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Glow
On the eve of World War II, young Ella McGee sits on a bus bound for her Southern hometown. Behind her in Washington, D.C., lie the broken pieces of her parents’ love story—a black father drafted; an activist mother of Scotch-Irish and Cherokee descent confronting racist thugs.
But Ella’s journey is just beginning when she reaches Hopewell County, and her disappearance into the Georgia mountains will stir up memories long suppressed. As the secrets of Ella’s family history unfold in a vivid generational saga, Glow transports us to the Blue Ridge frontier of 1836, where slave plantations adjoin the haunted glades of a razed Cherokee Nation. Ron Rash’s Appalachia cascades into Alice Walker’s Georgia red clay in this lushly written debut announcing a major new voice in Southern fiction.
But Ella’s journey is just beginning when she reaches Hopewell County, and her disappearance into the Georgia mountains will stir up memories long suppressed. As the secrets of Ella’s family history unfold in a vivid generational saga, Glow transports us to the Blue Ridge frontier of 1836, where slave plantations adjoin the haunted glades of a razed Cherokee Nation. Ron Rash’s Appalachia cascades into Alice Walker’s Georgia red clay in this lushly written debut announcing a major new voice in Southern fiction.
336 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
45 people are currently reading
5555 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Maria Tuccelli
1 book56 followersThe Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance named Jessica Maria Tuccelli's debut novel, GLOW (Viking 2012), an Okra Pick—their highest recognition. A graduate of MIT with a degree in Cultural Anthropology, Tuccelli divides her time between New York City and Rome.
Check out the new novel -- GLOW:
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Invite Jessica and GLOW to your book club:
http://jessicamariatuccelli.com/bookclub.html
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Check out the new novel -- GLOW:
http://jessicamariatuccelli.com/
Invite Jessica and GLOW to your book club:
http://jessicamariatuccelli.com/bookclub.html
Connect with Jessica Maria Tuccelli on Facebook:
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
March 16, 2012
Glow starts with a quiet, loving moment between two people. It quickly turns into something more sinister. Soon a mother is rushing to save her daughter, a child who thinks of her as a sister. They go to the bus stop, but there's only room for one, and the mother sends the child ahead alone. Few hours later a phone call reveals the awful truth–the child, Ella, never made to their home town.
Tuccelli throws the reader into the young mother's skin just before sitting them down with the eleven year old girl talking to her dog. She awakens you after a nightmare with gentle hands of an old woman and moves you through the years into another century, into another world. Still further into the past we go before all the pieces are uncovered and the puzzle picture starts to form. It's a gruesome montage of slavery, racism, violence, and life.
It's especially fascinating to an outsider.
I'm not an American, but I've learned enough about the recent American history to recognise certain events. I'm also a fair headed and skinned Scandinavian who doesn't have a clue what being brown or black means. But I was a girl once, now I am a woman, always a daughter, though yet not a mother, and I do recognise the bond between a mother and daughter. I recognise the love, the anxiety, the grief, and the joy. I recognise the human emotions.
I didn't see my complexion darken, but I did feel the dirt under my fingernails and I flinched when the strap sang. I saw a biplane soar and I winced at every demand of freedom papers. That is Tuccelli's talent. She can transport you into another time and place and show you what life was like a little over 150 years ago. She can talk to you in different voices and not sound the same each time. She can bring to life the most gruesome pictures from a history book and show you how people got to that dark place. She can also show you hope.
For me, this book blurs the line between fact and fiction in a good way. It draws from actual events and proposes a story that most likely isn't true, but if feels like it could be. It makes the history be about people, not dates and words on a paper.
As much as I loved this story, I didn't love all of it. I abhor multiple first person points of view in any tense. They're impossible to write right. Tuccelli comes damn near it though. Willie Mae and Riddle Young have two very distinctive voices, and even I might be able to recognise their chapters from a random page sampling. Unfortunately Ella's and Mia's chapters aren't quite as unique and without contextual clues I wouldn't be able to separate one adolescent from another. For a native English speaker it might be an easier task. There are also a few long paragraphs of storytelling that qualify as infodumping. It's understandable in a book of this scope, but it didn't make absorbing them any easier.
I'm glad I stuck with it, though, and I'm telling you this book is worth a read.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
Tuccelli throws the reader into the young mother's skin just before sitting them down with the eleven year old girl talking to her dog. She awakens you after a nightmare with gentle hands of an old woman and moves you through the years into another century, into another world. Still further into the past we go before all the pieces are uncovered and the puzzle picture starts to form. It's a gruesome montage of slavery, racism, violence, and life.
It's especially fascinating to an outsider.
I'm not an American, but I've learned enough about the recent American history to recognise certain events. I'm also a fair headed and skinned Scandinavian who doesn't have a clue what being brown or black means. But I was a girl once, now I am a woman, always a daughter, though yet not a mother, and I do recognise the bond between a mother and daughter. I recognise the love, the anxiety, the grief, and the joy. I recognise the human emotions.
I didn't see my complexion darken, but I did feel the dirt under my fingernails and I flinched when the strap sang. I saw a biplane soar and I winced at every demand of freedom papers. That is Tuccelli's talent. She can transport you into another time and place and show you what life was like a little over 150 years ago. She can talk to you in different voices and not sound the same each time. She can bring to life the most gruesome pictures from a history book and show you how people got to that dark place. She can also show you hope.
For me, this book blurs the line between fact and fiction in a good way. It draws from actual events and proposes a story that most likely isn't true, but if feels like it could be. It makes the history be about people, not dates and words on a paper.
As much as I loved this story, I didn't love all of it. I abhor multiple first person points of view in any tense. They're impossible to write right. Tuccelli comes damn near it though. Willie Mae and Riddle Young have two very distinctive voices, and even I might be able to recognise their chapters from a random page sampling. Unfortunately Ella's and Mia's chapters aren't quite as unique and without contextual clues I wouldn't be able to separate one adolescent from another. For a native English speaker it might be an easier task. There are also a few long paragraphs of storytelling that qualify as infodumping. It's understandable in a book of this scope, but it didn't make absorbing them any easier.
I'm glad I stuck with it, though, and I'm telling you this book is worth a read.
I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
May 4, 2012
If I could, I would give this book ten stars. I don't know what the criteria is for a masterpiece, but in my opinion, this meets any requirements for that honor.
What beautiful, beautiful language. The characters are magnificently presented so you feel as if you truly know these people. The smells, the sights, the sounds are all there to make this a unique experience.
It travels from the 1800s up to WWII. Here is an interview with the author: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/htm...
If you'll listen to this, it will give you a much better feel for this book than I can.
I had an epiphany shortly after I finished reading and I'm curious to see if anyone else sees it the same way as I.
So, if you read this book, please message me on Facebook so I can discuss my opinion with you.
It's difficult to grasp that this is Tuccelli's first novel. I feel sure it won't be her last. I'm not one to read a book more than once, but I will probably make an exception in this case.
Please don't miss the chance to experience the ultimate in writing fiction.
What beautiful, beautiful language. The characters are magnificently presented so you feel as if you truly know these people. The smells, the sights, the sounds are all there to make this a unique experience.
It travels from the 1800s up to WWII. Here is an interview with the author: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/htm...
If you'll listen to this, it will give you a much better feel for this book than I can.
I had an epiphany shortly after I finished reading and I'm curious to see if anyone else sees it the same way as I.
So, if you read this book, please message me on Facebook so I can discuss my opinion with you.
It's difficult to grasp that this is Tuccelli's first novel. I feel sure it won't be her last. I'm not one to read a book more than once, but I will probably make an exception in this case.
Please don't miss the chance to experience the ultimate in writing fiction.
May 26, 2012
I am not going to lie, this book took some getting used to. What it reminded me of is a great bit ball of string, all knotted up, and trying to get it all into one smooth string, you have to follow the knots and work them slowly, one by one.
Glow begins with the story of Mia and Ella - Mia being the teenage mother of Ella, but Ella believing her grandmother is really her mother. There is racial tensions, being as this is set in Georgia in the mid-40's, and the switching back and forth between perspectives makes things a bit tiring.
But then something happens around mid-way through the book. The knots begin to take on lives of their own, and the characters meander through each others lives making the transition between characters and times a bit more easy to stand.
Glow is a fascinating look at not only the lives of characters of mixed race (Native American and African American feature prominently in this book), but also a very interesting look at the publications of the Census Bureau during the various times in the novel. Glow is a tearjerker - I was weeping and angry at the injustice that was oh so real and happening to people within its pages, and by the time I had closed the book, I knew I'd experienced something that will haunt me into the future.
Glow begins with the story of Mia and Ella - Mia being the teenage mother of Ella, but Ella believing her grandmother is really her mother. There is racial tensions, being as this is set in Georgia in the mid-40's, and the switching back and forth between perspectives makes things a bit tiring.
But then something happens around mid-way through the book. The knots begin to take on lives of their own, and the characters meander through each others lives making the transition between characters and times a bit more easy to stand.
Glow is a fascinating look at not only the lives of characters of mixed race (Native American and African American feature prominently in this book), but also a very interesting look at the publications of the Census Bureau during the various times in the novel. Glow is a tearjerker - I was weeping and angry at the injustice that was oh so real and happening to people within its pages, and by the time I had closed the book, I knew I'd experienced something that will haunt me into the future.
January 12, 2012
I was delighted to win Glow in the First-reads Giveaway contest. This was certainly a very much appreciated surprise Christmas present!
Glow is the exceptionally well written debut novel of Jessica Maria Tuccelli. Indian legends, ‘haints’ and hoodoo magic flickers through this brilliantly written novel of the history of the southern states. This is an expertly weaved tale written in the vernacular of several different characters from the small mountainous community of Hopewell County, Georgia ranging back and forth in time from the onset of WWII to 1836.
Tuccelli illuminates the history of slavery and the forced exodus of the Indians native to this region of Georgia and their often cruel treatment at the hands of the overpowering white population. The surprising interconnectedness of the community and the contrasting racial barriers are honestly explored in this riveting epic. Most importantly, this is a story about the bonds of family and friendship, as well as, the special relationship between mothers and daughters. It is about human love, kindness and hope in the face of tragedy, shame and cruelty. Ghosts weave in and out of this story as the stains of shame and guilt thread through the tapestry of the history of the colonization of North America.
Too often these days, I have picked up books to read based on the back summary only to find upon completion that the descriptions given about the novel have in no way met my expectations. I can honestly say that the back description of Glow does not do this fabulous book justice. The story line of Ella McGee lost and left for dead at the side of the road, on the back of the book is one small thread in a multicoloured tapestry consisting of four main storylines. The alternating storylines include: Amelia McGee, of Scotch-Irish and Cherokee descent, and Ella’s mother, in two different timelines of 26 years old, searching for her lost daughter, and at the age of nine, surviving a lonely childhood while being bullied as a ‘half-breed’; Willie Mae cotton, former slave and wise hoodoo practitioner, who tells her story of growing up on a plantation at the beck and call of an unstable mistress; and, Riddle Young, whose father was white and mother Cherokee, orphaned as a teenager with a small sister to raise on his own, goes on to form a bond with the wealthy Solomon Bound, building and eventually managing the large plantation but never belonging to the white community. Tuccelli like a busy spider spins a tale consisting of these seemingly disconnected stories drawing us further into the center of her web whereupon the connectedness of all the characters is revealed. Yet, this small storyline of Ella is the alpha and the omega of the story, literally the beginning and the end; and in the end, she is the sum total of the community and their future hope.
The strength of this novel is literally the writing. The prose is fluid and, yet sharp. The storylines are distinct, and each told from the first person POV. And, each is told in a different variation of the vernacular and immediately recognizable. In fact, you could easily open the book at any page and know with which character you are reading without hunting for the chapter heading. The characters are so well drawn they could step off the page. The scenery and environs of the community of Hopewell, with the mountains and farms, the alternating heat and rain storms, are well drawn and reflect each different timeline with abundant detail.
I love big epic stories with multiple storylines and characters. Glow does have a large number of characters some of which flit in and out of the different storylines, and I was quite grateful for the family tree at the beginning of the book and used it repeatedly to the keep characters straight in my own mind. While I enjoyed the challenge of keeping track of who is who, I can see how others could find this frustrating. Both the manner and subject matter of this book are in no way light hearted; however, the satisfaction upon the completion of this book was huge.
Days after completing this book, I continue to think of the characters of Glow and their stories. This book was insightful and lent a unique perspective of the non-white history of American. And, although terrible wrongs were committed, the story never lost sight of hope, love and the interconnectedness that makes us human.
I can only hope that Jessica Maria Tuccelli continues to write and I look forward to the next novel.
Glow will be published on March 19, 2012.
For more see my blog http://jackleenslibrary.blogspot.com/
Glow is the exceptionally well written debut novel of Jessica Maria Tuccelli. Indian legends, ‘haints’ and hoodoo magic flickers through this brilliantly written novel of the history of the southern states. This is an expertly weaved tale written in the vernacular of several different characters from the small mountainous community of Hopewell County, Georgia ranging back and forth in time from the onset of WWII to 1836.
Tuccelli illuminates the history of slavery and the forced exodus of the Indians native to this region of Georgia and their often cruel treatment at the hands of the overpowering white population. The surprising interconnectedness of the community and the contrasting racial barriers are honestly explored in this riveting epic. Most importantly, this is a story about the bonds of family and friendship, as well as, the special relationship between mothers and daughters. It is about human love, kindness and hope in the face of tragedy, shame and cruelty. Ghosts weave in and out of this story as the stains of shame and guilt thread through the tapestry of the history of the colonization of North America.
Too often these days, I have picked up books to read based on the back summary only to find upon completion that the descriptions given about the novel have in no way met my expectations. I can honestly say that the back description of Glow does not do this fabulous book justice. The story line of Ella McGee lost and left for dead at the side of the road, on the back of the book is one small thread in a multicoloured tapestry consisting of four main storylines. The alternating storylines include: Amelia McGee, of Scotch-Irish and Cherokee descent, and Ella’s mother, in two different timelines of 26 years old, searching for her lost daughter, and at the age of nine, surviving a lonely childhood while being bullied as a ‘half-breed’; Willie Mae cotton, former slave and wise hoodoo practitioner, who tells her story of growing up on a plantation at the beck and call of an unstable mistress; and, Riddle Young, whose father was white and mother Cherokee, orphaned as a teenager with a small sister to raise on his own, goes on to form a bond with the wealthy Solomon Bound, building and eventually managing the large plantation but never belonging to the white community. Tuccelli like a busy spider spins a tale consisting of these seemingly disconnected stories drawing us further into the center of her web whereupon the connectedness of all the characters is revealed. Yet, this small storyline of Ella is the alpha and the omega of the story, literally the beginning and the end; and in the end, she is the sum total of the community and their future hope.
The strength of this novel is literally the writing. The prose is fluid and, yet sharp. The storylines are distinct, and each told from the first person POV. And, each is told in a different variation of the vernacular and immediately recognizable. In fact, you could easily open the book at any page and know with which character you are reading without hunting for the chapter heading. The characters are so well drawn they could step off the page. The scenery and environs of the community of Hopewell, with the mountains and farms, the alternating heat and rain storms, are well drawn and reflect each different timeline with abundant detail.
I love big epic stories with multiple storylines and characters. Glow does have a large number of characters some of which flit in and out of the different storylines, and I was quite grateful for the family tree at the beginning of the book and used it repeatedly to the keep characters straight in my own mind. While I enjoyed the challenge of keeping track of who is who, I can see how others could find this frustrating. Both the manner and subject matter of this book are in no way light hearted; however, the satisfaction upon the completion of this book was huge.
Days after completing this book, I continue to think of the characters of Glow and their stories. This book was insightful and lent a unique perspective of the non-white history of American. And, although terrible wrongs were committed, the story never lost sight of hope, love and the interconnectedness that makes us human.
I can only hope that Jessica Maria Tuccelli continues to write and I look forward to the next novel.
Glow will be published on March 19, 2012.
For more see my blog http://jackleenslibrary.blogspot.com/
October 8, 2013
This story spans the years from 1834 to 1941 in Hopewell County, Georgia, and is told non-sequentially by several different narrators. At the heart of this story is the pursuit of freedom, equality and tolerance, from the era of slavery through the years of segregation and the KKK, but the complexity of the characters and their relationships, and more than a sprinkling of magic, take it to another level. I was very impressed with the author's ability to take a subject which has been tackled many times before and present it in a way which felt very fresh. I also found the language just beautiful and felt the author did a wonderful job of providing each character with a unique voice. I just loved this book.
July 27, 2012
When Amelia McGee gets a threatening rock through her window on the eve of a picket by blacks in Washington, D.C. in 1941, the first things she thinks to do is send her daughter Ella back to the homestead in Georgia where she will be safe. But something goes wrong on the way. The bus breaks down and deposits Ella late. When she begins to walk to her uncle’s home, two men in a pickup attack her, but she’s rescued before she is seriously injured. So begins the tale in Glow, a novel by Jessica Maria Tuccelli that starts with these early stirrings of the Civil Rights Movement and goes back in time to slavery and the removal of Native Americans from their land.
In remote Hopewell County, Georgia, a mix of fiercely independent people worked a hardscrabble existence in the hills. When preacher Solomon Bounds brings in a hardy strain of tobacco and builds a home with his family and slaves, he lays the footwork for a dynamic that will exist for generations to come.
The storytellers are mostly women: Amelia, Ella and Willa Mae Cotton. Ella is still young and impressionable, not aware of the cruelties of the world for a mixed race child in the 1940s. Amelia suffered the taunts of children who called her a half-breed when she was young, and she remembers her Cherokee grandmother sharing with her the lore of her people. She couldn’t understand hating or loving someone because of the color of their skin, and it seemed natural to her to fall in love with Obadiah Bounds, a black man who is Ella’s father. Willa Mae was born into slavery, and she knew that both her happiness and grief depended on the character of the man who owned her. She navigated the tricky waters of freedom and survived as a bridge from the old ways to the generations that came after her.
Throughout the saga, Glow paints a story of people for generations who want nothing more than the freedom to decide their own fate and care for their families. It’s a sweeping tale that reminds me of Cold Mountain with it’s descriptions of life in the Georgia mountains, and of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman for its scope of American history. Mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 15 and above will find a lot to talk about including the role of women in the times represented, slavery, Civil Rights and the relocation of Native Americans from their homeland.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.
In remote Hopewell County, Georgia, a mix of fiercely independent people worked a hardscrabble existence in the hills. When preacher Solomon Bounds brings in a hardy strain of tobacco and builds a home with his family and slaves, he lays the footwork for a dynamic that will exist for generations to come.
The storytellers are mostly women: Amelia, Ella and Willa Mae Cotton. Ella is still young and impressionable, not aware of the cruelties of the world for a mixed race child in the 1940s. Amelia suffered the taunts of children who called her a half-breed when she was young, and she remembers her Cherokee grandmother sharing with her the lore of her people. She couldn’t understand hating or loving someone because of the color of their skin, and it seemed natural to her to fall in love with Obadiah Bounds, a black man who is Ella’s father. Willa Mae was born into slavery, and she knew that both her happiness and grief depended on the character of the man who owned her. She navigated the tricky waters of freedom and survived as a bridge from the old ways to the generations that came after her.
Throughout the saga, Glow paints a story of people for generations who want nothing more than the freedom to decide their own fate and care for their families. It’s a sweeping tale that reminds me of Cold Mountain with it’s descriptions of life in the Georgia mountains, and of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman for its scope of American history. Mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 15 and above will find a lot to talk about including the role of women in the times represented, slavery, Civil Rights and the relocation of Native Americans from their homeland.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.
March 13, 2012
4.5 Stars
What a talented author this is! It is one thing to tie together a generation or two. Quite another to tie together a couple of family trees and generations.
The book is told by multiple perspectives in different time periods. The first voice introduces a couple of characters and the current conflict. The next voice might be a character introduced by the previous character but eventually they all tie together into the same family tree, although not a straight line. The cultures cross between American Indian, Southern white, and black.
One character is struggling because racial tensions have escalated and she no longer feels her young daughter is safe. She puts her on the bus and the girl disappears. She's frantic and sick with worry. Another character is torn from her mother's arms and sold to another family. It is slavery U.S. and my heart broke into a thousand pieces as I read the point of view as a slave.
Another character is a boy who discovers he is part American Indian and left to care for his toddler sister who seems to be mentally unsteady and difficult to keep corralled. He is living in a prejudiced world and wondering who he is - black, Indian, white? Can he rise to his trials? Through him we meet a multitude of other characters who play no small part.
It is part historical fiction, part ghost story, part epic novel. Beautifully written in the language expected (black slave English or 1940's Southern states) with descriptions that paint amazing pictures. All stories are tied together. My only complaint is how loosely they are tied together. I yearned for a more solid ending rather than the assumptions I was to make. I still highly recommend.
What a talented author this is! It is one thing to tie together a generation or two. Quite another to tie together a couple of family trees and generations.
The book is told by multiple perspectives in different time periods. The first voice introduces a couple of characters and the current conflict. The next voice might be a character introduced by the previous character but eventually they all tie together into the same family tree, although not a straight line. The cultures cross between American Indian, Southern white, and black.
One character is struggling because racial tensions have escalated and she no longer feels her young daughter is safe. She puts her on the bus and the girl disappears. She's frantic and sick with worry. Another character is torn from her mother's arms and sold to another family. It is slavery U.S. and my heart broke into a thousand pieces as I read the point of view as a slave.
Another character is a boy who discovers he is part American Indian and left to care for his toddler sister who seems to be mentally unsteady and difficult to keep corralled. He is living in a prejudiced world and wondering who he is - black, Indian, white? Can he rise to his trials? Through him we meet a multitude of other characters who play no small part.
It is part historical fiction, part ghost story, part epic novel. Beautifully written in the language expected (black slave English or 1940's Southern states) with descriptions that paint amazing pictures. All stories are tied together. My only complaint is how loosely they are tied together. I yearned for a more solid ending rather than the assumptions I was to make. I still highly recommend.
March 15, 2012
This story spans the years 1836 to 1941 following the female descendants of Solomon Bounds.
Amelia McGee, a young woman of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, is an outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP and when her home was vandalized in the middle of the night she decides to put her eleven year old daughter, Ella, alone on a bus home to Georgia from Washington, D.C. But when the local bus is out of commission Ella is left walking the last part of her journey. She is preyed on by two drifters and is left for dead on the side of the road with just her dog.
Ella is found by Willa Mae Cotton, a former slave and Mary-Mary Freeborn. They take her back to their cabin to nurse her back to health. While there she learns the secrets of her lineage, she is the youngest of Solomon Bounds kin.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This is a poignant narrative of an important time in history. In 2012 we are still talking about race, it is still a hot button issue even as we have the first president of mixed race.
The author takes us on a journey through Solomon Bounds family tree and each branch and leaf gets to tell us their part of the story. White, African-American, Native American, even mixed together, they all have their own voice in this family. Their words have a lyrical quality that makes the story real and engaging.
It is a story full of history and local customs of the Northeast Georgia. The settings of the mountains and forests surrounding the story are described lovingly, as is the weather endured, the heat, the winds, and the rain.
The theme throughout is love, a mother’s love for her child, the lengths we go to to maintain that relationship as well the other relationships in our lives, even relationships that society would deem forbidden. The women in this adventure are very strong and continue to grow throughout their story.
Again, I am amazed that this is a debut novel for this author. She is definitely an author to watch.
This is a beautifully composed novel spanning over 100 years, the readers will definitely see and feel the “Glow”.
Amelia McGee, a young woman of Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, is an outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP and when her home was vandalized in the middle of the night she decides to put her eleven year old daughter, Ella, alone on a bus home to Georgia from Washington, D.C. But when the local bus is out of commission Ella is left walking the last part of her journey. She is preyed on by two drifters and is left for dead on the side of the road with just her dog.
Ella is found by Willa Mae Cotton, a former slave and Mary-Mary Freeborn. They take her back to their cabin to nurse her back to health. While there she learns the secrets of her lineage, she is the youngest of Solomon Bounds kin.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This is a poignant narrative of an important time in history. In 2012 we are still talking about race, it is still a hot button issue even as we have the first president of mixed race.
The author takes us on a journey through Solomon Bounds family tree and each branch and leaf gets to tell us their part of the story. White, African-American, Native American, even mixed together, they all have their own voice in this family. Their words have a lyrical quality that makes the story real and engaging.
It is a story full of history and local customs of the Northeast Georgia. The settings of the mountains and forests surrounding the story are described lovingly, as is the weather endured, the heat, the winds, and the rain.
The theme throughout is love, a mother’s love for her child, the lengths we go to to maintain that relationship as well the other relationships in our lives, even relationships that society would deem forbidden. The women in this adventure are very strong and continue to grow throughout their story.
Again, I am amazed that this is a debut novel for this author. She is definitely an author to watch.
This is a beautifully composed novel spanning over 100 years, the readers will definitely see and feel the “Glow”.
September 16, 2012
This is probably a 3.5 for me. Beautifully written tale about small town Georgia and the intertwining history of its families. I was engrossed by the characters and drawn in by their stories, though Mia and Ella's narratives were hard for me to tell apart at first. There are a lot of great things about this book--the descriptions were evocative without veering into self-indulgence and the interplay of race relations between white, black and Cherokee rang true to me. I thought it was a sensitively written book but I admit that at the end I was left wondering what the point was. These great narratives of people and families coming together and drifting apart through the years was interesting (and uniquely familiar to those from small towns) and compelling. But at the end I suppose I was left wondering what I, the reader, was meant to do with all this info. At the end I'm not sure what this rich history is supposed to mean and, frankly, why it matters. What is the ultimate point of this story? I don't think the author convinces me that this story burns to be told. The plot framework does not support a reason for this engrossing look into Ella's ancestry and leaves me wishing that there was something in the 1941 storyline that desperately called for making sense of the past. Don't get me wrong. Great storytelling. Interesting characters. Definitely worth reading. But lacking in overall plotting and an overarching reason for this tale to be told. An entertaining weekend read.
November 23, 2014
Glow is the kind of novel I want to shout about, the kind of novel I want to shove into the hands of complete and total strangers. I’m floored that it’s a debut and I’m a tiny bit angry with myself for not discovering it sooner. This is a book written for me. A family deep-rooted in the South, heavy-hitting themes tackled respectfully but without sugar-coating anything, a well of faith, and just a hint of magic. Glow is a phenomenal novel that left me breathless. Not only will I be itching for whatever Tuccelli happens to write next, but you can bet I’ll be pushing this novel on whoever gets within shouting distance! Do yourself a favor, guys. Read this book.
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
For the full review and more, head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby!
June 22, 2013
Glow the debut novel by Jessica Maria Tuccelli is exquisitely written. Her words are a work of beauty and I immediately fell in love with this novel. Glow starts out with Mia (Amelia) McGhee, a civil rights activist on the verge of leading an organized picket against a major grocer in Washington, DC. On the eve of the picket terror strikes too close to home and she places her young daughter Ella and family dog on a bus, alone, headed back to her hometown of Hopewell, Georgia.
Glow is compared to The Help for some odd reason. I think comparison’s to Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Octavia Butler’s Kindred, and even Bernice McFadden’s Nowhere is a Place would be more accurate. The story deals with slavery in all its cruelty, but gives a lesson on the Native Americans that first inherited this land and the co-mingling of foreigners, slaves and slave owners. Tuccelli’s research and passion for history is evident as she paves the path of heritage from 1941 back through the early 1800’s.
Although Glow opens up with the tale of Mia and the disappearance of Ella after she exits the bus in Hopewell, the book switches gears and becomes the backstory of Mia in her youth. As quickly as the reader makes the adjustment, Tuccelli switches direction again and the reader lands smack dab in additional backstory, even more interesting than the first. It isn’t until page 270 that we get back to the original story and it’s happily ever after ending.
If Tuccelli wasn't such an amazing writer and the stories within the story weren't so intriguing Glow could have been a major flop. My disappointments with the book were my inability at times to keep up with the ethnicity of the characters, and the lack of story between Mia and Obadiah, who is only mentioned in rare instances. I believe their story coupled with Tuccelli’s writing could make for a powerful love story.
Glow started out as a 5 star read but there was too much backstory and too little focus on what started as the main story, cost it a star. I am excited for Tuccelli and look forward to reading her future works; she is a rare and gifted writer.
Peace & Blessings,
Tracy L. Darity
www.tracyldarity.com
2K13 Letters & Themes Challenge: Choose Your Own Adventure
Book received by Viking/Penguin
Glow is compared to The Help for some odd reason. I think comparison’s to Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Octavia Butler’s Kindred, and even Bernice McFadden’s Nowhere is a Place would be more accurate. The story deals with slavery in all its cruelty, but gives a lesson on the Native Americans that first inherited this land and the co-mingling of foreigners, slaves and slave owners. Tuccelli’s research and passion for history is evident as she paves the path of heritage from 1941 back through the early 1800’s.
Although Glow opens up with the tale of Mia and the disappearance of Ella after she exits the bus in Hopewell, the book switches gears and becomes the backstory of Mia in her youth. As quickly as the reader makes the adjustment, Tuccelli switches direction again and the reader lands smack dab in additional backstory, even more interesting than the first. It isn’t until page 270 that we get back to the original story and it’s happily ever after ending.
If Tuccelli wasn't such an amazing writer and the stories within the story weren't so intriguing Glow could have been a major flop. My disappointments with the book were my inability at times to keep up with the ethnicity of the characters, and the lack of story between Mia and Obadiah, who is only mentioned in rare instances. I believe their story coupled with Tuccelli’s writing could make for a powerful love story.
Glow started out as a 5 star read but there was too much backstory and too little focus on what started as the main story, cost it a star. I am excited for Tuccelli and look forward to reading her future works; she is a rare and gifted writer.
Peace & Blessings,
Tracy L. Darity
www.tracyldarity.com
2K13 Letters & Themes Challenge: Choose Your Own Adventure
Book received by Viking/Penguin
May 2, 2013
As a piece of literary fiction, Glow intrigued me for many reasons. First, the flowing conversation allowed me to stay engaged right there with the story:
Mia had tried again, treading gingerly, not wanting to spoil the beauty of her daughter, not wanting to seed ugliness in her head.
They won't let folks with brown faces work there. Only pink faces like them. White folks, she conceded.
Not even you?
Especially not me.
Why not?
Because some folks don't know any better; they weren't taught to do the right thing.
"I'm ten and a half. You only nine," I say.
"So you're the older one. Fine by me."
"Don't you forget it," I say.
"I'll remind you to your dying day."
"Don't doubt it. You a pest," I say. "You like a fly around a horse's eye."
"And you're the one around his ass."
We cracked ourselves up, Mary-Mary and me.
Secondly, you know how much I love rich word choice, right? Well, this novel delivered. Jessica Tuccelli chose just the right words necessary to provide vivid imagery for the reader.
"An epoch later, we heard the double bang of the screen door and Poppa's brogans sweeping across the floorboards..."
"I squinted and imagined the puzzle pieces: the corner of a window, the jutting edge of an oak-shingled roof, a sunken porch, and the top of a crumbling chimney."
"When I deposited the wormy being into his hand, Turner seemed to forget himself as he caressed it. His jaw dropped, a dab of wet glossing his bottom lip. He laughed silently as the caterpillar undulated across his wrist and up his forearm."
"That one is unfortunate in death as well as in life. And now she stuck like nobody's business. She got nothing left of conscience or reason, just painful rememory and terrible want. That's the worst state a haint [Southern colloquialism - ghost, lost soul] can be in --wandering so long, there ain't nothing left of their humanity."
Each chapter held one page on which was printed authentic historical information, in the form of an official document, in order to help stage the cultural mindset, actual laws of the time, racial integration (or lack thereof), census taking protocols.
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy Southern States in the 1940's, historical fiction, evolution of cultural mores, and engagingly written literary fiction.
Mia had tried again, treading gingerly, not wanting to spoil the beauty of her daughter, not wanting to seed ugliness in her head.
They won't let folks with brown faces work there. Only pink faces like them. White folks, she conceded.
Not even you?
Especially not me.
Why not?
Because some folks don't know any better; they weren't taught to do the right thing.
"I'm ten and a half. You only nine," I say.
"So you're the older one. Fine by me."
"Don't you forget it," I say.
"I'll remind you to your dying day."
"Don't doubt it. You a pest," I say. "You like a fly around a horse's eye."
"And you're the one around his ass."
We cracked ourselves up, Mary-Mary and me.
Secondly, you know how much I love rich word choice, right? Well, this novel delivered. Jessica Tuccelli chose just the right words necessary to provide vivid imagery for the reader.
"An epoch later, we heard the double bang of the screen door and Poppa's brogans sweeping across the floorboards..."
"I squinted and imagined the puzzle pieces: the corner of a window, the jutting edge of an oak-shingled roof, a sunken porch, and the top of a crumbling chimney."
"When I deposited the wormy being into his hand, Turner seemed to forget himself as he caressed it. His jaw dropped, a dab of wet glossing his bottom lip. He laughed silently as the caterpillar undulated across his wrist and up his forearm."
"That one is unfortunate in death as well as in life. And now she stuck like nobody's business. She got nothing left of conscience or reason, just painful rememory and terrible want. That's the worst state a haint [Southern colloquialism - ghost, lost soul] can be in --wandering so long, there ain't nothing left of their humanity."
Each chapter held one page on which was printed authentic historical information, in the form of an official document, in order to help stage the cultural mindset, actual laws of the time, racial integration (or lack thereof), census taking protocols.
This book will appeal to readers who enjoy Southern States in the 1940's, historical fiction, evolution of cultural mores, and engagingly written literary fiction.
May 5, 2012
This novel was much more than I expected from the dust jacket description. What could have been an interesting read as an abduction mystery and tale of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s turned into much more. It became a multigenerational tale of mixed-race communities and relationships over a century in Georgia told through the eyes of several characters, free and enslaved.
I feel it is often easy to make characters that are slaves more caricature than human being. The characters in this book seemed to me to be well rounded, often ambivalent, as I feel we all are. Perhaps the story will not be emotional or graphic enough for some. I appreciated that the author addressed the joys and sorrows but focused more often on the grey area between.
Just for good measure, there is a dash of folklore in the story with ghosts of the past (or haints) haunting some of these characters. At first I considered this a detraction. As the story progressed, however, I found myself wanting resolution for these poor souls as well. The jury is still out on this aspect of the story, but I greatly appreciate I'm still thinking about it, even after closing the book.
I believe this novel will resonate with me long after reading it. Like many Americans, I can count among my ancestors such free persons of color. Not enough is said about these mixed race communities. We have until recently focused too much on the stark relief version of a good/bad national history i.e. all slave owners were sadists, all Native Americans went to reservations, the lives of freed men and women were immediately better (never mind the 100 year gap in the rights struggle) and so on. With this novel I can ruminate upon what my ancestors may have witnessed in their lives. In all, I am thankful for a rich fiction which makes me yearn to learn more.
I feel it is often easy to make characters that are slaves more caricature than human being. The characters in this book seemed to me to be well rounded, often ambivalent, as I feel we all are. Perhaps the story will not be emotional or graphic enough for some. I appreciated that the author addressed the joys and sorrows but focused more often on the grey area between.
Just for good measure, there is a dash of folklore in the story with ghosts of the past (or haints) haunting some of these characters. At first I considered this a detraction. As the story progressed, however, I found myself wanting resolution for these poor souls as well. The jury is still out on this aspect of the story, but I greatly appreciate I'm still thinking about it, even after closing the book.
I believe this novel will resonate with me long after reading it. Like many Americans, I can count among my ancestors such free persons of color. Not enough is said about these mixed race communities. We have until recently focused too much on the stark relief version of a good/bad national history i.e. all slave owners were sadists, all Native Americans went to reservations, the lives of freed men and women were immediately better (never mind the 100 year gap in the rights struggle) and so on. With this novel I can ruminate upon what my ancestors may have witnessed in their lives. In all, I am thankful for a rich fiction which makes me yearn to learn more.
June 19, 2012
Very, very torn between 3-star and 4-star review... but I'm going with three because I got bored several times while reading this book. It just had too many slow parts for my liking - I prefer something that keeps me up all night because I can't wait to see what happens next.
It's a very complex story spanning hundreds of years and connecting dozens of characters - and considering the epic proportions of the tale to be told, I'm really impressed that it was so coherent. I did have to keep going back to the massive family tree in the front of the book to remember who was married to whom, etc., but that's what those things are there for. The book is written from several characters' points of view - and it's amazing how different the "voice" of each person is, as the first person narrative changes from chapter to chapter.
What bothered me - and this may just be my own pet peeve and not a real flaw - was the way the reader is continuously beat over the head with racism. Yes, the book is set in the South, and yes, it takes place during some tumultuous times (from pre-Civil War to the 1940s), but a story centered around racial tensions can still be told without being so damn preachy! The author of The Help certainly didn't have this problem. I also wish that there had been more of the "Cherokee lore and hoodoo conjuring" that the book jacket description promised.
Bottom line: it's worth reading - even if you don't love it, you will appreciate it for the huge accomplishment that it is.
It's a very complex story spanning hundreds of years and connecting dozens of characters - and considering the epic proportions of the tale to be told, I'm really impressed that it was so coherent. I did have to keep going back to the massive family tree in the front of the book to remember who was married to whom, etc., but that's what those things are there for. The book is written from several characters' points of view - and it's amazing how different the "voice" of each person is, as the first person narrative changes from chapter to chapter.
What bothered me - and this may just be my own pet peeve and not a real flaw - was the way the reader is continuously beat over the head with racism. Yes, the book is set in the South, and yes, it takes place during some tumultuous times (from pre-Civil War to the 1940s), but a story centered around racial tensions can still be told without being so damn preachy! The author of The Help certainly didn't have this problem. I also wish that there had been more of the "Cherokee lore and hoodoo conjuring" that the book jacket description promised.
Bottom line: it's worth reading - even if you don't love it, you will appreciate it for the huge accomplishment that it is.
July 28, 2013
I greatly enjoyed listening to this historical novel in recorded book form. At times I got a bit mixed up as to who was speaking (the story spans about 100 years with about five different voices), which is normal for me these days. The depiction of the lives of these slaves, African Americans and Cherokee and Caucasian main characters were wonderful to follow. I was impressed by the extensive vocabulary used (I read some where that as languages get older, they get simpler--well 19th century English , at least in this book, was more complex than current English). The stories are wonderful, though not always pleasant. The author must have done much research because there is historical detail, which really gave me a taste of what life must have been like during the span of the book. I certainly recommend this book and would certainly read other books by the author if she has more to offer.
January 13, 2014
Wow, just wow!
Sometimes slow moving, sometimes confusing, with a sometimes aggravating narrative voice, but wow! These irritating mechanisms were not enough to overshadow how wonderfully written and complex this story is. When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to yet another period slavery story, but it is so much more. The richness of the area, the time, and the multi-layered racial aspects (white, black, Indian) are woven together in such a way that make it oh so much more.
I have to admit that after the first 2/3 of the book, I read late into the wee morning hours with my mouth hanging open, and my heart pounding. What a debut!
Here is an interview with the author, and a reading that might get you hooked.
http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static...
Sometimes slow moving, sometimes confusing, with a sometimes aggravating narrative voice, but wow! These irritating mechanisms were not enough to overshadow how wonderfully written and complex this story is. When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to yet another period slavery story, but it is so much more. The richness of the area, the time, and the multi-layered racial aspects (white, black, Indian) are woven together in such a way that make it oh so much more.
I have to admit that after the first 2/3 of the book, I read late into the wee morning hours with my mouth hanging open, and my heart pounding. What a debut!
Here is an interview with the author, and a reading that might get you hooked.
http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static...
February 2, 2014
I can only echo the sentiment my friend expressed after she read the book "wow" There were times when I was reading this book when I couldn't keep all the characters straight and I thought it jumped around too much but then the book just over took me. In the end, my heart was breaking for all that had happened to my friends from "Glow". The character development was superb, the voices of all of them so crystal clear. I cared so much for them. It is a beautifully written book. Add it to your list of must reads.
August 20, 2013
Beautifully written, mystical. Incorporated history in the southern United States - the effects on people considered subhuman devastating. It's good to read this book straight through to keep characters and times straight. I picked it up at different times and had to try to reacquaint myself with who was who.
May 30, 2020
This book was very hard for me to get through. I’m not sure if it’s the writing or the way the book is structured. The back and forth nature of the story teller in the beginning made it difficult to connect with the characters and understand what’s happening. When I had more time with one narrator’s story I wanted to know where their life would lead and how it connected to the other narrators and familiar names. It was important to me to finish the book and lean in to the stories I don’t often read and listen to the generations-old struggles of those fighting for freedom and what’s truly theirs.
June 30, 2019
2.5 stars
May 30, 2012
3.5
Although a little complex with the multiple time periods and narratives, Glow is an engrossing novel which convincingly captures the essence of the time period, especially the parts taking place in Hopewell County, GA during the mid-1800's. While the novel touches on the forced removal of the Cherokee from Georgia and also slavery in the county, the focal point of the story is the family connections which are related by a fascinating and varied cast of characters.
"No matter what trouble he stirs up, what law he breaks, Obidiah Bounds will always be her cool sip of hyssop nectar on a sunny day."
This quote opens the novel which starts off in October of 1941 with an adult Amelia McGee putting her daughter Ella on a bus to her brother Buddy in the middle of the night after the arrest of her draft dodging husband Obadiah and the receipt of threats for her work with the NAACP. Things do not go as planned and Ella encounters trouble with two unsavory characters who leave her badly injured. Fortunately she is found by Willie Mae Cotton and Mary-Mary Freeborn-two old former slaves who take her to their cottage in the mountains to nurse her back to health. Here the story shifts back and forth between Ella and her saviors in the 1940's to her mother Amelia's childhood growing up in those same mountains. As the novel continues on we are led into Willie Mae's story and through her comes the connection to Riddle Young and Solomon Bounds who also feature prominently in the story. Glow also has a bit of a supernatural bent featuring ghosts or "haints" and hoodoo magic woven throughout the tale.
The writing here is wonderful and really sucked me in. There were a few things that did make reading a little difficult though. The biggest issue is that while the stories of each of the characters are connected, there is nothing to ease you from the narrative of one character into the narrative of another. A section will deal with Ella, then her mother as an adult, then Ella again, then Ella's mother as a girl and then it moves onto Willie Mae's story. Because the book is written in this manner the family tree in the beginning is essential to being able to follow the book fully and I found myself referring to it often. The good thing is that I found myself liking each character and their story arc so well that I started not to mind this eventually. it did prove distracting at first though and if I didn't have to keep pulling myself out of the story to refer to the family tree I probably would have given this book a 4/5. As the accounts of Willie Mae, and the McGee, Young, and Bounds families unwind the reader eventually begins to see the connection between them. Interspersed throughout Glow are US Census instructions for the different eras covered in the book which was a unique way to illustrate the view of the different races for the time period being written about. I have always been a big fan of family sagas and historical fiction set in the US and I really enjoyed this debut by Ms. Tuccelli. I was entertained from the moment I started reading of Ella's encounter with the drifters, through the multiple lives of the other characters, and all the way to the end when we finally find out what happens with Ella. I will definitely be checking out her work in the future.
*review copy from NetGalley*
Although a little complex with the multiple time periods and narratives, Glow is an engrossing novel which convincingly captures the essence of the time period, especially the parts taking place in Hopewell County, GA during the mid-1800's. While the novel touches on the forced removal of the Cherokee from Georgia and also slavery in the county, the focal point of the story is the family connections which are related by a fascinating and varied cast of characters.
"No matter what trouble he stirs up, what law he breaks, Obidiah Bounds will always be her cool sip of hyssop nectar on a sunny day."
This quote opens the novel which starts off in October of 1941 with an adult Amelia McGee putting her daughter Ella on a bus to her brother Buddy in the middle of the night after the arrest of her draft dodging husband Obadiah and the receipt of threats for her work with the NAACP. Things do not go as planned and Ella encounters trouble with two unsavory characters who leave her badly injured. Fortunately she is found by Willie Mae Cotton and Mary-Mary Freeborn-two old former slaves who take her to their cottage in the mountains to nurse her back to health. Here the story shifts back and forth between Ella and her saviors in the 1940's to her mother Amelia's childhood growing up in those same mountains. As the novel continues on we are led into Willie Mae's story and through her comes the connection to Riddle Young and Solomon Bounds who also feature prominently in the story. Glow also has a bit of a supernatural bent featuring ghosts or "haints" and hoodoo magic woven throughout the tale.
The writing here is wonderful and really sucked me in. There were a few things that did make reading a little difficult though. The biggest issue is that while the stories of each of the characters are connected, there is nothing to ease you from the narrative of one character into the narrative of another. A section will deal with Ella, then her mother as an adult, then Ella again, then Ella's mother as a girl and then it moves onto Willie Mae's story. Because the book is written in this manner the family tree in the beginning is essential to being able to follow the book fully and I found myself referring to it often. The good thing is that I found myself liking each character and their story arc so well that I started not to mind this eventually. it did prove distracting at first though and if I didn't have to keep pulling myself out of the story to refer to the family tree I probably would have given this book a 4/5. As the accounts of Willie Mae, and the McGee, Young, and Bounds families unwind the reader eventually begins to see the connection between them. Interspersed throughout Glow are US Census instructions for the different eras covered in the book which was a unique way to illustrate the view of the different races for the time period being written about. I have always been a big fan of family sagas and historical fiction set in the US and I really enjoyed this debut by Ms. Tuccelli. I was entertained from the moment I started reading of Ella's encounter with the drifters, through the multiple lives of the other characters, and all the way to the end when we finally find out what happens with Ella. I will definitely be checking out her work in the future.
*review copy from NetGalley*
April 2, 2012
"Unheard American Voices"
from The Tottenville Review
Spanning a hundred years, Jessica Maria Tuccelli’s debut novel, Glow, is a tale of generations and the generational legacy of American race relations. Essentially, it is the story of a mother, Amelia McGee, a woman of mixed Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, and her young daughter, Ella. Amelia is a dangerously outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP in 1941, and fearing for her daughter’s life, she puts Ella on a bus home to Georgia in the middle of the night. But danger finds Ella anyway. Attacked and left for dead on the side of the road, Ella is found and carried home by a former slave, Willie Mae Cotton, who nurses young Ella back to health. Ella slowly comes to better understand her family’s troubled history—which in turn becomes the greater story of a nation and our unseemly relationship to race, especially to “half-breeds” and “mixed-breeds,” African- and Native-Americans alike.
Tuccelli’s ambitions are nothing less than Faulknerian. Sections are boldly marked by particular voices: E.F. McGee, Amelia J. McGee, Willie Mae Cotton, Riddle Young (the novel’s fourth voice, a distant relative of Amelia’s). And each voice is given a soul of its own as Tuccelli patiently makes their connections clear. Peopled by a chorus of voices as varied as they are remarkably rendered, Glow is unflinching in its portrait of slavery, violence, and prejudice.
Peppered throughout are brief blocks of bureaucratic prose taken directly from actual recovered government documents: “from Instructions to Enumerators U.S. Census, 1940 Questionnaire,” “from Instructions to Marshals and Assistant Marshals U.S. Census, 1840 Questionnaire.” The documents serve as enigmatic checkpoints in the evolution of race in America (“Write ‘W’ for white; ‘Neg’ for Negro; ‘In’ for Indian; ‘Jp’ for Japanese…”), and as real-world reminders in a novel chockfull of Beloved-like ghosts.
Toward the end of Glow, Ella and her mother watch a town parade go by on Main Street. Led by a local preacher, local citizens march, “waving flags and holding banners.” The marchers shout: “One God, one language, one flag!” and “One hundred percent American!” The young girl looks up at her mother, and asks, “What does it mean?”
The answer to that could fill a book, and Glow is as daring and complicated and ambitious as the question demands. In fact, the book is something of an anomaly, a genuine page-turner that is also lyrically fearless, structurally challenging, and beautifully composed.
http://www.tottenvillereview.com/unhe...
from The Tottenville Review
Spanning a hundred years, Jessica Maria Tuccelli’s debut novel, Glow, is a tale of generations and the generational legacy of American race relations. Essentially, it is the story of a mother, Amelia McGee, a woman of mixed Cherokee and Scotch-Irish descent, and her young daughter, Ella. Amelia is a dangerously outspoken pamphleteer for the NAACP in 1941, and fearing for her daughter’s life, she puts Ella on a bus home to Georgia in the middle of the night. But danger finds Ella anyway. Attacked and left for dead on the side of the road, Ella is found and carried home by a former slave, Willie Mae Cotton, who nurses young Ella back to health. Ella slowly comes to better understand her family’s troubled history—which in turn becomes the greater story of a nation and our unseemly relationship to race, especially to “half-breeds” and “mixed-breeds,” African- and Native-Americans alike.
Tuccelli’s ambitions are nothing less than Faulknerian. Sections are boldly marked by particular voices: E.F. McGee, Amelia J. McGee, Willie Mae Cotton, Riddle Young (the novel’s fourth voice, a distant relative of Amelia’s). And each voice is given a soul of its own as Tuccelli patiently makes their connections clear. Peopled by a chorus of voices as varied as they are remarkably rendered, Glow is unflinching in its portrait of slavery, violence, and prejudice.
Peppered throughout are brief blocks of bureaucratic prose taken directly from actual recovered government documents: “from Instructions to Enumerators U.S. Census, 1940 Questionnaire,” “from Instructions to Marshals and Assistant Marshals U.S. Census, 1840 Questionnaire.” The documents serve as enigmatic checkpoints in the evolution of race in America (“Write ‘W’ for white; ‘Neg’ for Negro; ‘In’ for Indian; ‘Jp’ for Japanese…”), and as real-world reminders in a novel chockfull of Beloved-like ghosts.
Toward the end of Glow, Ella and her mother watch a town parade go by on Main Street. Led by a local preacher, local citizens march, “waving flags and holding banners.” The marchers shout: “One God, one language, one flag!” and “One hundred percent American!” The young girl looks up at her mother, and asks, “What does it mean?”
The answer to that could fill a book, and Glow is as daring and complicated and ambitious as the question demands. In fact, the book is something of an anomaly, a genuine page-turner that is also lyrically fearless, structurally challenging, and beautifully composed.
http://www.tottenvillereview.com/unhe...
May 8, 2012
This was so good! Kind of Roots-esque in content and how it covers the lives of many people throughout different periods in history (though I haven't seen Roots since 6th grade). My only complaint is that it felt like it ended rather abruptly -- I would have loved another chapter or two to wrap things up a bit more.
To be honest, I'm a bit wary of books like this -- chronicling the lives of people of color, but having been written by a caucasian. I've been avoiding that one book that was popular recently (got made into a movie too, can't think of the name though) for this very reason, in addition to the message seeming to be rather tainted by a privileged point of view...then there was a law suit brought up against the author for stealing the story of her former housekeeper or some-such with no credit given.... That author seemed like a real piece of work.
In contrast, this book, Glow, felt so authentic that I didn't realize that the author was caucasian until I looked at her author page. Granted this time in history has not been a study of mine, and I'm caucasian, so I could very well be mistaken. I would venture to guess that Ms. Tuccelli did her research and characters justice. I felt like I learned a lot, and my heart broke a million times over the atrocities the protagonists had to face.
It really got me thinking too. For instance, the only first-hand stories of WWII I've heard my entire life were from the mouth of my patriotic father who signed up to fight Hitler in the year leading up to Pearl Harbor. Seeing a completely different (and completely valid) point of view in the very first chapter -- wow. Very powerful.
I'd like to add a trigger warning for survivors -- there are a couple of instances where sexual assault is imminent. However it does not get graphic, and thankfully our heroines do not suffer completed assaults. I felt the author treated the subject with respect, tastefulness, and dignity. So many times authors seem to revel in rape -- almost as if they have a fetish for it, or they use it for shock value. I knew Ms. Tuccelli would be different by the time I finished reading the e-book sample, and I thank her for being so thoughtful and respectful.
To be honest, I'm a bit wary of books like this -- chronicling the lives of people of color, but having been written by a caucasian. I've been avoiding that one book that was popular recently (got made into a movie too, can't think of the name though) for this very reason, in addition to the message seeming to be rather tainted by a privileged point of view...then there was a law suit brought up against the author for stealing the story of her former housekeeper or some-such with no credit given.... That author seemed like a real piece of work.
In contrast, this book, Glow, felt so authentic that I didn't realize that the author was caucasian until I looked at her author page. Granted this time in history has not been a study of mine, and I'm caucasian, so I could very well be mistaken. I would venture to guess that Ms. Tuccelli did her research and characters justice. I felt like I learned a lot, and my heart broke a million times over the atrocities the protagonists had to face.
It really got me thinking too. For instance, the only first-hand stories of WWII I've heard my entire life were from the mouth of my patriotic father who signed up to fight Hitler in the year leading up to Pearl Harbor. Seeing a completely different (and completely valid) point of view in the very first chapter -- wow. Very powerful.
I'd like to add a trigger warning for survivors -- there are a couple of instances where sexual assault is imminent. However it does not get graphic, and thankfully our heroines do not suffer completed assaults. I felt the author treated the subject with respect, tastefulness, and dignity. So many times authors seem to revel in rape -- almost as if they have a fetish for it, or they use it for shock value. I knew Ms. Tuccelli would be different by the time I finished reading the e-book sample, and I thank her for being so thoughtful and respectful.
March 9, 2012
Lately all I've been reading are YA books and it was awesome to read an excellent work of literature for a change. In school, history class was story time . It was all a story to me but really, all that stuff we've read about, they really happened. The good, yes, but also the bad. Hitler, Racism, Inequality and Discrimination (of any kind) - they're all real. Sometimes I read so much that I forget that fiction has some truth in it. Cruelty is real. At least as much as the good stuff is.
When I started reading Glow, I honestly went in with no expectations, no clue of what the book was going to be about, only that it was different from my usual read. The book is written from several character's perspectives, each of them with their own story. However, as you keep reading, everything falls into place beautifully. It's funny how all the characters were so different and yet so closely linked together.
Jessica Tuccelli has written a book that explores a range of emotions and pulled off a tough work of fiction. Glow focuses the issue of racial discrimination faced by the Indians belonging to the region of Georgia due to the continued growth of white population. We see the strength of love, friendship, family and hope when everything bad gets thrown your way.
I can't express how much I loved Tuccelli's writing - her descriptions are extremely vivid.
More than anything, her writing makes you feel and think. All I can say is that Glow was wonderful.
When I started reading Glow, I honestly went in with no expectations, no clue of what the book was going to be about, only that it was different from my usual read. The book is written from several character's perspectives, each of them with their own story. However, as you keep reading, everything falls into place beautifully. It's funny how all the characters were so different and yet so closely linked together.
Jessica Tuccelli has written a book that explores a range of emotions and pulled off a tough work of fiction. Glow focuses the issue of racial discrimination faced by the Indians belonging to the region of Georgia due to the continued growth of white population. We see the strength of love, friendship, family and hope when everything bad gets thrown your way.
I can't express how much I loved Tuccelli's writing - her descriptions are extremely vivid.
More than anything, her writing makes you feel and think. All I can say is that Glow was wonderful.
May 8, 2012
This is a tough book to review. I found the writing to be absolutely exquisite. At first, I thought this would be a four- or five-star book for sure. The story starts with Ella McGee, daughter of NAACP activist Amelia McGee, who is put on a bus down south to Georgia in 1941. Unfortunately, the bus breaks down and she is left stranded--and soon beat up by two strangers--on the side of the road. She's rescued by former slave Willie Mae Cotton and her partner, Mary-Mary Freeborn. Starts on an intriguing note, right?
Ella is part Cherokee and part African-American. The book description promises that it traverses Ella's family history. It does indeed do that, in the form of beautiful individual stories of various people closely or distantly related to her or Willie Mae. Tuccelli deftly tells each story in a distinctly different voice based on her character. The descriptions and language were colorful and vivid.
Mother love is a strong theme throughout the book.
Where the book fell short for me, though, was that it never adequately circled back to Amelia and Ella. Rather it was almost a book of interwoven short stories...and I'm no fan of short stories in general.
I loved so much about this book, but I wanted more out of it, and it fell short of what I was expecting it to be.
Ella is part Cherokee and part African-American. The book description promises that it traverses Ella's family history. It does indeed do that, in the form of beautiful individual stories of various people closely or distantly related to her or Willie Mae. Tuccelli deftly tells each story in a distinctly different voice based on her character. The descriptions and language were colorful and vivid.
Mother love is a strong theme throughout the book.
Where the book fell short for me, though, was that it never adequately circled back to Amelia and Ella. Rather it was almost a book of interwoven short stories...and I'm no fan of short stories in general.
I loved so much about this book, but I wanted more out of it, and it fell short of what I was expecting it to be.
February 10, 2016
I loved this book. I'm having a hard time writing this review, describing the emotions I felt as I'm reading it - have erased and wiped it clean more times than I can count now, so let's start with the basics. We begin in 1941 with eleven year old Ella McGee on a bus headed home to Hopewell County, Georgia. Ella's mom, who she thinks is her sister, has sent her from danger. There was only room on the bus for one so Mia sent little Ella ahead. A call from her brother Buddy a few hours later to say that Ella is missing strikes fear in her heart and sends Mia on her way home as well. From here we pick up threads of others stories, dating back to 1836 Georgia, to slave plantations and cabins in the mountains. Every persons story is another piece of the generational puzzle, bringing all the characters together in one gnarled family tree. It's a tale of haints, slavery, love, magic, and above all, family. This is not a feel good story. It's about racism, slavery, and a terrible time in our nations history. It is however, a powerful story, written beautifully, written in such a manner that you feel yourself there. Even though it's told in many voices, I felt a love for each voice that spoke, and a powerful dislike for a few other characters in the book. It's moving and beautiful. Read it.
March 19, 2012
A really great book. I will be recommending to those who need a great book club pick.
It reminded me a lot of Ann Patchett's earlier novels, and Alice Hoffman's earlier books also.
Ella's sister Mia sends her off on a bus in the middle of the night, to escape a possible racial crime against her. She gets dropped off(with her dog) in the middle of Georgia on a roadside, where two strangers assault her and leave her for dead, once they are happened upon by passing motorists.The passing motorists are Winnie Mae and Mary-Mary, a couple who take in Ella and Brando(her dog), and fix them up. They also spend the time helping Ella heal emotionally, while you get the backstory of Mia, Ella, Winnie Mae, and Mary-Mary. Some people have likened it to The Help, because of the racial undertones, except that this takes place earlier than that, and it's a small ensemble in the pages here. It all ties together very well, and you throw in a mysterious "glow" of Lovelady, the ghost child who guides Ella through her tough times, as well as Mia, miles away. It's so hard to put a book like this into words, except to say read it, you won't be sorry.
It reminded me a lot of Ann Patchett's earlier novels, and Alice Hoffman's earlier books also.
Ella's sister Mia sends her off on a bus in the middle of the night, to escape a possible racial crime against her. She gets dropped off(with her dog) in the middle of Georgia on a roadside, where two strangers assault her and leave her for dead, once they are happened upon by passing motorists.The passing motorists are Winnie Mae and Mary-Mary, a couple who take in Ella and Brando(her dog), and fix them up. They also spend the time helping Ella heal emotionally, while you get the backstory of Mia, Ella, Winnie Mae, and Mary-Mary. Some people have likened it to The Help, because of the racial undertones, except that this takes place earlier than that, and it's a small ensemble in the pages here. It all ties together very well, and you throw in a mysterious "glow" of Lovelady, the ghost child who guides Ella through her tough times, as well as Mia, miles away. It's so hard to put a book like this into words, except to say read it, you won't be sorry.
December 22, 2011
I loved, loved, loved this book! The prose was lush and vivid and the characters utterly believable. It transported me into another time(s), yet the sufferings and joys felt both modern and palpable. The writer uses several different narrators to tell the story and I found each voice to be engaging. So much so, that while I was excited to meet a new character I was always sad to let go of the one I'd just been travelling with. Although, the further in you read, the more you realize they're all telling the same story, just different ways of getting at it. And it's a story you won't be able to easily shake, nor will you want to. In certain ways, it put me in mind of To Kill A Mockingbird and, for what it's worth, I think this book is destined to be classic!
April 2, 2012
Book Giveaway & Review: When the publisher’s rep approached me about reading and possibly reviewing Glow by Jessica Maria Tuccelli, all she had to tell me was that it took place in the Appalachian Mountains and I was hooked. Glow tells the story of at least four generations in an Georgia Appalachian Mountains family, spanning the years from 1836 through 1941. It’s a complex look at race relations within one family, whose members are of Native American, African American and Scots-Irish descent. It’s also the story of the deep bond between mothers and daughters. And, thanks to the publisher’s generosity, one lucky reader will win a finished hardback copy of Glow! Read the rest of my review & enter to win at http://popcornreads.com/?p=3517.
May 6, 2012
This book is so much more than the historical events described on the jacket. The characters in the novel seem to grow with the landscape, and evolve into the inter-connectedness that is (thankfully) graphically depicted in a family tree in the beginning of the book. Glow is all the things you want in a novel - vivid writing, engaging story-lines, and complex and interesting characters. The author's focus on three main characters caught me on an emotional level as well, and I found that I thought what they thought and felt what they felt. It is astonishing to me that an author from New York City can write with such knowledge, detail and love about a county in Georgia and its people. No feelings were spared in this novel. The times were depicted with honesty and openness. I was so moved.
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