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When the Whippoorwill
"When the Whipoorwill" by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
248 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1931
84 people are currently reading
208 people want to read
About the author
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
83 books753 followersPeople know American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings for her novel
The Yearling
(1938).
This author lived in rural Florida with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie of the same title, The Yearling. The book was written long before the concept of young-adult fiction, but is now commonly included in teen-reading lists.
This author lived in rural Florida with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie of the same title, The Yearling. The book was written long before the concept of young-adult fiction, but is now commonly included in teen-reading lists.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 30, 2019
MKR is one of my favorite writers. She is recognized, but not well enough, if you ask me. She should be right up there in company of Steinbeck and Twain. "The Yearling" is wonderful, but so is "South Moon Under", "Cross Creek", and I'm hoping to read "The Sojourner" soon. This collection of stories, and I am not easily charmed by short stories, has all the best of Rawlings - her depth of compassion for all human beings, her vivid eye for detail, her love of Florida - her sense of place is engrossing. I have a place in my heart for Florida, it's history, it's landscape, it's flora and fauna - all which I attribute to her. The best of the stories is "Jacob's Ladder", but "Gal Young 'Un" is nearly as good, and more haunting. Rawlings' women are vulnerable yet tensile and enduring, the stuff of spider's webs. I could spend a lot of time trying to parse the ingredients that make up her - I want to say genius, but that's an over used word these days - her devotion, I'll call it, and it would be time well spent.
"She has a disposition, by nature, as sweet as new cane syrup. When she settled down for a lifetime's quarrelling at him, it was the same reason syrup sours - the heat had just been put to her too long."
"She has a disposition, by nature, as sweet as new cane syrup. When she settled down for a lifetime's quarrelling at him, it was the same reason syrup sours - the heat had just been put to her too long."
June 5, 2014
Excellent collection of short fiction by Rawlings that includes the lengthy piece "Jacob's Ladder" and her most popular short story that has been turned into a film, "Gal Young Un." All the stories take place in the Florida scrub with the exception of one about an orphan boy in the Carolinas. They mostly deal with the impoverished poor white community of Florida and their attempts to survive on land they can never hope to own by their own asceticism, intense work, and ingenuity, especially around the laws that threaten their existence by limiting hunting and fishing seasons and making moonshining illegal.
July 20, 2010
Merciful jaybird, what good stories.
April 21, 2020
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings wrote a number of books beyond her best-known "The Yearling," including "Cross Creek," "Golden Apples," and "Sail the Moon Under." This is a collection of short stories, which includes two somewhat well known: 'Jacob's Ladder' (which was also published on its own, and was the subject of an invasion of privacy case against Rawlings which she lost), 'Gal Young Un' (which became a 1979 movie) as well as 'A Mother in Mannville,' 'Alligators,' 'A Plumb Clare Conscience,' 'Benny and the Bird Dogs,' and several others - a total of eleven in all.
With the exception of 'A Mother in Mannville,' the stories are set among the folk and land of the Florida back country area where Rawlings lived during her most prolific writing years. The stories are rich in description and picturesque. Each is well written, and leaves you with something to think about - 'The Pardon' which gives a man a lifelong sentence; 'A Crop of Beans' which didn't mean much more than a hill of beans; 'Varmints' about the mulishness of man; and 'Cocks Must Crow' which left the same characters as in the prior story chasing their tails in the wrong direction.
Several stories have the warm, comfortable humor of a hound dog bouncing against you while scratching an itch; others have the core sadness that a lifetime of hunger and hard luck give to characters no matter their age, dreams, or endurance. The stories should be a treat to read.
There is, though, a major challenge in reading Rawlings. Steeped as she is in the location, times and dialect, her characters constantly use derogatory terms towards African Americans, both as a class and as individuals. It's so prevalent in the speech of her characters as to be the norm; racial epithets are used as a part of common conversation not just among the poor but also among the presumed educated and well traveled.
So a big note of caution to those who find such language a bar to enjoyment. I would never want the book to be rewritten - since it accurately reflects the attitudes of the times - but how terribly sad to see such hurtful words carelessly tossed about.
With the exception of 'A Mother in Mannville,' the stories are set among the folk and land of the Florida back country area where Rawlings lived during her most prolific writing years. The stories are rich in description and picturesque. Each is well written, and leaves you with something to think about - 'The Pardon' which gives a man a lifelong sentence; 'A Crop of Beans' which didn't mean much more than a hill of beans; 'Varmints' about the mulishness of man; and 'Cocks Must Crow' which left the same characters as in the prior story chasing their tails in the wrong direction.
Several stories have the warm, comfortable humor of a hound dog bouncing against you while scratching an itch; others have the core sadness that a lifetime of hunger and hard luck give to characters no matter their age, dreams, or endurance. The stories should be a treat to read.
There is, though, a major challenge in reading Rawlings. Steeped as she is in the location, times and dialect, her characters constantly use derogatory terms towards African Americans, both as a class and as individuals. It's so prevalent in the speech of her characters as to be the norm; racial epithets are used as a part of common conversation not just among the poor but also among the presumed educated and well traveled.
So a big note of caution to those who find such language a bar to enjoyment. I would never want the book to be rewritten - since it accurately reflects the attitudes of the times - but how terribly sad to see such hurtful words carelessly tossed about.
July 25, 2017
Rawlings' "The Yearling" is one of my favourite books and I've long been wanting to read her since. This collection of stories shows off her writing skills and deft ability at describing settings and characters. All set in Florida, they tell stories of backwoods people and their morals, poverty, and lives in general. I adored every story in this collection which was first published in 1940. Some I liked more than others but they were all winners and I'm glad to have read the collection. Now, hopefully, some day, I'll next get to her book "Cross Creek".
1. A Crop of Beans - Wonderful atmosphere for the first story in this collection. A bean farmer and his wife go year after year barely scraping by, then one year they have an excellent crop and the money rolls in. Examines what a cash fall can do to people, the different ways they deal with it, and finally the whimsy of good fortune. (4/5)
2. Benny and the Bird Dogs - This story's theme is certainly a product of the times. A woman narrates telling us that men will be men, whatever is in their nature cannot be changed and the wife will only cause herself grief by trying to mess with it. The story is told then of how it took Uncle Benny's wife 30 years to accept her husband's nature: a wanderer who stayed away a few nights at a time, harmless but loved, causing mischief, a reckless yet expert driver of his Ford, and a collector of bird dogs, seven at this point. Everyone in the story is a quirky character and the story is hilarious. A fun read. (4/5)
3. Jacob's Ladder - This is a full-length novella consisting of 8 chapters and emphasises Rawlings beautiful writing of sad situations. Set in Florida, first in hurricane country and then further and further south through the swamps and areas of terrific heat. Sort of a circle of life story all about character rather than plot. A poor, bedraggled and beaten girl runs off one night with a boy several years older whom she just met but feels a kinship to. They marry and spend their lives trying to earn a living and live in peace. Treachery always finds them sending them from home to home. That treachery comes from both the savagery of the weather and the meanness of fellow mankind. A beautiful story full of tragedy and a bittersweet ending. (5/5)
4. The Pardon - A man leaves prison after seven years of twenty on a pardon. When he gets home he finds things have changed drastically. No one had figured on a pardon. (4/5)
5. Varmints - Three people have known each other since childhood. The two men, Jim and Luty are always at each other about something, having arguments, stubbornly keeping opposing viewpoints, etc. The woman, Quincey, has always been the go-between and the peacemaker. This is the story of the mule which Jim and Luty bought in shares and the episode which made Quincey forever lose her patience with them (3/5)
6. The Enemy - A big-time Yankee rancher comes to town and buys off a parcel of land for taxes. Now the Cattlemen's cows can't reach the stream. Old man Milford decides to take things into his own hands but he finds the men he ruled over have learnt a lesson, even his son. Times change and people with them. (3/5)
7. Gal Young Un - More like a novella than a short story. It's clearly divided into two parts which have different atmospheres and we don't get a glimpse of what the title refers to until the second half. A wily, out-for-himself young man comes across a middle age widow living in a grand house in the middle of the country. He seduces and marries her to get at her money. The grey haired woman we slowly learn is not fooled by this but gets her own contentment from the relationship. That is until he does the one thing she won't stand for. A really emotional story which could certainly have been expanded into a novel. I was very taken with this. (5/5)
8. Alligators - This reads an awful lot like a tall story without the grandiosity of such. The whole story is a narrator telling life stories. We start by knowing a "Kate" has asked him about alligators. He starts by saying he knows nothing of them and she'd be better off asking the old alligator hunters. Then he commences on telling his own very colourful encounters with alligators throughout his life. Funny and interesting. (4/5)
9. A Plumb Clare Conscience - A moonshiner's partner comes running home with the story of them being surprised by the authorities. A day later, Tim, the moonshiner hasn't come home. The next day they want to send out a search party, most likely for a body, but the wife says wait till tomorrow evening. The next day Tim comes walking home with an incredible tale. (4/5)
10. A Mother in Mannville - This is a sad story. A writer goes into the countryside to write. She gets a cabin on the property of an orphanage. A young boy comes over to chop wood for her and they quickly come to mean something to each other, until a misunderstanding. (5/5)
11. Cocks Must Crow - The lady narrating this story sounded so familiar that I went back through the previous stories and found her! Story 5 "Varmints" is about the same character. At the same time, it is a variation on the theme of story 2 "Benny and the Bird Dogs". Quincey tells of her happy marriage to Will. He is small and spindly while she is considered the fattest woman in the county. Her marriage has been successful because she's always let Will be the man, knowing that men will be men. But now over time, she realises that she has changed and her marriage is at stake. It takes a recently arrived nearby widow to make Quincey see the wrongs of her ways. Certainly, a product of its time also including cockfighting but should be read with a mind to the era making it a thoughtful story with the lesson applying to both husbands and wives in modern times. (4/5)
1. A Crop of Beans - Wonderful atmosphere for the first story in this collection. A bean farmer and his wife go year after year barely scraping by, then one year they have an excellent crop and the money rolls in. Examines what a cash fall can do to people, the different ways they deal with it, and finally the whimsy of good fortune. (4/5)
2. Benny and the Bird Dogs - This story's theme is certainly a product of the times. A woman narrates telling us that men will be men, whatever is in their nature cannot be changed and the wife will only cause herself grief by trying to mess with it. The story is told then of how it took Uncle Benny's wife 30 years to accept her husband's nature: a wanderer who stayed away a few nights at a time, harmless but loved, causing mischief, a reckless yet expert driver of his Ford, and a collector of bird dogs, seven at this point. Everyone in the story is a quirky character and the story is hilarious. A fun read. (4/5)
3. Jacob's Ladder - This is a full-length novella consisting of 8 chapters and emphasises Rawlings beautiful writing of sad situations. Set in Florida, first in hurricane country and then further and further south through the swamps and areas of terrific heat. Sort of a circle of life story all about character rather than plot. A poor, bedraggled and beaten girl runs off one night with a boy several years older whom she just met but feels a kinship to. They marry and spend their lives trying to earn a living and live in peace. Treachery always finds them sending them from home to home. That treachery comes from both the savagery of the weather and the meanness of fellow mankind. A beautiful story full of tragedy and a bittersweet ending. (5/5)
4. The Pardon - A man leaves prison after seven years of twenty on a pardon. When he gets home he finds things have changed drastically. No one had figured on a pardon. (4/5)
5. Varmints - Three people have known each other since childhood. The two men, Jim and Luty are always at each other about something, having arguments, stubbornly keeping opposing viewpoints, etc. The woman, Quincey, has always been the go-between and the peacemaker. This is the story of the mule which Jim and Luty bought in shares and the episode which made Quincey forever lose her patience with them (3/5)
6. The Enemy - A big-time Yankee rancher comes to town and buys off a parcel of land for taxes. Now the Cattlemen's cows can't reach the stream. Old man Milford decides to take things into his own hands but he finds the men he ruled over have learnt a lesson, even his son. Times change and people with them. (3/5)
7. Gal Young Un - More like a novella than a short story. It's clearly divided into two parts which have different atmospheres and we don't get a glimpse of what the title refers to until the second half. A wily, out-for-himself young man comes across a middle age widow living in a grand house in the middle of the country. He seduces and marries her to get at her money. The grey haired woman we slowly learn is not fooled by this but gets her own contentment from the relationship. That is until he does the one thing she won't stand for. A really emotional story which could certainly have been expanded into a novel. I was very taken with this. (5/5)
8. Alligators - This reads an awful lot like a tall story without the grandiosity of such. The whole story is a narrator telling life stories. We start by knowing a "Kate" has asked him about alligators. He starts by saying he knows nothing of them and she'd be better off asking the old alligator hunters. Then he commences on telling his own very colourful encounters with alligators throughout his life. Funny and interesting. (4/5)
9. A Plumb Clare Conscience - A moonshiner's partner comes running home with the story of them being surprised by the authorities. A day later, Tim, the moonshiner hasn't come home. The next day they want to send out a search party, most likely for a body, but the wife says wait till tomorrow evening. The next day Tim comes walking home with an incredible tale. (4/5)
10. A Mother in Mannville - This is a sad story. A writer goes into the countryside to write. She gets a cabin on the property of an orphanage. A young boy comes over to chop wood for her and they quickly come to mean something to each other, until a misunderstanding. (5/5)
11. Cocks Must Crow - The lady narrating this story sounded so familiar that I went back through the previous stories and found her! Story 5 "Varmints" is about the same character. At the same time, it is a variation on the theme of story 2 "Benny and the Bird Dogs". Quincey tells of her happy marriage to Will. He is small and spindly while she is considered the fattest woman in the county. Her marriage has been successful because she's always let Will be the man, knowing that men will be men. But now over time, she realises that she has changed and her marriage is at stake. It takes a recently arrived nearby widow to make Quincey see the wrongs of her ways. Certainly, a product of its time also including cockfighting but should be read with a mind to the era making it a thoughtful story with the lesson applying to both husbands and wives in modern times. (4/5)
July 27, 2020
A compact volume of a handful of short stories by Florida writer, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Rawlings' tales tell of the average Joe in Florida before all of the concrete and asphalt.
As I started writing this, I started thinking how I had more to say than I am really capable to type.
That's when my new podcast came to mind.
So, Swampy's Florida podcast #8 is my first book review podcast!
In it i had to also add background information and the like.
Hope the podcast might get more to read Rawlings.
I'll probably do podcasts for all of the Florida based books I review.
Here is it.
https://anchor.fm/swampysflorida/epis...
I did forget to give the book a rating in the podcast. Oops!
Here it is here:
Bottom line:
I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
Rawlings' tales tell of the average Joe in Florida before all of the concrete and asphalt.
As I started writing this, I started thinking how I had more to say than I am really capable to type.
That's when my new podcast came to mind.
So, Swampy's Florida podcast #8 is my first book review podcast!
In it i had to also add background information and the like.
Hope the podcast might get more to read Rawlings.
I'll probably do podcasts for all of the Florida based books I review.
Here is it.
https://anchor.fm/swampysflorida/epis...
I did forget to give the book a rating in the podcast. Oops!
Here it is here:
Bottom line:
I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
June 8, 2023
SORT OF INTERESTING . . . . .
These stories were OK ! Most really just Did Not Hold My Interest ! I would Not Recommend this book to the normal person. I, personally, do not like to read books that are "verbally" frustrating to comprehend what the author is trying to covey. When the author consistently uses
VERNACULAR Verbosities (WORDINESS) in their books, ... I AM DONE !!!
I have another novel by Rawlings that I had planned to read ; NOW-- I will not bother ! After about two years having passed since I read The Yearling, I can understand why That book was such a demanding book to read. Despite the 'innocence' of the thematic quality, Rawlings demands too much of the reader ! ! ! When the Whippoorwill is NOT RECOMMENDED by this reader ! ! ! !
These stories were OK ! Most really just Did Not Hold My Interest ! I would Not Recommend this book to the normal person. I, personally, do not like to read books that are "verbally" frustrating to comprehend what the author is trying to covey. When the author consistently uses
VERNACULAR Verbosities (WORDINESS) in their books, ... I AM DONE !!!
I have another novel by Rawlings that I had planned to read ; NOW-- I will not bother ! After about two years having passed since I read The Yearling, I can understand why That book was such a demanding book to read. Despite the 'innocence' of the thematic quality, Rawlings demands too much of the reader ! ! ! When the Whippoorwill is NOT RECOMMENDED by this reader ! ! ! !
September 19, 2020
Life In The Backwoods
"When the Whipoorwill" is a very interesting collection of short tales from the old days. I truly enjoyed each character and the settings of the stories. Ms. Rawlings builds each character with ease and we can relate to their lives in the hammocks and their circumstances. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in Ms. Rawlings writings of how people lived their every day lives away from the trappings of big civilization in the old days.
"When the Whipoorwill" is a very interesting collection of short tales from the old days. I truly enjoyed each character and the settings of the stories. Ms. Rawlings builds each character with ease and we can relate to their lives in the hammocks and their circumstances. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is interested in Ms. Rawlings writings of how people lived their every day lives away from the trappings of big civilization in the old days.
February 23, 2024
Richly descriptive collection of short stories, mostly about Cracker life in central Florida in the early part of the 20th century, written from Rawlings' experiences while living there herself.
Some readers might not like the "political incorrectness" of the language and actions of some of the characters, but it is an accurate depiction of life in central Florida during those times.
Rawlings was a gifted writer and Pulitzer Prize winner. Reading her works is always a pleasure.
Some readers might not like the "political incorrectness" of the language and actions of some of the characters, but it is an accurate depiction of life in central Florida during those times.
Rawlings was a gifted writer and Pulitzer Prize winner. Reading her works is always a pleasure.
March 21, 2017
Marjorie has a knack for recognizing the loveable in nearly unlikeable characters and passing that love on to her readers. When the Whipporwill was a fun read as it felt she allowed me into her world of characters pieced from people in her Everglades world.
January 27, 2015
What a beautiful story collection. "Gal Young 'Un" and "Jacob's Ladder" really stand out as masterpieces, but the humor and wonderful characters in the other stories make this entire collection worth your time. It's a pleasure to read about old Florida, and a time and place where barely-known towns like Salt Springs and Fort McCoy were actually part of the greater landscape.
Want to read
October 9, 2025Read so far:
*A crop of beans
*Benny and the bird dogs
Jacob's ladder
The pardon
Varmints
The enemy
Gal young un --3
Alligators
A plumb clare conscience
*A mother in Mannville
*Cocks must crow
***
*Black secret
*The pelican's shadow
*A crop of beans
*Benny and the bird dogs
Jacob's ladder
The pardon
Varmints
The enemy
Gal young un --3
Alligators
A plumb clare conscience
*A mother in Mannville
*Cocks must crow
***
*Black secret
*The pelican's shadow
Read
July 12, 2013The Eastern Whip-poor-will, (Antrostomus vociferus), is a medium-sized (22–27 cm) nightjar bird
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews