What do you think?
Rate this book
The Beginning Things
The Beginning Things is a novel of lessons and of steps towards redemption. Twelve-year-old Tot Thompson, mourning the loss of her father and stranded on an island of familial dysfunction, finds a moment of importance in a neighbor's bed. Dan Grad, her recently widowed grandfather, finds a sharp-edged peace inside a bottle of Bells Whiskey. Both have lessons to learn...and strangely enough, important lessons to teach.
260 pages, Paperback
Published October 23, 2015
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 12, 2016
The Beginning Things
By B.A. Goodjohn
Reviewed by Lisa C. Taylor
The Beginning Things is solidly Tot Thompson's story. It's also the story of her spurned and lonely mother, Elaine and her Grandfather Dangrad, a wise protector and alcoholic in denial. In the hands of a less skilled writer, the story of this flawed family and Tot's trecherous journey as a twelve year-old might have lapsed into preachiness but The Beginning Things is a gorgeous and satisfying read. Bunny Goodjohn's lyrical prose is filled with lines like 'Only those who have travelled from a childhood can define it as a place of simple innocence' and 'His forgetting was as comforting as his remembering' when Tot's grandfather's drinking allows him to forget a cruelty he unleashed toward her, remembering only his protective lesson that followed.
When Tot learns that lovemaking is an ending thing and her grandfather lists beginning things like talking, smiling, and dancing, she starts to navigate the teenage world of users and friends. The authenticity of this tautly written novel is what ultimately makes it resonate. The characters are interconnected—from a dead grandmother whose ashes are carried around in a tea caddy to a male stripper who hires Elaine to sew him a new velcro spacesuit for his act; no one escapes the story—or life—unscathed.
Tot is left to her own devices in spite of the cautionary tale of her older sister, Dorothy who had a baby at age thirteen. The only person she is able to turn to is her grandfather, an imperfect alcoholic widower. Tot essentially must raise herself or cobble together wisdom from her grandfather who in his better moments can offer her the insight of years and hard knocks. The fantasy world of Tot is both familiar and quintessentially adolescent. She worries about boys, friendship, her kinky red hair, and whether or not she'll ever fit in. Her father's abandonment leaves her empty and confused about the strange world of males. There is no character that isn't out there somewhere—in a past encounter or a memory. This book is worth a careful read for its beautiful prose and original characters. Give it as a gift because it's hopeful, moving, and ultimately a celebration of just how resilient humans can be in the wake of colliding missteps by the adults they trust.
By B.A. Goodjohn
Reviewed by Lisa C. Taylor
The Beginning Things is solidly Tot Thompson's story. It's also the story of her spurned and lonely mother, Elaine and her Grandfather Dangrad, a wise protector and alcoholic in denial. In the hands of a less skilled writer, the story of this flawed family and Tot's trecherous journey as a twelve year-old might have lapsed into preachiness but The Beginning Things is a gorgeous and satisfying read. Bunny Goodjohn's lyrical prose is filled with lines like 'Only those who have travelled from a childhood can define it as a place of simple innocence' and 'His forgetting was as comforting as his remembering' when Tot's grandfather's drinking allows him to forget a cruelty he unleashed toward her, remembering only his protective lesson that followed.
When Tot learns that lovemaking is an ending thing and her grandfather lists beginning things like talking, smiling, and dancing, she starts to navigate the teenage world of users and friends. The authenticity of this tautly written novel is what ultimately makes it resonate. The characters are interconnected—from a dead grandmother whose ashes are carried around in a tea caddy to a male stripper who hires Elaine to sew him a new velcro spacesuit for his act; no one escapes the story—or life—unscathed.
Tot is left to her own devices in spite of the cautionary tale of her older sister, Dorothy who had a baby at age thirteen. The only person she is able to turn to is her grandfather, an imperfect alcoholic widower. Tot essentially must raise herself or cobble together wisdom from her grandfather who in his better moments can offer her the insight of years and hard knocks. The fantasy world of Tot is both familiar and quintessentially adolescent. She worries about boys, friendship, her kinky red hair, and whether or not she'll ever fit in. Her father's abandonment leaves her empty and confused about the strange world of males. There is no character that isn't out there somewhere—in a past encounter or a memory. This book is worth a careful read for its beautiful prose and original characters. Give it as a gift because it's hopeful, moving, and ultimately a celebration of just how resilient humans can be in the wake of colliding missteps by the adults they trust.
November 20, 2015
Three members of the Thompson family narrate this engaging novel about endings and beginnings and how they fit together. Tot is twelve, sizzling with yearnings, hormones, and an urgent crush on the wrong boy. Her mother Elaine, sewing to support the family after her husband’s desertion, gets a job fabricating a silver spaceman suit for a male stripper who wants more than shiny cloth and quick-release Velcro fastenings. When Dan, the father of Elaine’s missing husband, moves into the house on Stanley Close, newly widowed, penniless, and very fond of his drink, Tot has a male relative to ask about her boy trouble. Tot and her “Dangrad” have always been close and share an affinity for spoonerisms. These linguistic twistings add humor to the prose and provide an oblique way for Tot and Dan to talk about their uncomfortable and difficult-to-discuss issues: his drinking and her growing understanding that her unfortunate romance skipped the “beginning things.” Tot can admit to her grandfather that a boy put his “ningers down my fickers” and she liked it a lot. He answers her questions about how to build a friendship and romance, offering a step by step approach. In return, Dan accepts her interference with “mucking fess” of his drinking problem. Using British slang and a poet’s ear, UK-born Goodjohn weaves the Thompson voices into a cohesive and tightly paced story. I love the toughness of this book as much as I am grateful for its compassion and tenderness.
December 6, 2015
A beautifully written, engaging and wise story about an atypical, but certainly not uncommon, family in the UK in the seventies. The mother, Elaine, is left feeling “punch drunk” and old at age 40 after her husband’s abandonment. She struggles to provide for two daughters, but life gets complicated when one daughter becomes pregnant, and a boisterous toddler is added to the household. The younger girl, Tot, is a hormonal twelve year-old with a myriad of questions about the “beginning and ending things” of love, especially concerning an older boy (a nasty piece of work) she has a crush on. Elaine’s father-in-law joins the mix, newly widowed and suddenly bankrupt due to his deceased wife’s gambling addiction. He sleeps in a makeshift bedroom that was once the dining room. Elaine thinks it’ll be good to have a man around the house, but doesn’t know he’s got a serious drinking problem with the potential to do real damage. How Elaine, Tot and her granddad, each with their own burdens and questions about life, move from merely tolerating each other to helping each other find meaning and some measure of peace will give you hope and clarity. This is what family does. You will remember these characters long after you close the book.
December 14, 2015
Loved the well-drawn characters, the story, and the gorgeous, detailed writing.
March 18, 2016
Good story!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews