveted crème-de-la-crème award twice. She lives in Oklahoma City and has completed her second novel, The Coffin Maker, available soon, also through Poisoned Pen Press.
A full-time freelance writer and lecturer on university campuses and in conference centers around the country, Wall conducts intense workshops in Fiction, Short Story and Feature Writing, Journaling, and Writing for Children. She is perhaps best known for her six-week classes: "How To Write What You Feel", and for motivating writers everywhere.
As an Artist-in-Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council, she has taught creative writing to 4,000 children in her home state and now runs a freelance editorial service. Through her company, The Write Page, she has established a prison-writer mentoring program, working with incarcerated men and women in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan and Texas.
In 1995, she wrote for and edited the book Braced Against The Wind, the only literary history of the bombing of Oklahoma City. In the fall of 1998, she wrote, produced and recorded The Journaling Tapes: Writing From The Heart, a six-week’ course in daily journaling. She has done voice-over work for radio and television.
The Department of the Interior and Wyoming's Bearlodge Writers presented her with a writing residency at Devils Tower, Wyoming in 1998. The recipient of regional and national honors, she is the only writer to have the distinction of receiving the regional Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.'s coveted crème-de-la-crème award twice. She lives in Oklahoma City and has completed her second novel, The Coffin Maker, available soon, also through Poisoned Pen Press.
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June 4, 2015I have a hard time making sense of this novel. I read it in its entirety, which says something about the quality of the writing, for I am quick to abandon stories that don’t grab me within the opening chapters. Carolyn Wall enchanted me with her debut Sweeping Up Glass and I was willing to go the distance with this sophomore effort. But I am not willing to suspend disbelief, which she asked of this reader time and again in Playing With Matches. Reading this was like being tripped up by unseen obstacles on a path; then, while you are looking over your shoulder to figure out what caused you to stumble, you run into a tree.
Best I can tell, Wall is trying to conjure the great Southern Gothic tradition, in which a town in the Deep South becomes the setting for epically wretched lives. At a certain point, the tragedies that beset False River, Mississippi - its citizens a tribe of Jobs whom God has earmarked for especial torture - become pert near comical.
At the center of this multiplicity of tragedies is Clea Shine, the daughter of the town whore who services the guards and recently-paroled convicts from the prison across the field, as well as many of its upstanding citizens. She births Clea on the kitchen table so as not to mess up her sheets, then drops the baby girl off at the neighbor’s – a kindly Aunt Jemima figure, Jerusha Lovemore (known as Auntie). It took me a wee while to figure out that Clea is white. I think it took Clea a wee while to figure this out, as well. She has a Come to Jesus I’m White moment in the first grade while swatting flies in the town’s one-room schoolhouse.
Jarring me early on is the era in which Sweeping Up Glass is set. I spent the first several chapters - based on the cultural references and descriptions of the characters and settings – assuming we were in the Mississippi of the late 50s or early 60s. Then Auntie tells the hideous and desperately sad story of a chicken circus, when she became aware of and involved in the civil rights movement. She was a young woman at the time and made reference to it being the “the ‘60s and ‘70s.” At the point she tells her story to a young Clea, Auntie must be in her 40s. So the story is set sometime in the mid-late 80s? 100 percent what the? for this reader.
Clea’s formative years are the best part of this book. She is an effortlessly likeable girl – smart, lonely, occasionally cruel only because she is so lost and sad. But she has a strong, clean heart. Even the ancillary characters hold great potential: Finn, the boy who lives in a tree; Cunny Gholar, the loving uncle; nutty Aunt Shookie and pathetic Bitsy. Straining my patience are the storylines of heroin-addicted, Bible-thumping Millicent Poole and the straight-from-Quentin-Tarantino-film Oaty brothers, who keep a boy tied up underneath their house, yet face no consequences after the boy is set free. (By Clea, natch).
This is the sort of logic that makes the second half of the book hard to take. Clea flees False River as a teen after a hazy incident with a match. She takes to the streets, becomes a cutter, is saved by nuns, spends time in Belize feeding the homeless, remembers nothing of but somehow excels at University and writes a well-received book based on her past. All this time, she is certain she is a murder suspect back in False River and stays clear of the South.
Some twenty years later she returns to False River, with her two adopted children. She needs a place to run and hide from her failing marriage. So she heads to the one place where she fears being recognized. Sigh. She waits for the authorities to come and lock her up in the prison she can see across the field. Instead, she ends up teaching writing at the prison. Her philandering husband arrives and on his heels is the Storm of the Century. Clea, along with a ragtag collection of loved ones from her past and present, clings to the few walls that remain of her childhood home - the house that is now an island in the False River. All very symbolic. And exhausting. But then it’s over. And Clea moves to Belize. Wouldn’t you?
Best I can tell, Wall is trying to conjure the great Southern Gothic tradition, in which a town in the Deep South becomes the setting for epically wretched lives. At a certain point, the tragedies that beset False River, Mississippi - its citizens a tribe of Jobs whom God has earmarked for especial torture - become pert near comical.
At the center of this multiplicity of tragedies is Clea Shine, the daughter of the town whore who services the guards and recently-paroled convicts from the prison across the field, as well as many of its upstanding citizens. She births Clea on the kitchen table so as not to mess up her sheets, then drops the baby girl off at the neighbor’s – a kindly Aunt Jemima figure, Jerusha Lovemore (known as Auntie). It took me a wee while to figure out that Clea is white. I think it took Clea a wee while to figure this out, as well. She has a Come to Jesus I’m White moment in the first grade while swatting flies in the town’s one-room schoolhouse.
Jarring me early on is the era in which Sweeping Up Glass is set. I spent the first several chapters - based on the cultural references and descriptions of the characters and settings – assuming we were in the Mississippi of the late 50s or early 60s. Then Auntie tells the hideous and desperately sad story of a chicken circus, when she became aware of and involved in the civil rights movement. She was a young woman at the time and made reference to it being the “the ‘60s and ‘70s.” At the point she tells her story to a young Clea, Auntie must be in her 40s. So the story is set sometime in the mid-late 80s? 100 percent what the? for this reader.
Clea’s formative years are the best part of this book. She is an effortlessly likeable girl – smart, lonely, occasionally cruel only because she is so lost and sad. But she has a strong, clean heart. Even the ancillary characters hold great potential: Finn, the boy who lives in a tree; Cunny Gholar, the loving uncle; nutty Aunt Shookie and pathetic Bitsy. Straining my patience are the storylines of heroin-addicted, Bible-thumping Millicent Poole and the straight-from-Quentin-Tarantino-film Oaty brothers, who keep a boy tied up underneath their house, yet face no consequences after the boy is set free. (By Clea, natch).
This is the sort of logic that makes the second half of the book hard to take. Clea flees False River as a teen after a hazy incident with a match. She takes to the streets, becomes a cutter, is saved by nuns, spends time in Belize feeding the homeless, remembers nothing of but somehow excels at University and writes a well-received book based on her past. All this time, she is certain she is a murder suspect back in False River and stays clear of the South.
Some twenty years later she returns to False River, with her two adopted children. She needs a place to run and hide from her failing marriage. So she heads to the one place where she fears being recognized. Sigh. She waits for the authorities to come and lock her up in the prison she can see across the field. Instead, she ends up teaching writing at the prison. Her philandering husband arrives and on his heels is the Storm of the Century. Clea, along with a ragtag collection of loved ones from her past and present, clings to the few walls that remain of her childhood home - the house that is now an island in the False River. All very symbolic. And exhausting. But then it’s over. And Clea moves to Belize. Wouldn’t you?
November 9, 2012
There was a lack of focus in this book hat was really frustrating. Back stories were hinted at but never really developed. Characters were one-dimensional. I didn't connect with any of them.It really felt like the first draft of a story to me. I wanted more depth. This book gets a lot of high ratings, so maybe it's just me.
July 17, 2012
The story seems simple at first. A woman recounting her difficult childhood. She talks about her mother, the women who raised her, and how she lived a confused life. Too smart, too stubborn, and too white.
After awhile, the story switches to this woman as an adult. She seems to be fleeing her past. The reason is more complicated than you'd think.
I guess what I liked most about this novel was that it had an uncomfortably realistic quality. Most of the time, I felt as if I were peering in these womens' kitchen window. Seeing things I wasn't supposed to see. Knowing things I was never meant to know.
There were a few moments when I'd stop and think, "What does this have to do with anything? Why is this included in the novel at all?" But, everything wraps up in the end in such an amazing way.
After awhile, the story switches to this woman as an adult. She seems to be fleeing her past. The reason is more complicated than you'd think.
I guess what I liked most about this novel was that it had an uncomfortably realistic quality. Most of the time, I felt as if I were peering in these womens' kitchen window. Seeing things I wasn't supposed to see. Knowing things I was never meant to know.
There were a few moments when I'd stop and think, "What does this have to do with anything? Why is this included in the novel at all?" But, everything wraps up in the end in such an amazing way.
September 9, 2012
This was a very uneven book. I loved all of the characters - smart talking Clea Shine, whose life begins with tragedy, her Auntie and all the relatives surrounding her, even the mystery children Wheezer and Finn. The setting is the rural South, complete with fields, a prison, a Bingo hall, and a river.
What I didn't like was the "mystery" of the book. It is written one way, and what happens that night carries through the rest of Clea's life. When the book flashes forward to her as an adult and she is STILL worried over it, I was surprised. Later on, a character gives a different account and yet even later on there is another account. So it is unclear exactly what happened, and that really makes to book fall apart.
However, the characters really do draw you into their world. I liked being able to see what happened to them and to have some issues resolved. But because of the mystery... this book only gets 3 stars.
What I didn't like was the "mystery" of the book. It is written one way, and what happens that night carries through the rest of Clea's life. When the book flashes forward to her as an adult and she is STILL worried over it, I was surprised. Later on, a character gives a different account and yet even later on there is another account. So it is unclear exactly what happened, and that really makes to book fall apart.
However, the characters really do draw you into their world. I liked being able to see what happened to them and to have some issues resolved. But because of the mystery... this book only gets 3 stars.
August 13, 2012
Clea Shine is an amazing character. The writing in this novel is so very real, almost uncomfortably so, and raw. Yet it is a true rendering of what makes a family, what to be home really means and of friendship and love. There were humorous parts and heart breaking moments and I found this book and Clea to be wonderful. As children we see things that we don't understand and sometimes it is many years later before we are able to look back on these things and make sense of them. This is what happens to Clea and the ending was for me as good as the beginning. Reminded me a little of the writing of Jesmyn Ward and Bonnie Jo Campbell. Have not read this author's previous book but I will now.
May 17, 2013
This is written in the same vein as Winter Birds (Jim Grimsley) or Salvage the Bones (Jesmyn Ward); it is a look at the heartbreaks of poverty in southern America.
I enjoyed Playing with Matches, the tone was good and there were some great comments on different levels of poverty and reverse racism. However, the religious overtones just put me off. The first half of this novel is supposed to be the novel that Clea writes as an adult; the second half is her current day life and the effects of said novel on this life. I found the "novel" part to be very strong, but the grown up "real" part to be too overtly religious. It was also interesting to see Wall use this mechanism to comment on the power of the written word: "Words were tricky things: Nothing else had the power to put a man down. Nothing could pick him up so quickly."
As a kid growing up, Clea is never sure why she is an outcast. Is it because Auntie is relatively well off (defined as not needing foodstamps, but still wearing hand me down clothes) or because her mother is the town prostitute or because she is one of the few white folks in the parish? Ultimately, Shookie declares it to be race: "'White girl, you never gonna hear the whole of it', she says. White girl, there it is, poured out of her mouth. I think, After all these years."
Ultimately, I was disappointed that Wall felt she had to wrap everything up with a disney-fied (of sorts) ending. Reconciliation with Thomas is on the horizon; Clea has come to grips with her past (she will not be arrested and she has made friends with the enemies from childhood); she is going to rebuilt a house on her mama's land; it was all just too nicely wrapped up for my taste. I was also annoyed that all of the older women with whom Clea had disagreed as a child turned out to be spurned lovers of inmates. It was just too tidy for a novel that was supposed to be (ultimately) about the messiness and heartache of human relationships.
Overall it was a compelling book and had some great commentary on human interaction, race, and poverty.
I enjoyed Playing with Matches, the tone was good and there were some great comments on different levels of poverty and reverse racism. However, the religious overtones just put me off. The first half of this novel is supposed to be the novel that Clea writes as an adult; the second half is her current day life and the effects of said novel on this life. I found the "novel" part to be very strong, but the grown up "real" part to be too overtly religious. It was also interesting to see Wall use this mechanism to comment on the power of the written word: "Words were tricky things: Nothing else had the power to put a man down. Nothing could pick him up so quickly."
As a kid growing up, Clea is never sure why she is an outcast. Is it because Auntie is relatively well off (defined as not needing foodstamps, but still wearing hand me down clothes) or because her mother is the town prostitute or because she is one of the few white folks in the parish? Ultimately, Shookie declares it to be race: "'White girl, you never gonna hear the whole of it', she says. White girl, there it is, poured out of her mouth. I think, After all these years."
Ultimately, I was disappointed that Wall felt she had to wrap everything up with a disney-fied (of sorts) ending. Reconciliation with Thomas is on the horizon; Clea has come to grips with her past (she will not be arrested and she has made friends with the enemies from childhood); she is going to rebuilt a house on her mama's land; it was all just too nicely wrapped up for my taste. I was also annoyed that all of the older women with whom Clea had disagreed as a child turned out to be spurned lovers of inmates. It was just too tidy for a novel that was supposed to be (ultimately) about the messiness and heartache of human relationships.
Overall it was a compelling book and had some great commentary on human interaction, race, and poverty.
July 8, 2012
Playing with Matches by Carolyn Wall is a book that I was pleased to receive from LibraryThing as a book for early review. Clea Shine is the main character in this story. She is a young while girl who is born of a mother who would not and some would say, could not care for her and thus she is given up to a neighboring black woman who raises her. This story takes the reader through a portion of her life.
The extremes of lives filled with poverty, neglect, sadness and despair are told in this short novel. I did not find the writing to be excellent, but the story was compelling and kept me hooked. From the explorations of childhood, to the failings and fears of the characters, you are brought into the lives of these individuals and their own personal truths. Finding a purpose in life and moving beyond self was a sub theme in this story retold in many instances. There were many small stories that were not completely developed including the horrors of an extreme storm and its wrath, the destruction of lies and fears in a persons development and the importance of family, friends and love to healthy lives is seen when it is present and when it is absent in the lives of the characters.
I found the characters to be believable for the most part and was drawn into wanting to know more about them and their lives. My criticism would come in the fact that the story could have been more deeply developed. On a positive note, somewhat like “The Glass Castle” and “The Language of Flowers,” I wanted the story to continue because I felt connected to the characters. I really appreciated both of those books and would recommend this book as a story which would be appreciated by similar readers. I would give a rating of 3.5 plus so will mark it as a 4. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The extremes of lives filled with poverty, neglect, sadness and despair are told in this short novel. I did not find the writing to be excellent, but the story was compelling and kept me hooked. From the explorations of childhood, to the failings and fears of the characters, you are brought into the lives of these individuals and their own personal truths. Finding a purpose in life and moving beyond self was a sub theme in this story retold in many instances. There were many small stories that were not completely developed including the horrors of an extreme storm and its wrath, the destruction of lies and fears in a persons development and the importance of family, friends and love to healthy lives is seen when it is present and when it is absent in the lives of the characters.
I found the characters to be believable for the most part and was drawn into wanting to know more about them and their lives. My criticism would come in the fact that the story could have been more deeply developed. On a positive note, somewhat like “The Glass Castle” and “The Language of Flowers,” I wanted the story to continue because I felt connected to the characters. I really appreciated both of those books and would recommend this book as a story which would be appreciated by similar readers. I would give a rating of 3.5 plus so will mark it as a 4. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.
March 22, 2013
I'm a reader who loves good characters, and Carolyn Wall has created a charming set in this book. It was terrific reading a grown-up book. This was my first of 2013.
The story itself is painful and filled with the misery of life that comes too often to many, but the story came alive with those characters. I know there are people like this living in the South, along bayous and rivers.
The prose was tough and biting, but at the same time captivating and lyrical. One particularly brilliant bit describes Clea June's childhood friend and her Siamese Twin sister with such eloquence that you simply must read those words aloud. Then, again when her sort-of cousin Bitsy confesses her sins to the whole church; well, there is another scene that just begs to be acted out. I could see that movie rolling so clearly!
This book like many others captures a time and culture that I have familiarity with, but luckily not too close a life experience of myself. I'll admit the first half of the book was more fun to read, but the 2nd half was deeply moving. Who doesn't love a good redemption story? You'll find that in this book.
PS: Carolyn Wall, I hope you sell the movie right to this book. It will play out just as well as "Fried Green Tomatoes", "Steel Magnolias" or "Where the Heart Is."
The story itself is painful and filled with the misery of life that comes too often to many, but the story came alive with those characters. I know there are people like this living in the South, along bayous and rivers.
The prose was tough and biting, but at the same time captivating and lyrical. One particularly brilliant bit describes Clea June's childhood friend and her Siamese Twin sister with such eloquence that you simply must read those words aloud. Then, again when her sort-of cousin Bitsy confesses her sins to the whole church; well, there is another scene that just begs to be acted out. I could see that movie rolling so clearly!
This book like many others captures a time and culture that I have familiarity with, but luckily not too close a life experience of myself. I'll admit the first half of the book was more fun to read, but the 2nd half was deeply moving. Who doesn't love a good redemption story? You'll find that in this book.
PS: Carolyn Wall, I hope you sell the movie right to this book. It will play out just as well as "Fried Green Tomatoes", "Steel Magnolias" or "Where the Heart Is."
August 3, 2012
This book started out good really grabbed me with the story of the little girl Clea Shine, then switched so abruptly and without warning to a grown-up Clea and what happened to her with this back and forth in time which was confusing as I felt it wasn’t really well done, then the book got preachy and the ending was just, well, unsatisfying.
I liked the characters in this story and I liked the book, I just didn’t love it. I loved Jerusha & Uncle Cunny they were my favorite characters and their storyline was my favorite. Clea Shine had a tough life that I believe she at times made harder than it needed to be. I understand she wanted her mother’s love and that seeing the things she saw at such a young age was very wrong, however she had love from the people that took her in and it seems it took her a very long time to appreciate that.
This has been a hard review to write because as a whole I liked it but parts of it felt, forced? Out of place? Preachy?...I just can’t put my finger or brain on the right word.
This is a book I think you just have to read and decide for yourself, I like little Clea Shine but Clea Ryder annoyed me.
3 Stars
I received this book via Librarything Early Review program
I liked the characters in this story and I liked the book, I just didn’t love it. I loved Jerusha & Uncle Cunny they were my favorite characters and their storyline was my favorite. Clea Shine had a tough life that I believe she at times made harder than it needed to be. I understand she wanted her mother’s love and that seeing the things she saw at such a young age was very wrong, however she had love from the people that took her in and it seems it took her a very long time to appreciate that.
This has been a hard review to write because as a whole I liked it but parts of it felt, forced? Out of place? Preachy?...I just can’t put my finger or brain on the right word.
This is a book I think you just have to read and decide for yourself, I like little Clea Shine but Clea Ryder annoyed me.
3 Stars
I received this book via Librarything Early Review program
May 19, 2013
Clea Shine's life is not pretty, or clean. She messes up at every turn, from childhood on, and carries guilt that she cannot let go of. Growing up in a family that isn't truly hers, in a house next door to The Farm (a men's prison), Clea is awkward, confused and smart.
The novel rambled a bit, to a point where I was not sure if I should continue or not. I'd arrive at the end of a chapter, having a huge event just happened (the discovery of a child living trapped beneath a neighbors house, for example), and the next chapter would just go on, as if the previous one had never happened. I was confused. Kept reading, in hopes that everything would tie together. Of course, it did, but not in the pretty package some books give us.
As well, I was often not sure what time period the book was supposed to be set in; the way the child Clea speaks about her surroundings, it seems to be the South in the mid-1900's, or even earlier. Yet we later discover that Clea was born sometime in the 1970's. This was odd, yet it worked. In the end, I enjoyed this book a great deal.
The novel rambled a bit, to a point where I was not sure if I should continue or not. I'd arrive at the end of a chapter, having a huge event just happened (the discovery of a child living trapped beneath a neighbors house, for example), and the next chapter would just go on, as if the previous one had never happened. I was confused. Kept reading, in hopes that everything would tie together. Of course, it did, but not in the pretty package some books give us.
As well, I was often not sure what time period the book was supposed to be set in; the way the child Clea speaks about her surroundings, it seems to be the South in the mid-1900's, or even earlier. Yet we later discover that Clea was born sometime in the 1970's. This was odd, yet it worked. In the end, I enjoyed this book a great deal.
August 23, 2012
This book was beautifully developed. The characters were finely drawn and three-dimensional. The sense of time and place were very realistic and it was extremely easy to get caught up in this story. Definitely recommend.
March 20, 2019
Clea Shine is a discarded, unwanted white girl born to the town whore who is delivered like a pizza to her African-American neighbor and "Auntie" who takes her in, raises her, and loves her like none other. The story of Clea is told in pieces purposefully, but it seems the two phases of her life don't really go together in a congruent way, at least the way it's written. It feels like the author wrote part 1, then part 2, then joined them by squishing it together with no transition that made a lot of sense. The first 3/4 of the book centering around Clea's upbringing echoed some of what I saw growing up during almost the same time period in the rural south, so it felt more real, more likely, more invested... but the transition to Clea's adult life seemed just a little far-fetched at times. Some of the things the reader waits for the whole book to be revealed and discussed are sort of glossed over without a lot of attention and that is a bit underwhelming. Overall though, I read it in about 3 days and despite the OVERWHELMING water/storm imagery I loved it. One of my favorites I've read this year.
Also, I seriously thought a chicken circus was going to be a euphemism for a brothel until the real story came out. Ha!
Also, I seriously thought a chicken circus was going to be a euphemism for a brothel until the real story came out. Ha!
March 4, 2018
Why? This is the question I kept asking myself from one traumatic event to the next in this poor rendering of Southern Gothic. As a native Mississippian I was really excited to recognize geographical landmarks, the poverty, family loyalty, and abject misery in Mississippi heat. I know, a little weird, but I like it when Mississippians are rendered perfectly with all our character flaws. That is the only thing that kept me trying to read this book. It took me two weeks and only one session was not pure torture.
Significant event after significant event take place with no connection to others. Plot pieces lying all over the place as if hit by a Mack truck throttling down a Mississippi two lane highway at full speed. I will leave one example and say no more. Main character and friend find little boy tied underneath a house. They help rescue the boy in a few brief paragraphs. They even give him a nickname. Child services picks him up, and he's not heard from until much later on with little explanation of what happened after his rescue. This is typical of the entire novel. Even the main character's life comes to us in fits, gasps, and starts. So much wasted potential.
Significant event after significant event take place with no connection to others. Plot pieces lying all over the place as if hit by a Mack truck throttling down a Mississippi two lane highway at full speed. I will leave one example and say no more. Main character and friend find little boy tied underneath a house. They help rescue the boy in a few brief paragraphs. They even give him a nickname. Child services picks him up, and he's not heard from until much later on with little explanation of what happened after his rescue. This is typical of the entire novel. Even the main character's life comes to us in fits, gasps, and starts. So much wasted potential.
July 15, 2017
I'm still on the fence about this book. The real story doesn't start until about half way through. The first half of the novel explains Clea Shine's childhood in the old Southern days, and then out of nowhere, it jumps into the present. There were a few interesting parts to read about her past and present, but a lot of the time, I just barely had the motivation to finish the book. At first, I pretty much kept reading to see how long it took for the actual story to kick in, but then when it did, I was like, "well, I'm already half way through so it would be pointless to put it down." I wasn't crazy about the type of language it was written in, however, I did appreciate that it revolved a lot around issues of race and poverty, which we are facing strong today. I will say I'm glad I kept going because the second half was a little better than the first half.
September 11, 2017
Playing with Matches is a great example of good Southern Literature. Not great southern literature, but very good.
Wall gets the voice of growing up poor, different, and feeling abandoned in rural Mississippi. There is a lot of symbolism here, but it does take a while for the title to catch up to the story. I really enjoyed the first half of the book describing Clea's childhood; the second part of the book when she is grown and facing her demons by coming back home in a time of great need is a bit confusing at first, but well worth the effort. Clea is born of a single, loose woman who promptly turns her baby over to her neighbor, Jerusha, a stern black woman who disapproves of Clea's mom but raises this white baby all the same. Clea's family becomes blended with Jerusha's sister, Miss Sookie and Sookie's daughter Bitsy, and of course kind "Uncle" Cunny and her best friend, Claudie from down the road. Yet she still yearns for her mother's acknowledgement.
Some things from her unusual childhood and the issues with her mother are never really resolved, but that's life, isn't it?? The characters here are fully fleshed and so real I think I might have met some of them, y'all! There are several subplots here, and the best one concerns crazy, cursing (as in I curse you!) Miz Millicent and how her backstory suddenly comes out and makes such sense to Clea. Written in sometimes a dreamlike state, this novel is reminiscent of Wiley Cash and is a great addition to a shelf of southern stories. Thank you to my friend Karen T for lending me this book; I shall indeed pass it on!!!
See this and other reviews on my blog, www.rawlesreads.blogspot.com
Wall gets the voice of growing up poor, different, and feeling abandoned in rural Mississippi. There is a lot of symbolism here, but it does take a while for the title to catch up to the story. I really enjoyed the first half of the book describing Clea's childhood; the second part of the book when she is grown and facing her demons by coming back home in a time of great need is a bit confusing at first, but well worth the effort. Clea is born of a single, loose woman who promptly turns her baby over to her neighbor, Jerusha, a stern black woman who disapproves of Clea's mom but raises this white baby all the same. Clea's family becomes blended with Jerusha's sister, Miss Sookie and Sookie's daughter Bitsy, and of course kind "Uncle" Cunny and her best friend, Claudie from down the road. Yet she still yearns for her mother's acknowledgement.
Some things from her unusual childhood and the issues with her mother are never really resolved, but that's life, isn't it?? The characters here are fully fleshed and so real I think I might have met some of them, y'all! There are several subplots here, and the best one concerns crazy, cursing (as in I curse you!) Miz Millicent and how her backstory suddenly comes out and makes such sense to Clea. Written in sometimes a dreamlike state, this novel is reminiscent of Wiley Cash and is a great addition to a shelf of southern stories. Thank you to my friend Karen T for lending me this book; I shall indeed pass it on!!!
See this and other reviews on my blog, www.rawlesreads.blogspot.com
February 24, 2018
I almost gave up on finishing this book, but I'm glad I didn't because I found the second half of the book to be much better than the first half. I felt like this book was oddly disjointed - almost like paragraphs were missing and thoughts weren't finished. I had a hard time following the story line, because I would be distracted by a scene not finished. It felt incomplete. Also, the way the story was told was just odd. I thought the book was set in the 20s or 30s, and you figure out later it was likely around the 80s. I found this odd, and another way that made it feel like the book wasn't complete.
February 26, 2018
This is the story of Clea Shine who grew up in False River, Mississippi. Abandoned by her mother at birth, she was raised by a neighbor, Jerusha Lovemore. After her mother dies, Clea leaves False River only to return with her own two children when her marriage falls apart. With a hurricane headed towards False River, everything that Clea ran from may finally be exposed. The writer did such a good job with the characters in this book. I finished this book feeling like I knew Clea, Jerusha and all the others. Really enjoyed reading it.
September 6, 2017
Clea had a sad, prostitute mom who gave her to a neighbor to raise moments after she was born & therefore a difficult childhood. She was raised by a wonderful & nurturing neighbor. Clea was a confused & self-centered child, and grew into a confused adult. The writing was very descriptive & I felt I could really see the scenes. I gave this a 3 because I didn't feel there was much resolution or really even much personal growth of the main characters. There was a lot of missing info.
December 31, 2017
I would use 4.5 stars for this. Some of it was a little choppy and there were things I didn't understand. I couldn't be sure if it was the writing or if it was a cultural thing that I didn't get. I also couldn't figure out for the longest time WHEN the book was set. I still don't really know, but was able to figure out that it was more like the 90s or 2000s.
This was my first book by this author. I would read another.
This was my first book by this author. I would read another.
August 23, 2023
This was an odd book. The time it is set in is hard to pick .
the atmosphere in the novel does, however, reflect what I have seen and experienced in my travels in the South of the USA.
I liked the portrayal of the quirky characters although for some of them, I wasn't sure how they added to the story.
Clea was a tough cookie and I loved her childhood sass!
I did quite enjoy the story but felt it was a bit disjointed at times
the atmosphere in the novel does, however, reflect what I have seen and experienced in my travels in the South of the USA.
I liked the portrayal of the quirky characters although for some of them, I wasn't sure how they added to the story.
Clea was a tough cookie and I loved her childhood sass!
I did quite enjoy the story but felt it was a bit disjointed at times
December 30, 2017
My rating for Playing With Matches is not based on the writing (which is good), or the characterizations (which are equally good) but just on the overall mood (for lack of a better word) of the book. This is NOT feel good sort of story. There's an abundance of unhappy people and stark, unpleasant events. It's realistic, but more than a bit depressing.
February 19, 2018
PLAYING WITH MATCHES: kept me up half the night to finish.... the story of an unwanted child who grows up down the road from the woman who gave her away. Written in two parts, childhood and adult, with all the intermingled doubts, fears and misunderstandings that go together. I couldn’t put it down.
January 16, 2016
PLAYING WITH MATCHES
by Caroline Wall
OVERVIEW: (from Goodreads)
When I felt truly lost—which was most of the time—I went out to the narrow lot and sat down in the weeds. From there I could observe both houses. After all, I had two eyes, didn’t I? Two nostrils, two arms, two knobby knees. The trouble was, I had only one heart.
Growing up in False River, Mississippi, Clea Shine learned early that a small town is no place for big secrets. Having fled years ago in the wake of a tragedy and now settled with a family of her own, she faces a turning point in her marriage and seeks refuge in the one place she vowed never to return.
Clea’s homecoming is bittersweet. Reunited with Jerusha Lovemore, the kindly neighbor who raised her, Clea gains a sense of love and comfort, but still cannot escape the ghosts of her past: the abandonment by her disreputable mother, her constant search for belonging, the truth behind that fateful night from long ago. Once outspoken and impulsive, Clea now seeks only redemption and peace of mind. And as a hurricane threatens to hit False River, everything she has tried to forget may finally be exposed once and for all.
A mesmerizing and poignant work by a master of the Southern novel, Playing with Matches is a stunning tale of guilt, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family.
About Carolyn Wall
Carolyn Wall is the author of the novel Sweeping Up Glass (Poisoned Pen Press; available in bookstores August, 2008). Her short stories, articles and photographs have appeared in over 100 publications. For many years she worked as Senior Staff Writer for Persimmon Hill, the award-winning publication of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and was chief writer for the museum’s children’s magazine. For six years she served as Fiction Editor and columnist for ByLine magazine.
A full-time freelance writer and lecturer on university campuses and in conference centers around the country, Wall conducts intense workshops in Fiction, Short Story and Feature Writing, Journaling, and Writing for Children. She is perhaps best known for her six-week classes: "How To Write What You Feel", and for motivating writers everywhere.
As an Artist-in-Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council, she has taught creative writing to 4,000 children in her home state and now runs a freelance editorial service. Through her company, The Write Page, she has established a prison-writer mentoring program, working with incarcerated men and women in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan and Texas.
In 1995, she wrote for and edited the book Braced Against The Wind, the only literary history of the bombing of Oklahoma City. In the fall of 1998, she wrote, produced and recorded The Journaling Tapes: Writing From The Heart, a six-week’ course in daily journaling. She has done voice-over work for radio and television.
The Department of the Interior and Wyoming's Bearlodge Writers presented her with a writing residency at Devils Tower, Wyoming in 1998. The recipient of regional and national honors, she is the only writer to have the distinction of receiving the regional Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.'s coveted crème-de-la-crème award twice. She lives in Oklahoma City and has completed her second novel, The Coffin Maker, available soon, also through Poisoned Pen Press.
REVIEW:
I absolutely loved this book. Ms. Wall Gives us a story that we can actually feel like we are living. With each
page, we can see and feel the characters emotions and actions. The first part off the book was rather easy to read, but the second half makes us actually think about what these characters have gone through to get to where they are at the end. I'm sure most everyone can relate to at least a small portion of the book if not most of it. The characters brought out as real people with real emotions, problems, hurts,flaws and for some, true honesty.
I would truly recommend this book to everyone. Parents might want to read first and then decide if it is appropriate for their child. It does have some scenes that are explicit and some words are a little rough. Those things just go with the story. You can't glorify some of the things that happened in this book.. But then again, you can't glorify some of real life. With all that Clea went through growing up, it's amazing she turned out to be the woman she was. I contribute it to a woman who loved her as though she was her own. very so often it's good for us to read books like this. It helps to bring us down to earth. That all is not rose petals and kindness. A lot of time, we go around with those rose colored glasses on and don't bother to reflect on what life is like for others. We often choose to ignore and go about our merry way. If Auntie had chose to do that, where would Clea been?
I received this complimentary copy of PLAYING WITH MATCHES from the author, Caroline Wall for this unbiased review.
I give this book 5 solid STARS.
High Five to you, Ms. Wall and keep up the fantastic work.. I must read COFFIN MAKER as soon as I can.
http://bemiown.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/book/.../13153825-p.....
www.amazon.com
www.shelfari.com
by Caroline Wall
OVERVIEW: (from Goodreads)
When I felt truly lost—which was most of the time—I went out to the narrow lot and sat down in the weeds. From there I could observe both houses. After all, I had two eyes, didn’t I? Two nostrils, two arms, two knobby knees. The trouble was, I had only one heart.
Growing up in False River, Mississippi, Clea Shine learned early that a small town is no place for big secrets. Having fled years ago in the wake of a tragedy and now settled with a family of her own, she faces a turning point in her marriage and seeks refuge in the one place she vowed never to return.
Clea’s homecoming is bittersweet. Reunited with Jerusha Lovemore, the kindly neighbor who raised her, Clea gains a sense of love and comfort, but still cannot escape the ghosts of her past: the abandonment by her disreputable mother, her constant search for belonging, the truth behind that fateful night from long ago. Once outspoken and impulsive, Clea now seeks only redemption and peace of mind. And as a hurricane threatens to hit False River, everything she has tried to forget may finally be exposed once and for all.
A mesmerizing and poignant work by a master of the Southern novel, Playing with Matches is a stunning tale of guilt, forgiveness, and the enduring bonds of family.
About Carolyn Wall
Carolyn Wall is the author of the novel Sweeping Up Glass (Poisoned Pen Press; available in bookstores August, 2008). Her short stories, articles and photographs have appeared in over 100 publications. For many years she worked as Senior Staff Writer for Persimmon Hill, the award-winning publication of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and was chief writer for the museum’s children’s magazine. For six years she served as Fiction Editor and columnist for ByLine magazine.
A full-time freelance writer and lecturer on university campuses and in conference centers around the country, Wall conducts intense workshops in Fiction, Short Story and Feature Writing, Journaling, and Writing for Children. She is perhaps best known for her six-week classes: "How To Write What You Feel", and for motivating writers everywhere.
As an Artist-in-Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council, she has taught creative writing to 4,000 children in her home state and now runs a freelance editorial service. Through her company, The Write Page, she has established a prison-writer mentoring program, working with incarcerated men and women in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan and Texas.
In 1995, she wrote for and edited the book Braced Against The Wind, the only literary history of the bombing of Oklahoma City. In the fall of 1998, she wrote, produced and recorded The Journaling Tapes: Writing From The Heart, a six-week’ course in daily journaling. She has done voice-over work for radio and television.
The Department of the Interior and Wyoming's Bearlodge Writers presented her with a writing residency at Devils Tower, Wyoming in 1998. The recipient of regional and national honors, she is the only writer to have the distinction of receiving the regional Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc.'s coveted crème-de-la-crème award twice. She lives in Oklahoma City and has completed her second novel, The Coffin Maker, available soon, also through Poisoned Pen Press.
REVIEW:
I absolutely loved this book. Ms. Wall Gives us a story that we can actually feel like we are living. With each
page, we can see and feel the characters emotions and actions. The first part off the book was rather easy to read, but the second half makes us actually think about what these characters have gone through to get to where they are at the end. I'm sure most everyone can relate to at least a small portion of the book if not most of it. The characters brought out as real people with real emotions, problems, hurts,flaws and for some, true honesty.
I would truly recommend this book to everyone. Parents might want to read first and then decide if it is appropriate for their child. It does have some scenes that are explicit and some words are a little rough. Those things just go with the story. You can't glorify some of the things that happened in this book.. But then again, you can't glorify some of real life. With all that Clea went through growing up, it's amazing she turned out to be the woman she was. I contribute it to a woman who loved her as though she was her own. very so often it's good for us to read books like this. It helps to bring us down to earth. That all is not rose petals and kindness. A lot of time, we go around with those rose colored glasses on and don't bother to reflect on what life is like for others. We often choose to ignore and go about our merry way. If Auntie had chose to do that, where would Clea been?
I received this complimentary copy of PLAYING WITH MATCHES from the author, Caroline Wall for this unbiased review.
I give this book 5 solid STARS.
High Five to you, Ms. Wall and keep up the fantastic work.. I must read COFFIN MAKER as soon as I can.
http://bemiown.blogspot.com
www.goodreads.com/book/.../13153825-p.....
www.amazon.com
www.shelfari.com
January 28, 2018
Beautiful tragedy
Crisp sticky writing that allows you to visualization of the story contrasts the egocentricity of childhood w an adults empathy. Strong females. Only prob was w the drugs talking about crack but calling it heroin
Crisp sticky writing that allows you to visualization of the story contrasts the egocentricity of childhood w an adults empathy. Strong females. Only prob was w the drugs talking about crack but calling it heroin
March 10, 2018
I found this book to be an encouraging tale in some ways and in others, depressing. It's about a girl, growing up in the back woods of Mississippi, not really knowing why people in town avoid her. She has a horrible childhood and has trouble as an adult also but overcomes.
March 31, 2018
Stunning story
Could not out this book down.. Writing is emotionally impeccable. Story tugs at heart strings and will stay with me a long time. One of the best stories I have ever read.
Could not out this book down.. Writing is emotionally impeccable. Story tugs at heart strings and will stay with me a long time. One of the best stories I have ever read.
April 22, 2018
Good story, a little bogged down in he end
I liked the quirky characters, the setting and the story. Is this some literary masterpiece? Of course not! But an entertaining read with some interesting characters. Got a little bogged down in the end.
I liked the quirky characters, the setting and the story. Is this some literary masterpiece? Of course not! But an entertaining read with some interesting characters. Got a little bogged down in the end.
August 2, 2021
After reading Sweeping Up Glass, Carolyn Wall's first book, Playing with Matches was harder to stick with. The pacing was ragged. I realize Clea had a lot to work through but I'm not sure this reader needed to slog along. I finished the book with a sigh.
September 7, 2023
a story about redemption and forgiveness
It wasn’t the best story I’ve ever read, but interesting. It does give a good account of a Mississippi family’s struggles to survive. Such poverty and sad lives but they try their best to make the best of their situations.
It wasn’t the best story I’ve ever read, but interesting. It does give a good account of a Mississippi family’s struggles to survive. Such poverty and sad lives but they try their best to make the best of their situations.
March 22, 2017
I did not care for the first half of this book partly because of confusion over the boy in the tree and the fire that burned the mother's house down. It was also relentlessly depressing. However I loved the second part when there was hope and explanation of Clea's early childhood.
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