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Goner
Goner follows the lives of four sisters from a progressive household in the Deep South. The narrative begins with their northern mother's arrival in a Louisiana army town as a young newspaper reporter in 1943 and her hasty, unconsidered, marriage to a genteel older man. It follows the naive couple from their disastrous wedding night, to the birth of their first daughter on the same day their house is reclaimed by a returning G.I. The Sobrals migrate from Baton Rouge, to an isolated bayou plantation, and then on to a cotton town caught in the post war boom. Just before their fourth daughter is born, the Sobrals settle in BelleBend, a sleepy little town on the Mississippi River
The Sobral sisters grow up listening to the haunting calls of riverboats and the rumbling of sugar cane trucks down the River Road; they attend BelleBend's black church, and endlessly speculate about the relationship between their beautiful, remote mother and kindly absent-minded father. The story follows the girls' childhood adventures--some hilarious and some breathtakingly dangerous--in a time and a place where adults pay little attention to the wanderings of children. Together, the Sobral daughters find Elvis, teen love, and come of age during the early civil rights movement. In their jasmine-scented isolation, the four sisters form a profound and enduring bond. Kennedy's assassination transforms their family in unforeseen ways.
In 1980 the four sisters return to their River Road house for their heartbroken father’s deathwatch. Their beloved and enigmatic mother has recently died. On their last night together, one of the sisters uncovers a devastating secret.
Goner examines the ties between real and imagined lives, between character and narrator, and the entwined ways that a family survives by creating its own myth.
The Sobral sisters grow up listening to the haunting calls of riverboats and the rumbling of sugar cane trucks down the River Road; they attend BelleBend's black church, and endlessly speculate about the relationship between their beautiful, remote mother and kindly absent-minded father. The story follows the girls' childhood adventures--some hilarious and some breathtakingly dangerous--in a time and a place where adults pay little attention to the wanderings of children. Together, the Sobral daughters find Elvis, teen love, and come of age during the early civil rights movement. In their jasmine-scented isolation, the four sisters form a profound and enduring bond. Kennedy's assassination transforms their family in unforeseen ways.
In 1980 the four sisters return to their River Road house for their heartbroken father’s deathwatch. Their beloved and enigmatic mother has recently died. On their last night together, one of the sisters uncovers a devastating secret.
Goner examines the ties between real and imagined lives, between character and narrator, and the entwined ways that a family survives by creating its own myth.
277 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2017
4 people are currently reading
629 people want to read
About the author
Ann Goethe
3 books13 followersAnn Goethe’s novel MIDNIGHT LEMONADE was a finalist for the Barnes and Nobel “Discovery Prize.” She is a published playwright; her poems, essays and short stories have appeared in numerous journals and magazines. She lives in Virginia on a peninsula encircled by the ancient New River.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 30, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I love stories that are written about women whether it is about sisters or best friends. This story is about 4 sisters come who from all over the country to stay with by their dad's side as he lay dying in the family home. The sisters in the evening get together in the kitchen of the family home and start reminiscing about their parent's life when they first met in 1943. Their mother Margaret who moved down from the north arrived in Louisiana an army town during the war as a newspaper reporter. One day Margaret is sent to interview the headmaster Matthew
Sobral from a local all-boys school. Matthew is an older man, who is a confirmed bachelor, who becomes enamored with Margaret and decides to pursue her and asks her to marry him after few short months of being together. Margaret agrees to his marriage proposal since she was deeply hurt by a former love whom she discovers is married and cheating on his wife with her. The parent's marriage is off to a rocky start from a terrible wedding day with her friends and family which was cold and stilted and then later in the honeymoon suite when Margaret realizes that she made a mistake marrying Matthew. Their marriage from the beginning has its problems. When Margaret gives birth to their first daughter the house they are renting, the owner a G.I. returns and wants his house back. They have to move to a relatives plantation and Matthew tries farming which he fails at horribly to a job as a salesman in the small town near the plantation. Matthew and Margaret eventually move to a small southern town where Matthew teaches school and Margaret make good friends with some of the women from this small town. Life for the both of them gets better as they have 2 more daughters but tragedy strikes again as a good friend dies and Matthew is offered a job in another town that doesn't except Margaret who has a hard time adjusting to life there. Matthew eventually excepts an assistant principal from the small town in the town he grew up in BelleBend. Margaret has the last daughter in BelleBend but as the family makes a life there Margaret as always withdrawn and aloof with the 4 daughters. For Matthew who is a kind father but out of his depths with Margaret doesn't know how to deal with her standoffishness with him and the girls. He does try his best for Margaret, but this is never enough for her. As the girls grow up they discover who they are as they experience life in BelleBend as the girls find Elvis to teenage boys to the south as it goes through the civil rights movement to the assassination of President Kennedy that changes the family in ways they never expected. As the story draws to an end one of the sisters will uncover a devastating secret that their mother hid from all of them.
Sobral from a local all-boys school. Matthew is an older man, who is a confirmed bachelor, who becomes enamored with Margaret and decides to pursue her and asks her to marry him after few short months of being together. Margaret agrees to his marriage proposal since she was deeply hurt by a former love whom she discovers is married and cheating on his wife with her. The parent's marriage is off to a rocky start from a terrible wedding day with her friends and family which was cold and stilted and then later in the honeymoon suite when Margaret realizes that she made a mistake marrying Matthew. Their marriage from the beginning has its problems. When Margaret gives birth to their first daughter the house they are renting, the owner a G.I. returns and wants his house back. They have to move to a relatives plantation and Matthew tries farming which he fails at horribly to a job as a salesman in the small town near the plantation. Matthew and Margaret eventually move to a small southern town where Matthew teaches school and Margaret make good friends with some of the women from this small town. Life for the both of them gets better as they have 2 more daughters but tragedy strikes again as a good friend dies and Matthew is offered a job in another town that doesn't except Margaret who has a hard time adjusting to life there. Matthew eventually excepts an assistant principal from the small town in the town he grew up in BelleBend. Margaret has the last daughter in BelleBend but as the family makes a life there Margaret as always withdrawn and aloof with the 4 daughters. For Matthew who is a kind father but out of his depths with Margaret doesn't know how to deal with her standoffishness with him and the girls. He does try his best for Margaret, but this is never enough for her. As the girls grow up they discover who they are as they experience life in BelleBend as the girls find Elvis to teenage boys to the south as it goes through the civil rights movement to the assassination of President Kennedy that changes the family in ways they never expected. As the story draws to an end one of the sisters will uncover a devastating secret that their mother hid from all of them.
April 26, 2018
Sisters remember their childhood and close the door on their past
With their father on his deathbed, the four Sobral sisters have returned to their parent's Southern Louisiana home. Their mother passed away only six months prior, this time of waiting isn't new to them. This time around, they know what to do. As they pack up their childhood home, the sisters try not to talk about their parents on this last night, but it happens anyway. Memory after memory floods back, with Emily, the oldest, as our narrator. Going from 1980 back to the 1940s, when their mother Margaret was a young woman, the four sisters share their parent's story and their unconventional childhood with us.
Margaret, a Yankee, met Matthew when she went to interview him as the new headmaster of a boy's school in town. Margaret was indifferent and felt sorry for Matthew when he asked her out on a date. Matthew, was a goner from the moment she walked through his door. The sisters share their memories and tales of a life with a father who always cleaned out their checking account, having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and not understanding a budget, and a mother who left the girls to their own devices and wanted to do her own thing.
As the story flips back and forth between 1980 and the past, I found myself drawn more to the stories the girls told of when they were growing up. The sections in "current" time were sometimes confusing with four voices in a conversation and not always knowing who was speaking. Plus there is a lot more going on in those past stories than in the little house in Louisiana as the girls await their father's death. I enjoyed the story, but at times would need to reread sections as often the author went from one topic or sister to another without any sort of transition. But it was a good novel with an interesting plot, one I believe many people can relate to. I feel we can all find a little bit of ourselves in each book we read. The end did throw me for a little loop and left me questioning, "was it all a dream or a different life?" One you will have to figure out for yourself. For the right audience, this is a great book. It is definitely not for a younger reader, but a young adult and or a mature reader who loves historical novels, may truly enjoy this special read. Happy Reading.
With their father on his deathbed, the four Sobral sisters have returned to their parent's Southern Louisiana home. Their mother passed away only six months prior, this time of waiting isn't new to them. This time around, they know what to do. As they pack up their childhood home, the sisters try not to talk about their parents on this last night, but it happens anyway. Memory after memory floods back, with Emily, the oldest, as our narrator. Going from 1980 back to the 1940s, when their mother Margaret was a young woman, the four sisters share their parent's story and their unconventional childhood with us.
Margaret, a Yankee, met Matthew when she went to interview him as the new headmaster of a boy's school in town. Margaret was indifferent and felt sorry for Matthew when he asked her out on a date. Matthew, was a goner from the moment she walked through his door. The sisters share their memories and tales of a life with a father who always cleaned out their checking account, having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and not understanding a budget, and a mother who left the girls to their own devices and wanted to do her own thing.
As the story flips back and forth between 1980 and the past, I found myself drawn more to the stories the girls told of when they were growing up. The sections in "current" time were sometimes confusing with four voices in a conversation and not always knowing who was speaking. Plus there is a lot more going on in those past stories than in the little house in Louisiana as the girls await their father's death. I enjoyed the story, but at times would need to reread sections as often the author went from one topic or sister to another without any sort of transition. But it was a good novel with an interesting plot, one I believe many people can relate to. I feel we can all find a little bit of ourselves in each book we read. The end did throw me for a little loop and left me questioning, "was it all a dream or a different life?" One you will have to figure out for yourself. For the right audience, this is a great book. It is definitely not for a younger reader, but a young adult and or a mature reader who loves historical novels, may truly enjoy this special read. Happy Reading.
April 27, 2018
Family Bonds
This novel has a lot of detail and could really bring you back in time. I was apprehensive at first as I know how things could be for women during that era, however this novel does pull the reader in and brings you closer to this family's story. It's interesting how an unlikely union can bring such a couple together and how they dealt with life together. The daughters experienced life with their parents differently than others and the struggles they had to face. The story started off sad but I stuck with it to find out more. Most of the time you can't go wrong with a love story and this was certainly different from those I'm used to reading. It was pleasing to read of the mother, Margaret's story and how her daughters examined their parents relationship. The back and forth story telling was a little out of the norm for me as sometimes I would forget where I left off. I would definitely go back and re-read this to really soak it up now that I'm used to the writing style. Ann Goethe brings good detail and life to this novel.
This novel has a lot of detail and could really bring you back in time. I was apprehensive at first as I know how things could be for women during that era, however this novel does pull the reader in and brings you closer to this family's story. It's interesting how an unlikely union can bring such a couple together and how they dealt with life together. The daughters experienced life with their parents differently than others and the struggles they had to face. The story started off sad but I stuck with it to find out more. Most of the time you can't go wrong with a love story and this was certainly different from those I'm used to reading. It was pleasing to read of the mother, Margaret's story and how her daughters examined their parents relationship. The back and forth story telling was a little out of the norm for me as sometimes I would forget where I left off. I would definitely go back and re-read this to really soak it up now that I'm used to the writing style. Ann Goethe brings good detail and life to this novel.
December 16, 2022
This book is not a page turner for me.
I had to stop reading all the time because of the flood of memories it brought back. Some I think about on a regular basis and some I've hidden away in my unconscious memory for many reasons.
As the sisters gather to reminisce about their family, it is not what they are saying that intrigues me, but what they are not saying. Each of us has a different remembrance of what our family was.
Should I reveal a secret only I know that would change everything?
And then the major experience at the beginning of the book. Do we let one good or bad experience influence our entire life.
The life we thought we would live. The life we are living. The life we dreamed we would have. And then, the ending. Will it be the one I dreamed about. Will it be the one I figured it would be, or is there no ending. Then after I thought the book was done, She caught me!
I won't tell you how.
This is a great book to experience and share. Maybe give a copy to your favorite local library for many to share.
I had to stop reading all the time because of the flood of memories it brought back. Some I think about on a regular basis and some I've hidden away in my unconscious memory for many reasons.
As the sisters gather to reminisce about their family, it is not what they are saying that intrigues me, but what they are not saying. Each of us has a different remembrance of what our family was.
Should I reveal a secret only I know that would change everything?
And then the major experience at the beginning of the book. Do we let one good or bad experience influence our entire life.
The life we thought we would live. The life we are living. The life we dreamed we would have. And then, the ending. Will it be the one I dreamed about. Will it be the one I figured it would be, or is there no ending. Then after I thought the book was done, She caught me!
I won't tell you how.
This is a great book to experience and share. Maybe give a copy to your favorite local library for many to share.
December 29, 2022
This book is not a page turner for me.
I had to stop reading all the time because of the flood of memories it brought back. Some I think about on a regular basis and some I've hidden away in my unconscious memory for many reasons.
As the sisters gather to reminisce about their family, it is not what they are saying that intrigues me, but what they are not saying. Each of us has a different remembrance of what our family was.
Should I reveal a secret only I know that would change everything?
And then the major experience at the beginning of the book. Do we let one good or bad experience influence our entire life.
The life we thought we would live. The life we are living. The life we dreamed we would have. And then, the ending. Will it be the one I dreamed about. Will it be the one I figured it would be, or is there no ending. Then after I thought the book was done, She caught me!
I won't tell you how.
This is a great book to experience and share. Maybe give a copy to your favorite local library for many to share.
I had to stop reading all the time because of the flood of memories it brought back. Some I think about on a regular basis and some I've hidden away in my unconscious memory for many reasons.
As the sisters gather to reminisce about their family, it is not what they are saying that intrigues me, but what they are not saying. Each of us has a different remembrance of what our family was.
Should I reveal a secret only I know that would change everything?
And then the major experience at the beginning of the book. Do we let one good or bad experience influence our entire life.
The life we thought we would live. The life we are living. The life we dreamed we would have. And then, the ending. Will it be the one I dreamed about. Will it be the one I figured it would be, or is there no ending. Then after I thought the book was done, She caught me!
I won't tell you how.
This is a great book to experience and share. Maybe give a copy to your favorite local library for many to share.
April 12, 2024
This book isn't bad, but it took a long time for me to figure out how I was supposed to be reading it. There were bits of wisdom spread throughout this book that implied a greater overarching plot, but I didn't enjoy the book till I realized it wasn't a 'plot' kind of book. The book was more of a vibe, a feeling of a family's interesting life in drastically different times and how we could take wisdom from it. If that was clearer from the beginning I think this book could be enjoyed much more.
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August 27, 2018Loved it! Kept me smiling. It's an homage to family, sisterhood, childhood, parents, parenting, grieving, and a wonderful, sweet evocation of life in mid-20th century Southern Louisiana.So many perfectly captured moments.
April 16, 2019
Excellent book!!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews