Never

by Joel F. Johnson

“Those were just the times.” That’s how Morris “Little” Nickerson has always chosen to describe the incongruities of his childhood in the segregated south. But when a call from his older sister prompts Little, who is now in his seventies, to return to his hometown of LaSalle, Georgia, he finds himself having to reexamine the childhood he's kept encased in glass all these years. As he tries to make sense of the events of one particularly eventful summer, Little tells of Reverend Robert McAllister, the father of his best friend, who speaks the high-flown language of social change but preaches to an all-white congregation; he relates his love for the Black family maid, who is like a second mother to him but is made to sit in the back of his family’s car; he describes seeing familiar faces amongst the civil rights’ marchers who descend on the LaSalle town square, though he has been told that their protests are the work of outside agitators. Returning to a town he hasn’t seen in years, Little is forced to confront the ways in which his best friend, his father, and his fragile, often infirm, mother remain mysterious to him, and to admit that he cannot reconcile the nostalgia he feels for his naïve boyhood with the truth an old man can no longer deny.

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2023

About the author

People ask if my novel, Never, is autobiographical. I tell them I've never been inside a Black church, witnessed a civil rights demonstration, or shot a rat. Lasalle, Georgia is a fictional town. But I did grow up in the deep south and attend segregated public schools. My mother had migraines. I loved the Black woman who worked for our family. Nothing in my novel really happened. All of it feels true.

Reviews

[Gwynn J Polidoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

I would recommend this book to anyone expecting a good read and especially to those curious about the complexities of coming to terms with growing up white in the segregated South and the complexities of family.

[Jean Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read again and again. This was an exceptional read that pulled my mind back to my own childhood.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends loved it, but for me it was slow -- not molasses slow, but kind of literary slow. But a nice read. Sweet.

[HalKid2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a beautifully written and deeply insightful coming-of-age novel in which the author tries to reconcile his warm memories from childhood with the adult recognition that he grew up in a small, strictly-segregated Southern town, at a pivotal moment in United States racial history. I loved every page!

At the start of NEVER, the protagonist (affluent and White Morris "Little" Nickerson) and his older sister, Allyn -- both in their 70s -- are conferring about whether to return to their childhood town, fifty years after moving away. The event they discuss attending is the unveiling of a monument to a local civil rights hero. But a bigger draw is that the keynote will be delivered by an educator both siblings knew as children. In fact, the speaker will be the only daughter of the Nickerson family's former maid, Bit.

Employing a non-linear timeline, the author then adds chapters that review Morris's reminiscences about being a 12-year old boy one summer in the small town of LaSalle Georgia, at the time of the budding 1960s civil rights movement. His memories focus around two families, including his own:

The Nickersons. Dad (Big Morris) is an ardent segregationist who runs a successful woodworking business that has provided an enviable residence high on a hill, with a backyard pool, and full time help in the person of Bit. Mom (Elizabeth) is a deeper thinker but also a lonely woman who both craves human connection and shuns it. Daughter Allyn is a high school student focused on criticizing her parents. And Max (or "Little" as he's known then) is a quiet, cerebral, and somewhat naive pre-adolescent.

The McAllisters. The father, Rob, is the attractive and imposing minister of the Episcopal church the Nickersons attend in LaSalle. Rob is increasingly wrestling with his conscience because of all the ways racial segregation sits in opposition to his deeply-held Christian values. He lives a modest existence with his wife Carol, rebellious high school daughter Julia, and adventurous and outgoing son Jamie (who is Little's best friend).

Moving among the two families is Bit. She provides loving stability to the Nickerson children in the presence of a remote mother. Bit's competence, dependability, and long hours are indispensable to Elizabeth. Bit even takes on the extra work of helping out the McAllisters when they need it. And she supports Little and Jamie in their summer enterprises. But Bit has also learned to keep her true thoughts and opinions to herself. At home, she is a dedicated single mother to Emma G., a high schooler whose own social conscience is developing.

Through all these rich, multi-dimensional characters, author Joel F. Johnson shows us the human side of racial tensions in the 1960s. Both overt and subtle. The unspoken but understood social rules White people impose on Black people. The ways in which segregation impacts Black Americans on a daily basis. And how power plays out differently depending on the color of your skin.

As a debut novel, NEVER is impressive. Previously published as a poet, Johnson's writing is so skillful and tight and his imagery will stay with me for a long time. I was so sorry to leave these characters behind. Be sure NOT to miss this one.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would not have chosen this novel. The story is 'of a time' and is uniquely American by geography. But I was gifted it by a friend who's taste in books is often very aligned to my own. She forewarned me that it dealt with race relations in the south, from the POV of a young white boy, reflecting back as a man. The novelist too, is a man who grew up in the south, very likely in exactly the circumstances he characterizes in these pages, reflecting back with a purpose.

In the wrong hands this could so easily have gone astray. I'd have to take it with a grain of salt, I thought. Instead it is a sensitive portrayal of the obvious inequities, the ugly injustices, and some untarnished dignity. It doesn't white wash.

The main characters, our narrator 'Little' and 'Bit', his family's house keeper, are fully drawn. All the nuance of the power held even by a child is made clear early, in a mistake he regrets. All the dignity of Bit is portrayed in how she handles that imbalance, and every interaction, as she demonstrates through action the line where work and affection stop and start, while still offering selective tenderness.

There is a great supporting cast of family, neighbours, church leadership and townspeople. They provide layers of complexity, humour and sadness and move the plot forward. They are believable, revealing ignorance, empathy, honour, pride, indignity, respect, dishonour and the lack of mutual understanding that epitomizes any southern racial storyline, while also admitting to an inevitability that wounds are too deep. We are shown these things, not told.

The story unfolds with affection. It reads more like a memoir than a novel. It is fluid and approachable. The language quickly disappears in the telling.

[Amelia.S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joel F. Johnson’s Never is a quietly devastating exploration of how the past refuses to stay buried. Told through the reflective lens of Morris “Little” Nickerson, now an elderly man revisiting his segregated hometown, the novel captures the moral dissonance of growing up in a divided America. With elegant prose and unflinching honesty, Johnson traces the line between innocence and complicity, love and blindness, nostalgia and truth.

What makes Never remarkable is its subtlety. Rather than indict or absolve, it invites readers into the fragile interior of a man confronting what he once accepted as “just the times.” The story’s restrained emotional power builds toward a reckoning that feels both intimate and universal a recognition that memory, when faced squarely, can heal as much as it haunts.

Moving, reflective, and written with deep empathy, Never stands as a testament to how storytelling can bridge generations and awaken conscience without losing sight of grace.

[Francisco Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nuance, complexity, and cognitive dissonance conveyed through the delightfully, painfully honest tiny narrator gets to the heart of difficult topics in a manner totally opposite today’s one-note sound-bite culture. A coming of age story tackling racism in the segregated south while somehow focusing more on the human experience and the complexity of social norms than politics, this book is both easy to read and difficult to contemplate. With approachable yet somehow profound prose, Johnson approaches his lovable and difficult characters with empathy. A timely, great read!

[Joanne Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good, engrossing story; it brought back my memories of that time for me, the 60’s and the civil rights movement taking shape! I was a young teenager at the time. It was a revelation for me reading the southern experience! I was not aware since growing up in the north how it was! It woke me up… this book shed some powerful insight into segregation and how it impacted families and ultimately our country! The author wrote with sensitivity and respect; it has prompted me to reflect on this period in history and how it has influenced where we are today!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

You won’t regret the time you spend reading this novel! Joel Johnson’s first novel is a compelling story about growing up in the Jim Crow south during the civil rights era. His nuanced development of the characters drops you directly into a segregated southern small town and the challenges of that era. The narrator’s perspective is different than many novels about this era and the challenges are empathetically described in a very accessible and descriptive writing style. Since Joel grew up in Georgia his writing is very authentic and is influenced by his own experiences.

[Paul DiGiammarino · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely riveting. and what a beautiful ending!

Excellently written. Wonderful plot. The writer almost made me feel like I was there. Wonderful character development and story line. Kudos to Joel Johnson!

[Becky Ritter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story that the author based loosely on his own life growing up in the South. Could use editing to move the story along.

[Chris Tocci · Rating 5 out of 5]

a must read

This story is incredibly well written.
Character development was superb. The written words very quickly turned into pictures in my mind.
I just could not put this book down .
I look forward to his next novel…

[Derby Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first sentence of the book, I was pulled into the world of Little Nickerson and his family in 1950’s southern Georgia. The story centers around Bit, a black single mother hired as household help to the Little family. Bit is there throughout the ensuing years to feel Little and his sister Allen, to walk Little to school, to listen to him and comfort him. Little considers her a member of the family, at a time in which the civil rights movement is starting to make inroads into their part of the world, but events make him realize that their relationship is far more complicated than he knew. Joel Johnson is a natural storyteller, his story has well-developed characters, a plot that keeps you reading, moments of humor and plenty of heart, the whole package. I loved it.

[Steve carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Never”

Best book I have read in many months. The author is a wonderful story teller but also does a great job developing the characters. There are a lot of books written about race relations in the South but this one puts a unique human spin on it. Great read!