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Southern Revivals
The Floatplane Notebooks
A multigenerational story of familial secrets of love and loss through war and peace in the rural South
The Copeland family of Listre, North Carolina, gathers every May to clean up the graveyard and talk. Every one of them has stories to tell, and it is Albert Copeland who writes it all down in the notebooks he started years ago to track the progress of the floatplanes he builds. The notebooks hold all the best-kept secrets―of love, loss, and yearnings to let go. The Floatplane Notebooks, Clyde Edgerton's third novel, first published in 1988, is a multigenerational story of the Copeland family, spanning from the antebellum era to the Vietnam War.
The novel cycles through a series of six narrators, including a generations-old wisteria vine that shares elements of a dark history the family members cannot and will not reveal. Edgerton balances the comic with the realistic in a deft portrayal of the rural South and also depicts elements of the sense of loss that is a consequence of war. The Floatplane Notebooks was a selection of the Book of the Month Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club.
This Southern Revivals edition includes a new introduction from the author and a preface from series editor Robert H. Brinkmeyer Jr., director of the University of South Carolina Institute for Southern Studies.
The Copeland family of Listre, North Carolina, gathers every May to clean up the graveyard and talk. Every one of them has stories to tell, and it is Albert Copeland who writes it all down in the notebooks he started years ago to track the progress of the floatplanes he builds. The notebooks hold all the best-kept secrets―of love, loss, and yearnings to let go. The Floatplane Notebooks, Clyde Edgerton's third novel, first published in 1988, is a multigenerational story of the Copeland family, spanning from the antebellum era to the Vietnam War.
The novel cycles through a series of six narrators, including a generations-old wisteria vine that shares elements of a dark history the family members cannot and will not reveal. Edgerton balances the comic with the realistic in a deft portrayal of the rural South and also depicts elements of the sense of loss that is a consequence of war. The Floatplane Notebooks was a selection of the Book of the Month Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club.
This Southern Revivals edition includes a new introduction from the author and a preface from series editor Robert H. Brinkmeyer Jr., director of the University of South Carolina Institute for Southern Studies.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 9, 1988
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482 people want to read
About the author
Clyde Edgerton
48 books275 followersClyde Edgerton is widely considered one of the premier novelists working in the Southern tradition today, often compared with such masters as Eudora Welty and Flannery O'Connor.
Although most of his books deal with adult concerns--marriage, aging, birth and death--Edgerton's work is most profoundly about family. In books such as Raney, Walking Across Egypt, The Floatplane Notebooks, and Killer Diller, Edgerton explores the dimensions of family life, using an endearing (if eccentric) cast of characters. "Edgerton's characters," writes Mary Lystad in Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers, "have more faults than most, but they also have considerable virtues, and they are so likable that you want to invite them over for a cup of coffee, a piece of homemade apple pie, and a nice long chat."
Raised in the small towns of the North Carolina Piedmont, Edgerton draws heavily on the storytelling traditions of the rural south in his novels. Without the distractions of big-city life and the communications revolution of the late twentieth century, many rural Americans stayed in close touch with their relatives, and often shared stories about family members with each other for entertainment.
Among Edgerton’s awards are: Guggenheim Fellowship; Lyndhurst Prize; Honorary Doctorates from UNC-Asheville and St. Andrews Presbyterian College; membership in the Fellowship of Southern Writers; the North Carolina Award for Literature; and five notable book awards from the New York Times.
Although most of his books deal with adult concerns--marriage, aging, birth and death--Edgerton's work is most profoundly about family. In books such as Raney, Walking Across Egypt, The Floatplane Notebooks, and Killer Diller, Edgerton explores the dimensions of family life, using an endearing (if eccentric) cast of characters. "Edgerton's characters," writes Mary Lystad in Twentieth-Century Young Adult Writers, "have more faults than most, but they also have considerable virtues, and they are so likable that you want to invite them over for a cup of coffee, a piece of homemade apple pie, and a nice long chat."
Raised in the small towns of the North Carolina Piedmont, Edgerton draws heavily on the storytelling traditions of the rural south in his novels. Without the distractions of big-city life and the communications revolution of the late twentieth century, many rural Americans stayed in close touch with their relatives, and often shared stories about family members with each other for entertainment.
Among Edgerton’s awards are: Guggenheim Fellowship; Lyndhurst Prize; Honorary Doctorates from UNC-Asheville and St. Andrews Presbyterian College; membership in the Fellowship of Southern Writers; the North Carolina Award for Literature; and five notable book awards from the New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
May 25, 2016
An entertaining, at times poignant read. I've enjoyed Clyde Edgerton's books over the year. Walking Across Egypt is a fun read.
Floatplane Notebooks takes you inside a North Carolina family with their quirks and interests. It starts in the 50s and moves into the turbulent 60s. Vietnam looms and the story takes a turn there.
Clyde Edgerton writes literature-- in that he writes about ordinary people and their lives. To do this successfully you have to be a very good writer. And he is. Highly recommended.
Floatplane Notebooks takes you inside a North Carolina family with their quirks and interests. It starts in the 50s and moves into the turbulent 60s. Vietnam looms and the story takes a turn there.
Clyde Edgerton writes literature-- in that he writes about ordinary people and their lives. To do this successfully you have to be a very good writer. And he is. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2024
Another cassette tape audio book from the last century. By turns funny and tragic and read by the author. A bit like Prairie Home Companion but not nearly as twee. And the topics brought up are way more serious, infidelity, loyalty, and the Vietnam war for starters. The characters are just as down home and brought fully to life in the author's reading.
June 30, 2018
I've listened to this as an audiobook at least 5 times, once with my husband John Kitchens for his first time. It has ROFL parts and some of the most sad, moving parts I've ever read. this isn't really a spoiler for the best ROFL part: Watch out/listen out for Papa saying: "Thantion it, damn it, thantion it!"
In this book, characters' interior monologues, their thoughts, are given as speech. These interior monologues also are from "the wisteria vine" at the graveyard and the folks buried in the graveyard, including an old man, babies, and the leg of a man who lost it and his family buried it in the old graveyard.
The monologues of the oldest daughter are sweet and heartbreaking, especially in her love for her husband (Bliss: "Thatcher, he stands tall.") and also for his clever playful younger brother. The most heartbreaking interior monologue I have ever read is by that younger brother after he marries Rhonda, has gone to war, and returned totally paralyzed. I have wondered a number of time about how much a person who is paralyzed understands of what we say to them--or, in this case, how they understand our body language and actions or lack of actions. There is a "pity fuck" or a "mercy fuck" in this book but it is one of the most caring and delicately described events I have ever read.
The Floatplane Notebooks refer to the floatplane that the father/papa is building after he throws the directions away. This plane is described as a folly, a failure, a thing to be ridiculed--but at the end of the story it figures in the conclusion and denouement in a most spending and touching way.
In my mind, this book is Clyde Edgerton's masterpiece. I have read it many times and listened to the audio CD's a number of times as well. I mentioned in the beginning the phrase, "Thansion it." The event that this phrase goes with, when the scallawag younger brother keeps trying out a weak board in the center of the kitchen caused me to almost drive off the road in laughter so hard that I was crying. I have watched two other people listen to this part of the CD's and they dissolved in touching laughter, too. (Papa has his false teeth out and he tries to use a sheet to help his son climb out of the well beneath the floor. He wants help in tying it to a brace and keeps saying, "Thansion it, thansion it." This is even funnier to me because not many people know the word "stanchion" in English and he is using it as a verb instead of a noun.)
I just picked January 1, 2014, as my date of finishing this book because I have read it/listened to it so many times over years, starting well before 2001, that giving a date is silly. But I did re-listen to the CD's sometime last year. I have them stored in my "Keep forever" collection.
In this book, characters' interior monologues, their thoughts, are given as speech. These interior monologues also are from "the wisteria vine" at the graveyard and the folks buried in the graveyard, including an old man, babies, and the leg of a man who lost it and his family buried it in the old graveyard.
The monologues of the oldest daughter are sweet and heartbreaking, especially in her love for her husband (Bliss: "Thatcher, he stands tall.") and also for his clever playful younger brother. The most heartbreaking interior monologue I have ever read is by that younger brother after he marries Rhonda, has gone to war, and returned totally paralyzed. I have wondered a number of time about how much a person who is paralyzed understands of what we say to them--or, in this case, how they understand our body language and actions or lack of actions. There is a "pity fuck" or a "mercy fuck" in this book but it is one of the most caring and delicately described events I have ever read.
The Floatplane Notebooks refer to the floatplane that the father/papa is building after he throws the directions away. This plane is described as a folly, a failure, a thing to be ridiculed--but at the end of the story it figures in the conclusion and denouement in a most spending and touching way.
In my mind, this book is Clyde Edgerton's masterpiece. I have read it many times and listened to the audio CD's a number of times as well. I mentioned in the beginning the phrase, "Thansion it." The event that this phrase goes with, when the scallawag younger brother keeps trying out a weak board in the center of the kitchen caused me to almost drive off the road in laughter so hard that I was crying. I have watched two other people listen to this part of the CD's and they dissolved in touching laughter, too. (Papa has his false teeth out and he tries to use a sheet to help his son climb out of the well beneath the floor. He wants help in tying it to a brace and keeps saying, "Thansion it, thansion it." This is even funnier to me because not many people know the word "stanchion" in English and he is using it as a verb instead of a noun.)
I just picked January 1, 2014, as my date of finishing this book because I have read it/listened to it so many times over years, starting well before 2001, that giving a date is silly. But I did re-listen to the CD's sometime last year. I have them stored in my "Keep forever" collection.
April 17, 2018
By turns humorous and tragic, a solid read by an entertaining author. Warning: lots of racial epithets and animal deaths, but remember to take that in context. My favorite chapter was when the two boys went frog-gigging, as I have a fond memory of doing that with my youngest aunt when I was about the age of these characters.
May 9, 2017
Ths book shows reality and truth of the times. These stories were told to me as a child verbatim by my grandmother late at night during her sickness after a diabetic shock. She passed in 1972/ I was age 18. We visited the gravesite for the yearly cleaning. The stories about Aunt Sarah and 'Puss' had me rolling. My grandmother could roll her names off her tongue so easily as if in a song... I would laugh so hard when she said at the end: 'they called her Puss' . When I found out about this book... it brought back all the memories of the truth she was telling about her neighbors and relatives in the NC area this book was based upon. The first wisteria was planted in her back yard and took over the entire area over time. The chimney from her childhood home was there for years until it completely fell into the earth and buried by leaves and trees. There is a billboard on the property showing the home with my grandmother standing in front. Elaborated over the years, but very similar to the stories I heard as a child. I enjoyed the memories and the details that I had forgotten. Thank you Clyde Edgerton for bringing my grandmothers voice back to life.
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May 28, 2024I really liked Edgerton's Raney and Redeye, but I couldn't get into this one at all. Too many characters, and not enough descriptions to make me care about any of them. I threw in the towel when the parents expected their son to drown some kittens in the river, then punished him for drowning them in the well instead. I'm not sticking around to see how they get rid of the poor bird dogs.
September 8, 2007
Come on, Clyde Edgerton is great. He writes funny, tender stories and has made writing little old ladies an art form. He's easy on the eyes and has a bluegrass band, for pete's sake. This book breaks rules about how many points of views are okay in writing, and I love that. Even a wisteria vine has a point of view. This book made its stage debut with the Charlotte Repertory Theatre, and Clyde had a reception before the opening. He played the banjo and talked to us like we were sitting in his living room.
February 4, 2017
I read this for a Book Club and really, there is not much I enjoyed about it except that I was able to skim while not losing track of the story. I especially hated the drowning kittens, skinning of birds and the technical details of the floatplane. Some of the characters, like Bliss and Mark, were interesting but I just don't get the country humor.
June 23, 2012
This story was probably not supposed to make me cry, but it did. Rich language interwoven with humor, The Floatplane Notebooks ebbs and flows with the human foibles of a southern family, and it's as real and poignant as the best of its genre. Recommended.
May 23, 2012
I had the pleasure of working with Clyde at St. Andrews College years ago. This one is my favorite. He captures the voices of people from my childhood!
February 1, 2015
One of my favorite books.
November 7, 2015
A poignant tale. The wisteria vine is a metaphor for the family: deeply-rooted and sprawling.
September 8, 2024
“The Floatplane Notebooks” by Clyde Edgerton was suggested to me after I read on of his other books last year. I found a hard cover copy missing a dust jacket in a used bookstore and decided to give it a go. It started out slow but the more I read the more the story unfolded into this rich tapestry of the intertwined lives of an extended family. You sort of grow up with them as they go from being mischievous kids to veterans of vietnam. The women play an equal role as storytellers in this family saga and you grow to love them all by the end. I love the way Edgerton uses familiar North Carolina language and paints a vivid picture of the setting. The story revolves around an annual grave cleaning family reunion which serves as fertile ground for storytelling from members living and long dead. If you pick this one up, stick with it. It grows on you.
April 12, 2018
Story of a big, affectionate, slightly loony and hyperactive family in North Carolina and Florida. Easy read, with individual chapters in voices of the various family members, including the wisteria vine. At the end you feel as if you've watched a nice North Carolina country tv show.
I am often curious about the thinking and feelings underneath, but sometimes families don't talk so much as they act out their lives. But this book was meant to be a light-hearted witness of a family, Garrison Keillor style, and that's fine. Seemed a little too cute at times, and the better parts were toward the end when tough times really hit. Descriptions of the contraption-creating were a riot. Nice book if you need a nice break that will make you smile.
I am often curious about the thinking and feelings underneath, but sometimes families don't talk so much as they act out their lives. But this book was meant to be a light-hearted witness of a family, Garrison Keillor style, and that's fine. Seemed a little too cute at times, and the better parts were toward the end when tough times really hit. Descriptions of the contraption-creating were a riot. Nice book if you need a nice break that will make you smile.
June 9, 2024
I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I realize the timeframe in which this book depicts so I understand the racial tones as that was common in that timeframe. That, however, did not make it easier to read it. Again, I also understand that animals were not as “loved” during that timeframe…. But coming from an animal lover, very hard to read about all the killing of animals so nonchalantly. I did not love seeing the negative impact the military had on Meredith and Mark. Meredith’s language turned completely foul even before he was injured. Mark lost his love and respect for Gods word. I do know that happens. I did love that it depicted a fairly accurate tail of that timeframe and I loved that Meredith got to be in the plane when it finally flew.
November 8, 2019
Wonderful picture of a NC family, their regular family vacation to Silver Springs, FL and their careful maintenance of the family cemetery that they turn into a social event each year. Each chapter told from the point of view of an individual family member. Hilarious adventures that get retold, the pickup that has to be pulled from the pond, the always under construction floatplane and many more. Brothers affected by the Vietnam war figure prominently, even casual porch conversations by the dead! Ends with a beautiful turn.
May 28, 2019
I found this to one of the author's best and funniest books. The book revolves around the family of an ex-navy frogman who is informed about life by his past occupation. For many years he has been trying, rather slowly and unsuccessfully, to build a float plane. The craziness of the family creates much humor, although the wisteria attests to deeper darker secrets. All in all the laugh out loud humor carries the day to a most enjoyable read.
July 5, 2019
The way this book is told through different P.O.V’s made me really attached to some characters. It is set in the late 1950s-early 1960s in the south. The beginning of this book has a sunny, nothing-could-ever-go-wrong kind of vibe that is a little expected considering the times and the characters personalities. Then, things start to get darker when the Vietnam war comes around and you start seeing that nothing perfect ever lasts long, at least for this family. Over all, wonderful read.
July 25, 2024
While the overall storyline in this book was good, I found it to be a bit disjointed, especially when The Vine was talking. I had to consult the family tree shown at the beginning of the book to remember who was who, which I found distracting. Having said that, the misadventures of Mark and Meredith were pretty amusing. I read this book as a choice from my book club, but it’s not the kind of book I would normally read.
November 18, 2019
This story was humorous in parts, disturbing at times, and covers the full gauntlet of a family struggling and experiences with everyday life in North Carolina from the end of WWII into the 70s. The sections covering the Vietnam War was well written, and a true representation that many families experienced during that time. Solid novel.
April 30, 2024
Second read on this one and I enjoyed it every bit as I did the first time. Edgerton has great characters in all of his books, but far and away my favorite character of all is the wisteria vine in this one. This is a wonderful presentation of a family growing together in exactly the same era that I did. It's an especially sensitive perspective on the life of a Vietnam veteran.
November 4, 2025
(no 70 of 2025)
Thatcher Copeland (oldest son; married to Bliss)
Meredith Copeland (middle child; Vietnam Marine; married to Rhonda)
Noralee Copeland (youngest child)
Mark (their cousin)
Albert and Mildred Copeland (their parents; Papa has the floatplane)
The Vine (wisteria; witness to the family's history)
... set in Listre, NC from 1956 to 1970
Thatcher Copeland (oldest son; married to Bliss)
Meredith Copeland (middle child; Vietnam Marine; married to Rhonda)
Noralee Copeland (youngest child)
Mark (their cousin)
Albert and Mildred Copeland (their parents; Papa has the floatplane)
The Vine (wisteria; witness to the family's history)
... set in Listre, NC from 1956 to 1970
February 17, 2019
The perspective-switching chapter method was captivating, and made an otherwise lulling story something to behold.
A simple story of simple people in a simple time with simple motives and simple goals told in a breathtaking and fresh way. Very nice.
A simple story of simple people in a simple time with simple motives and simple goals told in a breathtaking and fresh way. Very nice.
January 18, 2024
This books puts me in mind of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. It is the story of a family over several years. It takes a moment to get into, but as it went on I became more and more invested in these characters. This is a character study, don't expect too much action.
April 19, 2024
Always enjoy a story about a place, time and people I might of known. Every part of this book is true to the era and people. Some is not pretty of course. Altogether the resilience and grace of these people shine through.
April 30, 2024
Another Clyde Edgerton masterpiece. The characters are so vivid they are people that you feel you know. I also love seeing literal decades of the Copeland"s lives. I also never got tired of hearing the same old stories. Reminds me a lot of my own family.
May 19, 2017
The parts of this book that I liked were delightful. There were other parts that made me want to throw up and I finally quit reading it. No, I did not finish the book.
September 2, 2018
Slow to absorb but grabs you mid-way in
I began by thinking that there wasn't enough character definition but ended by.knowing each person well and enjoying their stories!
I began by thinking that there wasn't enough character definition but ended by.knowing each person well and enjoying their stories!
June 20, 2019
Faulkner light.
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February 25, 2021That wisteria vine!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews