In Troubled Waters

by Beverly Coyle

The author of The Kneeling Bus offers a bold novel about the contemporary South and the latent racism that lies beneath the veneer of polite society. When Tom Glover hires two boys--one black, one white--to watch over his Alzhheimer's-striken son-in-law, racial tensions in the small Florida town finally boil over.

Genres: Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1993

Reviews

[Chris Lezotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Troubled Waters sat on my book shelf for nearly 25 years before I finally picked it up to read. And although its writing style is a little dated, its message remains relevant today. Take for example, this passage, in which a teenage African-American boy explains the current situation to a 68-year-old white woman. "Fluke found out how cool it suddenly is to not like blacks again. I mean, like, it went out of style to be racists, but now it's back in. People don't mind anymore if you want to start saying scary things about blacks being in this plot to take over. Hate stuff is really in now at the school. I mean, what happens is with these Nazi kids if they find out half the school hates them, that's cool, because the other half suddenly likes them. [...] You can be an all-star this way, where before you were just a nobody jerk. Fluke used to be a jerk and now he's a goddamn celebrity" (223). When the current president defends white nationalists as "some very fine people," it is alarmingly clear that disparagement of blacks [or Hispanics or Muslims or any person of color] is not only encouraged in the current cultural climate, but has - in the 21st century - once again become "cool."

[Natasha Hagen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is like a diesel engine. It's very slow in the beginning, but gains momentum as you go along. It touches on many topics that are very real in today's world.

Tom Glover lives on Mirror Lake where he grew up and has spent 91 long years there. He decides to hire two boys to take is Alzheimer's diagnosed son in law fishing down by the lake. One boy is white and the other black. The neighborhood becomes uneasy as it seems like Tom favors the black boy more. This situation brings back so many memories from Tom's childhood and his childhood friend Lucky that created quite a stir many years ago.

This is an interesting book, I feel that you just need to push thru the beginning to get to the real story.

[Kim Franklin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this book. I wanted to - the reviews really put it at the top of the list. The writing certainly wasn't bad - in fact, it was one of those situations that I would read a paragraph over again, recognizing that the writer was probably demonstrating considerable literary skill in the way that she chose to portray the main character and allowed the story to unfold. It just didn't work for me - it didn't pull me in or compel me. Some of it was the writing style which was a tad idiosyncratic and some of it was the fact that I didn't really like the main character - admittedly a need that I have which often gets in the way of my appreciation of a story. So, though I usually make myself wade through a book that I am not enjoying - just in the case that it gets better with time - I am challenging myself to, instead, tell it like it is and let the book go to the used bookstore. There are just too many others waiting out there that will enthuse me!

[Jerrilynn Lilyblade]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11222892