A Cry of Absence

by Madison Jones

In a 1987 article, Southern Magazine called Madison Jones's A Cry of Absence "the last pure tragedy written by a Southerner." Set in 1957 in a small Tennessee town just awakening to shifting racial and social attitudes, the novel concerns the inevitability of change and the consequences for those who resist it. Hester Cameron Glenn, a proud, well-bred southern aristocrat, is the self-appointed guardian of her family's and her community's heritage. When a young black man is chained to a tree and stoned to death, Hester deplores the brutality of the act. Slowly she comes to suspect, and finally to know, who the real murderer is, and she decides what she must do to protect the family honor.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Madison Percy Jones was a novelist from Nashville, Tennessee. He published almost a dozen novels in his lifetime, and is considered "one of the major figures of contemporary southern letters."

Reviews

[Ginger Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by someone who knew Madison Jones. He said that it was the equivalent of To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't know that I agree with that. This story is much darker than To a Kill A Mockingbird, even though it highlights similar aspects of Southern culture.

The reviews called it the last great tragedy written by a Southerner. That seems the best way to describe it. But, if it is supposed to be "cathartic," that is a wrong interpretation. It has a lingering effect that cannot be easily shaken.
But, most great books do.

I would recommend this book, but readers should be warned that the questions raised are not easily answered.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good writing, the narration is excellent in my opinion, yet, I didn't get attached to any of the characters which made the story seem long. Actually i'm happy that I read it, i think it is a very clever piece of work.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Madison Jones, whom I understand is a lesser-known author from the US South. A Cry of Absence transports us back to 1957, three years after the landmark Brown v. Board court ruling, as the old Southern racial order in a Tennessee town is challenged and becomes gripped by disorder and violence as the status quo is unravelled.

The story explores the reaction of white southerners to the civil rights movement and the prospect of racial integration. It centres on Hester, a member of the Southern gentry who struggles to cope as her town - and by extension the South and nation as a whole - is changing around her and leaving her behind. Her identity and self-perception, and her hopes for the future of her two sons, revolve around her commitment to a romanticised vision of the South, its past, and what it represents.

Hester has a sense of righteousness, believing herself to be a defender of all that is good and right in the South. She feels displaced and fearful as things begin to change around her - new industry is coming to town, people from outside the South are moving in, and racial tensions begin to bubble to the surface. Hester epitomises the Southern gentry, couching her views in a romanticised vision of the Old South - farmhouses, white columns, chivalry and honour provide a veneer for what is, at heart, her commitment to white supremacy. Aghast that much of the town's elite seem willing to make accommodations to a changing world for the sake of peace and economic prosperity, Hester enters the fray, believing that her romanticised vision of the Old South must be saved. Echoing the arguments that were used by many segregationist propagandists, she believes that the racial strife in the town is the product of outsiders - the non-Southerners who do not 'understand' moving the town, stirring up the local black population. Such thinking permits her to avoid grappling with the uncomfortable fact that the black population of the town are dissatisfied with the status quo.

Meanwhile, as tensions rise, white segregationist Southerners take action to push back against against civil rights, and are portrayed as carrying out the underlying message of Hester's prettified words. 'They do what you mean', one character observes. Hester's sons are also caught in her orbit. One of them struggles as he is caught between the way of thinking instilled in him since birth, and his growing belief that civil rights is a justified cause and that the South must change. Hester's other, younger, son exists in her shadow, seeking to please and impress her in all things.

The writing itself is thoughtful, at times beautiful, powerful, and often rich in metaphor; at other times it is self-indulgent and slow. The novel therefore feels, at times, longer than it needed to be. The main characters are deliberately complex and contradictory, and although few are likeable, it is testament to Jones' writing that each is, at various points, frustrating, empathetic, and utterly pathetic. This is far from a light and easy read - it begins with tragedy and this sets the tone for the entire novel. This is a book that has left me thinking after finishing, and it will do so for some time.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

written in 1971. Timely reading it now I think.

[Angie Kaelberer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. How have I never heard of it before, or the writer, Madison Jones? The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I thought the description of the unraveling of one of the main characters became repetitive at times. The book shares some common themes with "To Kill a Mockingbird," but takes place 20 years later, in 1957 Tennessee, so had a more modern perspective. I did spend a few years in the South and have some doubts that as many of the people in the small town would oppose the main character's desire to cling to the traditions, even if doing so had a negative effect on the town's economy, but on the whole, the characters were fleshed out well. Not all questions were clearly answered, which might be why I kept thinking as I read that the book would make a great movie, or even a limited series.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt as though this were longer than it needed to be, and, at times, that it was a little impressed with itself. Great sense of place though: I truly felt as if I were in late 50's Deep South the entire time.

[Megan]

For Sewanee orientation