The Ravine, A Novel

by James Williamson

In 1958, thirteen year-old Harry Polk is looking forward to an idyllic summer spent visiting his Aunt Cordelia and Uncle Horace in Tuckalofa, Mississippi. Harry soon learns that beneath its placid surface, the town is not what it seems. Before the summer is over he will encounter the violence and injustice of segregated society, intolerance of religious and social class differences, and closely guarded family secrets. When a popular young black man is brutally murdered by the county sheriff, Harry, Cordelia, and Horace will be caught up in a series of events culminating in an act of revenge that leaves Harry emotionally scarred. Years later, when Harry is summoned to Tuckalofa to arrange the funeral of his formidable Aunt Cordelia, he is forced to confront the past that has lain dormant for years--a past in which he found himself embroiled in the vicious crime that had tragic consequences for the entire town. A compelling story inspired by real events, The Ravine evokes a South during the early years of the Civil Rights movement where a complex mixture of love and hate, ignorance and enlightenment, and guilt and innocence coexist. It promises to keep the reader on edge until its dramatic and unexpected conclusion.

260 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

James Williamson, author of The Ravine and The Architect, is a professor of architecture at the University of Memphis. He writes Southern fiction as an avocation.

He was born in Memphis, and is a graduate of Rhodes College. As a student he participated in the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike. During the Vietnam War he served as a naval officer.

Following his military service Williamson obtained two Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a student of renowned architect Louis Kahn. In Philadelphia he also worked as an associate of Robert Venturi.

Williamson has received over 30 architectural design awards at the local, regional, and national levels, and his work has been published internationally. In 2005 he was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in recognition of his notable contributions in architectural design and education.

Williamson "draws on his youth for his second novel, The Ravine. The story provides an intimate look at small-town Mississippi life through the eyes of thirteen-year old Harry, the child of a prominent Memphis family who is staying with his aunt and uncle for the summer. It’s 1958, and virtually all white residents are committed to the status quo. The church, law enforcement, Jim Crow laws, and generations of custom have combined to enforce the separate and distinctly second-class status of the town’s black population.... But he begins to understand racism when he gets a part-time job delivering groceries with Winston, the son of the black couple who work for his aunt and uncle. Eventually, of course, there’s a confrontation: Harry is present when a busload of black college students arrives and asks to worship at the town’s white church. The resulting scuffle leads to truly devastating results—for Winston and for Harry’s own family." -Ralph Bowden, Chapter 16

His first novel, The Architect, was praised by a reviewer as “a thoughtful, moving novel about the realities of building, particularly when style collides with money, politics, and the demands of the less than enlightened… a lively treatise on architecture itself.” A previous non-fiction book, The Central Gardens Handbook (with Carl Awsumb, co-author), is a guide to historic preservation for a local historic district, now in its second edition. In addition, he has had a number of articles published in national and international architectural journals, as well as a cover article for “Tennessee Historical Quarterly” magazine. Williamson is currently at work on a non-fiction book about Louis Kahn.

He lives with his wife in Memphis.

Reviews

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ravine of the title is a metaphor for the social, cultural, financial, educational, & physical gaps which separate the white and black communities of this & many other small Southern towns. The action occurs in late 1950’s north Mississippi, bookended by the narrator’s contemporary musings. Of course I knew before beginning this was the story of what functionally was a lynching, w/ the ‘Mockingbird’-like lesson of reckoning with & avoiding the sins of the Old South & of our forefathers who occupied it.
There’s a villain, as reptilian & cruel as Brad Dourif’s Deputy Pell or James Anderson’s Bob Ewell. There’s a liberal aunt who never ceases suffering for her progressive views, lost loves, & much-fractured heart. There’s a trio of kids who live & learn, getting in the adults’ way at many of the right & several of the wrong times. And there’s even an ever-present but rarely seen spectral neighbor. Thus with different plotting & outcomes, this short book nevertheless seems to be a tribute to Harper Lee’s ‘Mockingbird.’

What I liked most about ‘The Ravine’ were the setting & characters. Mr. Williamson evokes the town of Tuckalofa, MS, w/ it’s relevant inhabitants & summer visitors superbly. I grew up in a small Southern town in the ‘80’s, but they haven’t changed much in 30 years so the book was nostalgic for me. The various protagonists all have their faults, save the eventual sacrificial lamb perhaps, while the corrupt & bigoted lot are at least humanized in some small way. Aunt Cordelia, her husband Horace, brother Tommy, & the ignoble Sheriff Fly are all intriguing & well-drawn personalities. What I didn’t enjoy was the unnecessarily didactic spoon feeding of racial consciousness & equity presented thru the young narrator’s stream of conscience analysis of events small & large in old south Tuckalofa. The emotional response is immediately muted when, after the description of a polarizing event, you’re told what to think, how to think it, and why you shouldn’t think otherwise. I understand there is cause to inform the reader of the narrator’s and main character’s state of mind, in order for the reader to better understand the character’s actions, or lack thereof, and more importantly, his or her eventual transformation. But I was certainly bored by the repetitive moralizing here.

[Bill Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason Williamson's first novel, "The Architect," was so satisfying was because Williamson knew exactly what he was talking about. And in that debut, Williamson wasn't only talking about the process of creating a building or of the Byzantine politics required to produce the product. The core of "The Architect" was the array of characters which Williamson created to tell his story - complex, nuanced and sympathetic actors who propelled the well-crafted narrative. Within pages of beginning "The Architect" the reader was drawn into the workplaces, bedrooms, and kitchens of the characters, as well as into their dreams (literally).

In "The Ravine" Williamson does it again. The book is a mystery and a romance, a coming-of-age adventure, and in it's way, a social history of a hugely important transition in 20th century America. The setting, North Mississippi in the early 60's, seems a benign rural escape from the heat of Memphis, but it is the underlying racial tension in the changing South of the day which propels the revelatory narrative. Once again, Williamson has created wonderful and believable characters who live in settings consistently full of detail and color. Readers of "The Architect" will appreciate Williamson's thoughtful second novel, but if you're like me, at the end of the tale you'll wish you had more time to spend with the characters in "The Ravine" - I predict you'll put this book down with a warm feeling and a long, satisfied "Ahhh." It's that good.

[Andy Little · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you did not grow up in the South before 1963, you will be transported by Jim Williamson into a time and place that is almost inconceivable to the modern mind. If you did, you will find a portrayal of life in a small southern community that resonates like a tympani drum with your own. Williamson has the ability to describe his life and time as if it were yesterday. His narrative grips you with suspense. And, his descriptions of the slow, humid and explosive South of the '60s are written in panavision and technicolor. You will not be disappointed.

[Bert Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides another well-written, carefully plotted exploration of small town Southern life during the volatile late 1950's, told through the eyes of a 13 year-old boy visiting his aunt and uncle in small town Mississippi.
The setting and the racial tension may be familiar, but Mr. Williamson has explored many new dynamics that existed then in a fast-reading and exciting plot that mystery readers will enjoy as much as historians.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding read! Wonderful imagery, multi-faceted characters, surprises at the end, and a good story. From the start I was drawn in as Harry looks thru his aunt's desk and finds mysteries. I wanted to walk thru the rooms of the old house and snoop in the attic. This coming-of-age story will capture you and keep you involved thru the end. You'll learn about Harry's world as he does. Some realities are hard to face and some lessons are difficult to learn. Read between the lines.....

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly returned me to my childhood visiting relatives in small Southern towns. One of my favorite books.