What do you think?
Rate this book
Mourning Dove
"An accurate and heart-wrenching picture of the sensibilities of the American South." Kirkus Book Reviews The heart has a home when it has an ally. If Millie Crossan doesn't know anything else, she knows this one truth simply because her brother Finley grew up beside her. Charismatic Finley, eighteen months her senior, becomes Millie's guide when their mother Posey leaves their father and moves her children from Minnesota to Memphis shortly after Millie's tenth birthday. Memphis is a world foreign to Millie and Finley. This is the 1970s Memphis, the genteel world of their mother's upbringing and vastly different from anything they've ever known. Here they are the outsiders. Here, they only have each other. And here, as the years fold over themselves, they mature in a manicured Southern culture where they learn firsthand that much of what glitters isn't gold. Nuance, tradition, and Southern eccentrics flavor Millie and Finley's world as they find their way to belonging. But what hidden variables take their shared history to leave both brother and sister at such disparate ends? Praise for Mourning Dove "Set against the backdrop of a complicated 1970s South – one both forward-looking and still in love with the past – and seen through the eyes of a Minnesota girl struggling to flourish in Memphis society, Mourning Dove is the story of two unforgettable siblings with a bond so strong even death can’t break it. Claire Fullerton has given us a wise, relatable narrator in Millie. Like a trusted friend, she guides us through the confounding tale of her dazzling brother Finley, their beguiling mother Posey, and a town where shiny surfaces often belie reality. Like those surfaces, Fullerton’s prose sparkles even as she leads us into dark places, posing profound questions without any easy answers." ~ Margaret Evans. Editor, Lowcountry Weekly, Beaufort, SC - Former Editorial Assistant to Pat Conroy
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 29, 2018
178 people are currently reading
2252 people want to read
About the author
Claire Fullerton
5 books419 followersClaire Fullerton is the multiple, award-winning author of Little Tea, Mourning Dove, Dancing to an Irish Reel, and A Portal in Time. Her books have been Pulpwood Queens book club selections, and her 18 book awards include the IPPY Silver medal, and the Literary Classics Book of the Year. Claire contributed to the book, A Southern Season with her novella, Through an Autumn Window. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and multiple anthologies. She hails from Memphis, and lives in Malibu, CA. with her husband and 3 German shepherds. She enjoys reviewing books for the New York Journal of Books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
May 12, 2019
Mourning Dove is a beautifully-told southern story. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
It’s the 1970s. Millie and her brother Finley are eighteen months apart, and he’s her rock. When Millie is ten, Posey, their mother, leaves their alcoholic father and moves from Minnesota to Tennessee, where Posey is was raised.
Memphis might as well be a foreign country to Finley and Millie. They are different from everyone else and on the outside looking in. Luckily they have each other, but that’s about all they have.
When Posey returns to her hometown, she immediately finds her way, unlike her children. She’s wrapped up in society and often leaves the children alone while she’s at the country club.
Millie and Finley come-of-age in Memphis. They each just want to belong, as any teen does. Their paths separate, and their outcomes are different from each other. Their relationship falls into disrepair as well.
Millie is in her 30s when she reflects on her life and specifically her relationship with her brother. I found this exploration incredibly authentic and insightful. The nuances of brother-sister relationships are present and driven home. Finley is Millie’s protector and hero. If you had a big brother (like I did), you totally get it. The two are extremely close growing up until they aren’t.
In Memphis high society, appearances are everything, and it’s hard to fit in. Claire Fullerton does an impeccable job capturing that “outsider” feeling, especially for teenagers. I’ve been there. She nailed it.
The writing is beautiful, and I highlighted so many smart, gorgeous quotes. I also have to mention the time period. The 1970s came to life with the clothing, music, and ideas of the time. Also important to note is all the backdrop of segregation and social change happening at a slower pace.
The book may have been set in the 1970s, but the themes are universal for any time. The characters are well-drawn, and I was transported to this special time and place.
Poignant, powerful, and stunningly written, I was enamored with Mourning Dove and very much look forward to Fullerton’s next book!
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
It’s the 1970s. Millie and her brother Finley are eighteen months apart, and he’s her rock. When Millie is ten, Posey, their mother, leaves their alcoholic father and moves from Minnesota to Tennessee, where Posey is was raised.
Memphis might as well be a foreign country to Finley and Millie. They are different from everyone else and on the outside looking in. Luckily they have each other, but that’s about all they have.
When Posey returns to her hometown, she immediately finds her way, unlike her children. She’s wrapped up in society and often leaves the children alone while she’s at the country club.
Millie and Finley come-of-age in Memphis. They each just want to belong, as any teen does. Their paths separate, and their outcomes are different from each other. Their relationship falls into disrepair as well.
Millie is in her 30s when she reflects on her life and specifically her relationship with her brother. I found this exploration incredibly authentic and insightful. The nuances of brother-sister relationships are present and driven home. Finley is Millie’s protector and hero. If you had a big brother (like I did), you totally get it. The two are extremely close growing up until they aren’t.
In Memphis high society, appearances are everything, and it’s hard to fit in. Claire Fullerton does an impeccable job capturing that “outsider” feeling, especially for teenagers. I’ve been there. She nailed it.
The writing is beautiful, and I highlighted so many smart, gorgeous quotes. I also have to mention the time period. The 1970s came to life with the clothing, music, and ideas of the time. Also important to note is all the backdrop of segregation and social change happening at a slower pace.
The book may have been set in the 1970s, but the themes are universal for any time. The characters are well-drawn, and I was transported to this special time and place.
Poignant, powerful, and stunningly written, I was enamored with Mourning Dove and very much look forward to Fullerton’s next book!
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Want to read
December 8, 2018 I'll take the opportunity to share why I wrote Mourning Dove. Plain and simply, I grew up in Memphis, in an era that I think was run by the last of the great Southern belles. Most of them are gone from the South, now, as am I, for I now live in Malibu, California. I have a conflicted relationship with the South. It's a strange mixture of gratitude for having outgrown it and weepy nostalgia for the place in which I came of age. I can't say if I'm nostalgic for the actual place or if it's nostalgia for the innocence and endless possibilities that one carries in youth, but emotionally, I think they're tied together. It's the people of Memphis I miss the most, and when I think of Memphis, I think of its women. Never was there a cast of more glittering woman than those who populated my youth. They were fun, dynamic, refined, and rarely serious. They walked like queens and spoke in lyrical tones so compelling that I'm offended by other accents to this day. I set Mourning Dove in 1970's and 1980's Memphis because, back then, the particular Southern, social milieu was rife with nuance and tradition anchored by southern matriarchs who ran the social strata. I did not write about the side of the South where people drive pick-up trucks down dirt roads to the family farm while dodging a coon dog or two, I wanted to write about that side of the South that was coiffed and manicured; where people had an innate elegance that mattered. There is much to be drawn in a setting such as this, and what fascinated me most growing up was the cultural way of denial. In the Memphis I knew, they kept things light and airy. If something was unpleasant or unseemly, it simply wasn't discussed. But what of two siblings born up north who come to the Deep South as outsiders? And how can they share the same history yet come to disparate ends? What unhinging happens in the delicate wiring of one but somehow misses the other? Is it nature or nurture, and how are we to ever know? In the end, all one is left with is the story. This was my aim in writing Mourning Dove. Always and forever, it will all come down to the story.
May 25, 2018
How fun it was for me to read Claire Fullerton’s wonderful new novel, set in the social milieu of the Memphis Junior League, the Garden Club, the Memphis Country Club, and the city’s most elite private schools in the 1980s. I actually lived just a neighborhood away from the house where Camille (Millie) and Finley Crossan grew up, but my kids went to public schools in the late 1980s and 1990s, and we weren’t part of the upper echelon of the social fabric of Memphis. But I knew about it. And Fullerton captures it beautifully in her novel MOURNING DOVE, written through the voice of Millie, beginning in her teenage years and moving into her tumultuous time as a young bride.
But Fullerton doesn’t just capture the more polite elements of society in Memphis. She reaches into the heartbeat of the music industry, first in North Carolina, where Finley goes to make a name for himself, and later back in Memphis, as Fullerton says:
“Inside the dark clubs lay the gritty underbelly to my mother’s genteel Memphis, which Finley ferreted out in that serendipitous, inexplicable way that magically comes to boys in the process of finding their footing.”
Their mother Posey—beautifully drawn in her fashionable southern style, surrounded by antique plates, Chinese Foo dogs, and Wedgewood urns on every space of her well-appointed house—plays bridge, hosts sip-n-sees and lunches with friends at the country cub. She has left their alcoholic father for “the Colonel,” a selfish bully who never endears himself to Finley and Millie. They never stop loving their father. Fullerton describes him through Millie’s eyes:
“My father found God out of doors. He felt Him viscerally in nature, His mysteries descended upon him as intuitive inner-knowing. My father’s universe was lit up in symbols and talismans that guided him onward through the fog of life’s riddled path…. There are some men too gentle to live among wolves, and the dichotomy of who he was versus who he tried to be got him in the end.”
I loved the scenes of the teenagers dancing down at Tom Lee Park by the Mississippi River, and the music fest at Memphis University School, where the guys mingled with the girls from Hutchinson. But these happier times weren’t to last, as Finley succumbs to drugs and eventually loses himself in a self-led cult. No spoilers here, but things turn dark as the novel progresses. As his friend Luke says about him at one point:
“Intellects like Finley tend to reach for the edge. It’s like this earthly level of consciousness isn’t enough for a guy like him. He has to reach for more, know what I mean?”
Millie worships her brother. He is her talisman through life in their broken family and the changing society in which they live. Fullerton does a beautiful job of capturing Millie’s inner dialogue throughout the book:
“Finley once said the whole meaning of life is to learn how to master ambiguity. It’s life’s choices that scare me the most, those crucial crossroads that direct or redirect the course of a life. And what settles me to no end is the recognition that the choices that shape our lives are not always of our making. Sometimes we’re on the bitter end of somebody else’s.”
More than a coming-of-age story or a multi-layered family saga—and it is both of those things—MOURNING DOVE is a cautionary tale wrought with beautiful prose and gut-wrenching truthfulness. Readers will fall in love with Finley and Millie, and will root for both of them until the end. And yes, we are also sympathetic towards their mother Posey. A jewel of a novel.
Oh and here’s a bonus, the audio book is narrated by the author herself, who worked as a DJ for a rock and roll radio station when she lived in Memphis. We’ve all got a treat in store!
But Fullerton doesn’t just capture the more polite elements of society in Memphis. She reaches into the heartbeat of the music industry, first in North Carolina, where Finley goes to make a name for himself, and later back in Memphis, as Fullerton says:
“Inside the dark clubs lay the gritty underbelly to my mother’s genteel Memphis, which Finley ferreted out in that serendipitous, inexplicable way that magically comes to boys in the process of finding their footing.”
Their mother Posey—beautifully drawn in her fashionable southern style, surrounded by antique plates, Chinese Foo dogs, and Wedgewood urns on every space of her well-appointed house—plays bridge, hosts sip-n-sees and lunches with friends at the country cub. She has left their alcoholic father for “the Colonel,” a selfish bully who never endears himself to Finley and Millie. They never stop loving their father. Fullerton describes him through Millie’s eyes:
“My father found God out of doors. He felt Him viscerally in nature, His mysteries descended upon him as intuitive inner-knowing. My father’s universe was lit up in symbols and talismans that guided him onward through the fog of life’s riddled path…. There are some men too gentle to live among wolves, and the dichotomy of who he was versus who he tried to be got him in the end.”
I loved the scenes of the teenagers dancing down at Tom Lee Park by the Mississippi River, and the music fest at Memphis University School, where the guys mingled with the girls from Hutchinson. But these happier times weren’t to last, as Finley succumbs to drugs and eventually loses himself in a self-led cult. No spoilers here, but things turn dark as the novel progresses. As his friend Luke says about him at one point:
“Intellects like Finley tend to reach for the edge. It’s like this earthly level of consciousness isn’t enough for a guy like him. He has to reach for more, know what I mean?”
Millie worships her brother. He is her talisman through life in their broken family and the changing society in which they live. Fullerton does a beautiful job of capturing Millie’s inner dialogue throughout the book:
“Finley once said the whole meaning of life is to learn how to master ambiguity. It’s life’s choices that scare me the most, those crucial crossroads that direct or redirect the course of a life. And what settles me to no end is the recognition that the choices that shape our lives are not always of our making. Sometimes we’re on the bitter end of somebody else’s.”
More than a coming-of-age story or a multi-layered family saga—and it is both of those things—MOURNING DOVE is a cautionary tale wrought with beautiful prose and gut-wrenching truthfulness. Readers will fall in love with Finley and Millie, and will root for both of them until the end. And yes, we are also sympathetic towards their mother Posey. A jewel of a novel.
Oh and here’s a bonus, the audio book is narrated by the author herself, who worked as a DJ for a rock and roll radio station when she lived in Memphis. We’ve all got a treat in store!
July 3, 2018
4.5*
Born in Minnesota, and spending their formative years there, ten-year old Mille Crossan and her older brother Finley were uprooted and moved to Memphis. Posey Crossan, their mother, had made the decision, without any warning, to leave Minnesota and her alcoholic husband and return to the world she knew. She slid back into the glittering and genteel Memphis way of life as though she had never been away. Millie and Finley found the transition hard, they missed their father and never stopped loving him despite being discouraged by his inability to stop drinking. Life in Memphis was totally different to anything they’d experienced and they felt a sense of not belonging. But at least they had each other.
'The Memphis Finley and I landed in was my mother’s Memphis. It was magnolia-lined and manicured, black-tailed and bow-tied. It glittered in illusory gold and tinkled in sing-song voices. It was cloistered, segregated, and well-appointed, the kind of place where everyone monogrammed their initials on everything from hand towels to silver because nothing mattered more than one’s family and to whom they were connected by lineage that traced through the fertile fields of the Mississippi Delta.’
Living in a house that couldn’t be less child friendly, with a self-absorbed, controlling step father, her mother’s time taken up with her new husband and the social whirl, Millie’s world revolves around Finley, the brother she looks up to. He becomes the focus of her life and she adores him. They rely on each other, as they try to fit into this new way of life.
We experience events exclusively through Millie’s eyes, her memories of her father and life in Minnesota, her dislike and fear of the house in Memphis and the ways in which she and Finley cope. Millie is proud of Finley’s academic and musical prowess and enjoys the attention it brings her as his sister. Finley is a complex personality, complicated yet insightful. He seems to have found his place as a rock guitarist and founder of a band. But it wasn’t to be.
Inevitably, as Millie enters her mid to late teens she challenges and questions the superficiality of her mother’s world. Finley, home for the first time since leaving for university in Virginia, acts as peacemaker. Millie is reluctance to attend the coming out ball, unable to see the point—one of the instances when Finley talks Millie round and smooths things over. Their paths eventually diverge and although the bond is never broken, Millie finds herself in the position of being the last to know what’s happening in her brother’s life.
Claire Fullerton brings 1970s Memphis to evocative, lyrical life. A society that’s all about appearances, anything unsavoury or unpleasant isn’t allowed to disturb the surface, awkward circumstances are brushed aside. We also get to see the other side of Memphis, the segregation and the flourishing music scene in the less cultured and respectable side of the city.
An array of colourful characters are exquisitely drawn, and the descriptive prose conjures up a true sense of place. A wonderfully atmospheric snapshot of a bygone era.
I chose to read and review Mourning Dove based on an advance reader copy supplied by the author
Born in Minnesota, and spending their formative years there, ten-year old Mille Crossan and her older brother Finley were uprooted and moved to Memphis. Posey Crossan, their mother, had made the decision, without any warning, to leave Minnesota and her alcoholic husband and return to the world she knew. She slid back into the glittering and genteel Memphis way of life as though she had never been away. Millie and Finley found the transition hard, they missed their father and never stopped loving him despite being discouraged by his inability to stop drinking. Life in Memphis was totally different to anything they’d experienced and they felt a sense of not belonging. But at least they had each other.
'The Memphis Finley and I landed in was my mother’s Memphis. It was magnolia-lined and manicured, black-tailed and bow-tied. It glittered in illusory gold and tinkled in sing-song voices. It was cloistered, segregated, and well-appointed, the kind of place where everyone monogrammed their initials on everything from hand towels to silver because nothing mattered more than one’s family and to whom they were connected by lineage that traced through the fertile fields of the Mississippi Delta.’
Living in a house that couldn’t be less child friendly, with a self-absorbed, controlling step father, her mother’s time taken up with her new husband and the social whirl, Millie’s world revolves around Finley, the brother she looks up to. He becomes the focus of her life and she adores him. They rely on each other, as they try to fit into this new way of life.
We experience events exclusively through Millie’s eyes, her memories of her father and life in Minnesota, her dislike and fear of the house in Memphis and the ways in which she and Finley cope. Millie is proud of Finley’s academic and musical prowess and enjoys the attention it brings her as his sister. Finley is a complex personality, complicated yet insightful. He seems to have found his place as a rock guitarist and founder of a band. But it wasn’t to be.
Inevitably, as Millie enters her mid to late teens she challenges and questions the superficiality of her mother’s world. Finley, home for the first time since leaving for university in Virginia, acts as peacemaker. Millie is reluctance to attend the coming out ball, unable to see the point—one of the instances when Finley talks Millie round and smooths things over. Their paths eventually diverge and although the bond is never broken, Millie finds herself in the position of being the last to know what’s happening in her brother’s life.
Claire Fullerton brings 1970s Memphis to evocative, lyrical life. A society that’s all about appearances, anything unsavoury or unpleasant isn’t allowed to disturb the surface, awkward circumstances are brushed aside. We also get to see the other side of Memphis, the segregation and the flourishing music scene in the less cultured and respectable side of the city.
An array of colourful characters are exquisitely drawn, and the descriptive prose conjures up a true sense of place. A wonderfully atmospheric snapshot of a bygone era.
I chose to read and review Mourning Dove based on an advance reader copy supplied by the author
February 26, 2019
Claire Fullerton's melodious Memphis drawl will lure you right into her setting for this Southern novel. I listened to the audio but will be purchasing a paper copy because I need to hold it in my hands and mark the words of wisdom Fullerton drops so effortlessly into every page. Her descriptions drip with the nuances of the South in a post-Civil Rights era and resonate for today. Millie is our narrator but this story belongs to Finley, her brother, who more than anyone else taught her to find her place in the world, even as he struggled to discover his.
May 12, 2018
Mourning Dove is deep thinking, rhythmic and evocative. Millie is our narrator, and the story is a reflective bildungsroman of her youth. At the age of ten, Millie and her older brother Finley move to Memphis with their mother after she leaves their father in Minnesota. The Memphis of the 1970’s is sophisticated, rich and teetering with modern intellectualism. The house that they move to on Kensington—rife with their mother’s social circle and a despotic step father—is perhaps the hot bed into which Millie and Finley germinate their life.
With their past smothered and little to guide them, Finley’s innate talent for music, academia and ideas become the loadstar for them both. Finley is without a doubt the focus for the novel, and the force of his influence on Millie is not easily missed—it is endemic. The way Fullerton goes about making a teenage boy the novel’s Homo Deus is marvellous and thrilling. Finley is central to Millie’s thoughts and catapulted into omnipotence by a selfless admiration for his talent and intellect. The novel never gives us much of a dialogue with him, and we are frequently surprised by any revelation in his life—Millie is always the last to learn that he is performing with a new band, or that he has a girlfriend, or that he’ll be leaving to study in another town—Finley doesn’t tell her these things, and it’s a wonderful way for us as the reader to believe in him as a deity. As they grow older, the separation becomes catastrophic—Millie still loves her brother but the truth of him moves further out of reach and quells even a fantasised understanding.
Mourning Dove is a wonderful narrative with purpose, direction and an emblematic linchpin. I found myself being drawn back to it again and again. The ending was just brilliant—it must have been Fullerton’s intention all along, which makes the story incredibly moving and masterful.
With their past smothered and little to guide them, Finley’s innate talent for music, academia and ideas become the loadstar for them both. Finley is without a doubt the focus for the novel, and the force of his influence on Millie is not easily missed—it is endemic. The way Fullerton goes about making a teenage boy the novel’s Homo Deus is marvellous and thrilling. Finley is central to Millie’s thoughts and catapulted into omnipotence by a selfless admiration for his talent and intellect. The novel never gives us much of a dialogue with him, and we are frequently surprised by any revelation in his life—Millie is always the last to learn that he is performing with a new band, or that he has a girlfriend, or that he’ll be leaving to study in another town—Finley doesn’t tell her these things, and it’s a wonderful way for us as the reader to believe in him as a deity. As they grow older, the separation becomes catastrophic—Millie still loves her brother but the truth of him moves further out of reach and quells even a fantasised understanding.
Mourning Dove is a wonderful narrative with purpose, direction and an emblematic linchpin. I found myself being drawn back to it again and again. The ending was just brilliant—it must have been Fullerton’s intention all along, which makes the story incredibly moving and masterful.
July 1, 2018
The Deep South in the 70s with its unwritten rules and slow moving life is beautifully written about in MOURNING DOVE. The story is told in that languid, slow and relaxed pace that life in the upper echelons of Memphis society occupied during this time.
When Posey realized that her marriage to her northern husband was over, she took her two children (Finley and Millie) from their home in Minnesota and moved them to her childhood home in Memphis where she immediately re-claimed her place as part of the upper society. For Finley and Millie, it was an alien place but they soon learned the rules and how to survive. With their mother busy at cocktail parties and evenings at the country club while she looked for a new husband, Finley and Millie were often left on their own. Millie knew that her older brother was her protector and that she could survive anything with him at her side. At 36 years old, Millie is looking back at those early times and she is still struggling to understand how the relationship between she and her brother evolved into the darkness that it became.
This book is not only a coming of age story for Millie but it's so much more. It's a look at the hierarchy of the South in the 70s and it's a look at two outsiders trying to learn the rules of the game so that they have a chance of surviving.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
When Posey realized that her marriage to her northern husband was over, she took her two children (Finley and Millie) from their home in Minnesota and moved them to her childhood home in Memphis where she immediately re-claimed her place as part of the upper society. For Finley and Millie, it was an alien place but they soon learned the rules and how to survive. With their mother busy at cocktail parties and evenings at the country club while she looked for a new husband, Finley and Millie were often left on their own. Millie knew that her older brother was her protector and that she could survive anything with him at her side. At 36 years old, Millie is looking back at those early times and she is still struggling to understand how the relationship between she and her brother evolved into the darkness that it became.
This book is not only a coming of age story for Millie but it's so much more. It's a look at the hierarchy of the South in the 70s and it's a look at two outsiders trying to learn the rules of the game so that they have a chance of surviving.
Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
April 22, 2019
'Mourning Dove' by author Claire Fullerton is not an easy read because it tackles very-real life problems, specifically those created by parental substance abuse. While it's true this novel also successfully captures strong social dictates followed by what has been known as genteel families in the Old South, and actually to some extent, rules that still apply within some families in the South today, it is parental alcoholism that drives this book from start to finish. The story is told through the eyes of a younger sister, Millie, who flounders with a sense of self. Indeed, the reader is left with the impression at book's end that she has never found herself, that she is sadly a hollow shell of a person defined by the lives of those around her . For most of this book, she lives almost totally as a shadow pinned to her older brother's (Finley's) dynamic personality. Added to the confusion of growing up in the home of an alcoholic, Millie and Finley must cope with their parents' divorce and a move with their mother from Minnesota to their mother's highly-structured life of social appropriateness in Memphis, Tennessee. What Ms. Fullerton so aptly captures is the true-to-life tendency for children to unwittingly recreate the patterns of their childhoods, no matter how hard they try to escape them. Thus, Finley trods down a path similar to his father's, while Millie struggles with a path she's chosen similar to life in her mother's world. This is not a happily-ever-after tale, and it left me with the accurate but disheartening reality that life does not always incorporate efforts made toward one's dreams and aspirations. However, Ms. Fullerton has written this book skillfully, and her writing becomes exquisite in those chapters nearing the book's end.
November 2, 2018
Claire Fullerton, Author of “Mourning Dove” has written an intense, emotional, intriguing, captivating, thought-provoking novel. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, and Women’s Fiction. The timeline of the story is mostly in the 1970’s, and goes to the past or future when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her unique characters as complex and complicated, possibly due to the circumstances describes.
After a divorce, the Crossan family makes a difficult move from Minnesota to Memphis. Mrs. Crossan originally comes form the Southern culture, and easily adapts, but for her children Millie and Finley, it is harder to adjust. Finley is 18 months older than Millie, and Mille is dependent and looks up to her brother for everything. Finley is charming, and intelligent and talented. Millie feels that Finley has it all.
In this story, the characters are searching for the meaning of life and the meaning of home. I appreciate that the author discusses such topics as alcoholism and addiction, communication, honesty , emotional support, love and hope. I would highly recommend this deep and involved family drama for readers who enjoy a novel that is deep and emotional.
After a divorce, the Crossan family makes a difficult move from Minnesota to Memphis. Mrs. Crossan originally comes form the Southern culture, and easily adapts, but for her children Millie and Finley, it is harder to adjust. Finley is 18 months older than Millie, and Mille is dependent and looks up to her brother for everything. Finley is charming, and intelligent and talented. Millie feels that Finley has it all.
In this story, the characters are searching for the meaning of life and the meaning of home. I appreciate that the author discusses such topics as alcoholism and addiction, communication, honesty , emotional support, love and hope. I would highly recommend this deep and involved family drama for readers who enjoy a novel that is deep and emotional.
March 10, 2020
Claire Fullerton’s Mourning Dove is an exquisite coming-of-age tale set against the backdrop of Memphis, circa 1970. With her haunting, lyrical prose, Fullerton immediately and effortlessly transports the reader south of the Mason-Dixon Line from the very first sentence.
Fullerton superbly spins the tale of a brother and sister, Finley and Millie Crossan, who are forced, due to their father’s alcoholism, to leave their rather relaxed existence in the woods of Minnesota and take up refuge with their mother’s family in the heart of the a “manicured south,” a bastion of grace and manners and respectability. Though their mother is able to deftly pick up just where she left off, as though her first marriage was merely an unpleasant aberration, Finley and Millie find it harder to fit in. They are immediately welcomed into the inner circle of the Memphis elite by virtue of their mother, but somehow they nonetheless remain outsiders.
When their mother very quickly marries an exacting, domineering man, a shade of something darker casts its shadow across Finley and Millie’s world, widening the cracks already formed by the shattering of their original family.
Mourning Dove is an achingly beautiful tale of love in all its myriad forms—a story that lingers long after the last page is read. Fullerton is an author to watch. Highly recommend!
Fullerton superbly spins the tale of a brother and sister, Finley and Millie Crossan, who are forced, due to their father’s alcoholism, to leave their rather relaxed existence in the woods of Minnesota and take up refuge with their mother’s family in the heart of the a “manicured south,” a bastion of grace and manners and respectability. Though their mother is able to deftly pick up just where she left off, as though her first marriage was merely an unpleasant aberration, Finley and Millie find it harder to fit in. They are immediately welcomed into the inner circle of the Memphis elite by virtue of their mother, but somehow they nonetheless remain outsiders.
When their mother very quickly marries an exacting, domineering man, a shade of something darker casts its shadow across Finley and Millie’s world, widening the cracks already formed by the shattering of their original family.
Mourning Dove is an achingly beautiful tale of love in all its myriad forms—a story that lingers long after the last page is read. Fullerton is an author to watch. Highly recommend!
August 25, 2018
This was a deeply evocative novel and beautifully written, and yet I’m still sitting here trying to sort out exactly how I feel about the story itself. Narrated by Millie Crossan in the first-person, the story takes the form of a memoir—although the further I got into the story, the easier it was to forget this until the odd sentence cropped up reminding me that the narrator is actually looking back at her life rather than living it as it’s narrated. And yet by the end of the novel, I felt as though I didn’t really know Millie Crossan at all. I could tell you all the things that impacted her life, but I didn’t feel like I actually knew her.
But the longer I’ve thought about it, the more I think that was the whole point—or at least partly the point.
The story begins when Finley and Millie are uprooted from their childhood home in Minnesota and moved to their mother’s childhood home in the South. The early chapters fill in details of their parents’ marriage and background, and then the story carries us through Finley's and Millie’s adolescence and into their young-adult years. It’s a story steeped in the carefully controlled manners and behaviours of the polished South, growing up with mother of whom Millie says, “I never saw her admit to the complete gamut of emotions inherent in all of mankind, and I thought it was because not all of them played well on her stage.”
For a while I felt ambivalent about the story—despite the beauty of the writing—because Millie was such a passive character. She didn’t do anything; she just watched everyone else do things and got caught up in the slipstream. (I don’t want to be any more specific than that in case I give spoilers.) But towards the end, Millie herself realises that she's “just been floating along my whole life at the whim of other people”, and suddenly I had to re-evaluate everything I’d been thinking and feeling about the story. Because if that was the case, then the author had actually crafted the story perfectly. And in the end, it made quite a point about the need we have for affirmation and love, and for the ability to be real about our emotions and to not sweep the messiness of life under the carpet for the sake of keeping up appearances.
This review is getting long, even for me, so I will just make two more brief comments. The first is that, as beautiful as the writing was (both the vocabulary and the imagery), there were many times when it didn’t feel authentic to Millie’s voice. I couldn’t help feeling that, even as an adult, Millie wouldn’t have had quite so sophisticated a vocabulary, and that occasionally pulled me out of the story.
The other point is that the reader knows from the beginning that the story is leading up to a tragedy. The ‘who’ is revealed early on, but the ‘how’ is quite a surprise. I don’t mind an emotional read, but I like to be left with some sense of the character having grown through their circumstances, and I didn’t come away from this story with that sense. Again, I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it left me with a bit of an ache for Millie.
So what does all of this add up to? If you love an evocative, beautifully-written story, this will tick that box. If you’re looking for a book that would make for great book club discussions, this will also tick that box. And if my review has whetted your appetite rather than dampened it, go for it. There’s every chance you will love it.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
But the longer I’ve thought about it, the more I think that was the whole point—or at least partly the point.
The story begins when Finley and Millie are uprooted from their childhood home in Minnesota and moved to their mother’s childhood home in the South. The early chapters fill in details of their parents’ marriage and background, and then the story carries us through Finley's and Millie’s adolescence and into their young-adult years. It’s a story steeped in the carefully controlled manners and behaviours of the polished South, growing up with mother of whom Millie says, “I never saw her admit to the complete gamut of emotions inherent in all of mankind, and I thought it was because not all of them played well on her stage.”
For a while I felt ambivalent about the story—despite the beauty of the writing—because Millie was such a passive character. She didn’t do anything; she just watched everyone else do things and got caught up in the slipstream. (I don’t want to be any more specific than that in case I give spoilers.) But towards the end, Millie herself realises that she's “just been floating along my whole life at the whim of other people”, and suddenly I had to re-evaluate everything I’d been thinking and feeling about the story. Because if that was the case, then the author had actually crafted the story perfectly. And in the end, it made quite a point about the need we have for affirmation and love, and for the ability to be real about our emotions and to not sweep the messiness of life under the carpet for the sake of keeping up appearances.
This review is getting long, even for me, so I will just make two more brief comments. The first is that, as beautiful as the writing was (both the vocabulary and the imagery), there were many times when it didn’t feel authentic to Millie’s voice. I couldn’t help feeling that, even as an adult, Millie wouldn’t have had quite so sophisticated a vocabulary, and that occasionally pulled me out of the story.
The other point is that the reader knows from the beginning that the story is leading up to a tragedy. The ‘who’ is revealed early on, but the ‘how’ is quite a surprise. I don’t mind an emotional read, but I like to be left with some sense of the character having grown through their circumstances, and I didn’t come away from this story with that sense. Again, I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it left me with a bit of an ache for Millie.
So what does all of this add up to? If you love an evocative, beautifully-written story, this will tick that box. If you’re looking for a book that would make for great book club discussions, this will also tick that box. And if my review has whetted your appetite rather than dampened it, go for it. There’s every chance you will love it.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.
May 20, 2018
I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of Mourning Dove. I couldn't put it down. This book is beautifully and soulfully written, reminiscent in style of my favorite authors Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons. In a lyrical, Southern tone that lulled me into a gorgeous sense of place, Mourning Dove is set in Memphis, an historically preserved, musical town on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Main characters Millie and Finley Crossan were born in Minnesota but grew up in Memphis. The siblings are outsiders to Southern culture, and this is much of the story. Their mother, Posey, is from Memphis’s aristocratic circle, and Millie and Finely follow her lead as they learn to fit in. I loved reading about this side of the South. I grew up in the Midwest but lived in northern Mississippi for three years during my early adulthood. While living there I was exposed to Southern society and found it fascinating as it was somewhat different from my parents' circle in Indiana. Author Claire Fullerton brings her characters to life and describes the Southern upper crust lifestyle with aplomb. I found Finley to be especially intriguing. He is gifted musically and academically, kind of a renegade with insight to everything that goes on in the story. He is complicated--vibrant and colorful. Some of the other characters were eccentric or out of the mainstream. I enjoyed the portrait artist Julien Enzo, the feisty family maid Ella and even (sometimes) the mean step-father who everyone called The Colonel. Mourning Dove is special--with heart and soul. I rarely read a book that holds my undivided attention the way this one did or one so well crafted. It makes one think about his/her own family dynamic no matter where he's from . I can't recommend this book more highly. It is a fantastic read!
August 18, 2018
4.5 Stars
You guys, book FOMO (fear of missing out) is a thing! And books like Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton only feeds that FOMO. Fullerton is a new-to-me author, but boy, oh boy, did she make a big and lasting impression!
Readers are taken through a tumultuous childhood through Millie Crossan. While things started out almost idyllic for this young lady in Minnesota, times changed. Situations and poor choices from others around her upend young Millie’s sense of security. And when the family trades Minnesota for Memphis, appearances become even more important than nurturing.
Fullerton delves into some of the dangers of burying and hiding emotions, dysfunctional family life, and what happens when the person held as a hero falls from their pedestal. Millie’s unique voice, influenced by southern gentility, often reads like poetry. It’s her inner struggles and questions that drew me to her and her story.
A simple sentence within the first pages of Mourning Dove invested me in the lives of Millie and her family. And it happened more than once—one sentence that kept me from setting down the book until the very end.
This is not an easy read. It’s real, it’s raw, it’s life. But the emotional journey is well worth the ride.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
You guys, book FOMO (fear of missing out) is a thing! And books like Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton only feeds that FOMO. Fullerton is a new-to-me author, but boy, oh boy, did she make a big and lasting impression!
Readers are taken through a tumultuous childhood through Millie Crossan. While things started out almost idyllic for this young lady in Minnesota, times changed. Situations and poor choices from others around her upend young Millie’s sense of security. And when the family trades Minnesota for Memphis, appearances become even more important than nurturing.
Fullerton delves into some of the dangers of burying and hiding emotions, dysfunctional family life, and what happens when the person held as a hero falls from their pedestal. Millie’s unique voice, influenced by southern gentility, often reads like poetry. It’s her inner struggles and questions that drew me to her and her story.
A simple sentence within the first pages of Mourning Dove invested me in the lives of Millie and her family. And it happened more than once—one sentence that kept me from setting down the book until the very end.
This is not an easy read. It’s real, it’s raw, it’s life. But the emotional journey is well worth the ride.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
September 13, 2018
Claire Fullerton writes about southern living in Memphis, TN in the 1970’s and 80’s in her novel, MOURNING DOVE. Her children, Finley and Millie Crossan, move with their Mother, Posey, to Memphis from Minnesota to escape her alcoholic husband after she divorces him and to inherit the childhood home she grew up in. The story is written in the first person by Millie who has a fascination for her brother. She looks up to him, she’s very close to him and loves him. Posey is a true southern belle who’s theatrical, loves her parties, cocktails and she’s such a socialite. As the children grow up, their lives change, but their father’s alcoholism always affects their lives and choices they make.
For some reason the character I kept seeing in my mind for Posey is actress Allison Janney. If this is ever made into a movie, I think she would be the perfect actress to play her. For those that love southern fiction, this is the novel for you.
For some reason the character I kept seeing in my mind for Posey is actress Allison Janney. If this is ever made into a movie, I think she would be the perfect actress to play her. For those that love southern fiction, this is the novel for you.
May 14, 2018
Set against the backdrop of a complicated 1970s South – one both forward-looking and still in love with the past – and seen through the eyes of a Minnesota girl struggling to flourish in Memphis society, ‘Mourning Dove’ is the story of two unforgettable siblings with a bond so strong even death can’t break it. Claire Fullerton has given us a wise, relatable narrator in Millie. Like a trusted friend, she guides us through the confounding tale of her dazzling brother Finley, their beguiling mother Posey, and a town where shiny surfaces often belie reality. Like those surfaces, Fullerton’s prose sparkles even as she leads us into dark places, posing profound questions without any easy answers.
December 30, 2018
There were so many things that I found fascinating about this thought-provoking, compelling, and intelligent book. First, there was the relationship that was the heart and the the backbone of this story, the complicated and honest relationship between Millie and her brother Finley. Then, there was the setting...Memphis in the 1970s, particularly among the elite...the genteel south that seemed to cling to its traditions as the world changed around it. It seemed as if I’d stepped into a place that was both familiar and unknown at the same time. I felt like I had a front row seat to the intimacies, intricacies and the heart of a family in this beautifully written book.
September 6, 2019
Claire Fullerton knows how to get a voice going. I'm talking distinctive, authoritative, original as all get out. Narrator Millie Crossan will grab you by your high-ball-holding hand and set you down in privileged Memphis with her family and not let you go. Get ready for the Crossan layers to be peeled back and universal struggles exposed.
August 17, 2018
It is such a beautifully written story. Not the usual story with a beginning, middle, and end with a well defined plot, nut more of a memoir style. It's a dramatic family saga type as it follows Millie's family and the Southern culture of the time, as told by Millie's POV as she struggles to adjust to her new way of life with the Southern Genteel and their unwritten rules. You are transported right into the middle of the opulent Southern culture and held there with the almost poetic writing style that Claire Fullerton has.
January 6, 2020
The writing in this books is spectacular. The author knows how to weave words into luscious sentences, and sentences into incredible ideas. Five stars for the writing.
The story itself was more of a struggle. The protagonist seems meant to be Millie, the narrator, but the actual story revolves more around Finley, her brother. Millie’s development sees very little growth, and it’s unclear what her actual resolution is. The story unfolded slowly, but felt rushed at the end. Three stars for the story. Average between the writing and the story places this at a solid four.
The story itself was more of a struggle. The protagonist seems meant to be Millie, the narrator, but the actual story revolves more around Finley, her brother. Millie’s development sees very little growth, and it’s unclear what her actual resolution is. The story unfolded slowly, but felt rushed at the end. Three stars for the story. Average between the writing and the story places this at a solid four.
June 29, 2018
I am not sure that anyone who is not born into the opulent, and long cultivated upper echelons of Southern culture, would be able to slip into its charming, but strictly adhered to rules of engagement easily. Especially when you are on the cusp of your teen years and brought up in the very different environment. As are Millie aged ten and her brother Finlay, who is eighteen months older.
"We had Minnesota accents, we were white as the driven snow, and we both had a painfully difficult time deciphering the Southern accent, which operates at lightening speed, and doesn't feel the need for enunciation. Instead, it trips along the lines of implication."
Posey comes from an affluent Southern family and was brought up in a sprawling stucco French Chateau which she left having met a charismatic and rich Yankee. Her marriage is over, and the wealth that she is accustomed to is gone; and she has little choice but to return to her family home in Memphis. She slips right back into society where she left off, as she takes over the running of the house, and with four years until an income will be available from her inherited trust fund, other means must be found.
The intricacies of the society that the two children find themselves inserted into, has little relation to the outside world. Steeped in tradition, long forged alliances, eccentricities and acceptable behaviour, stretching back through many generations. Little has changed, and that is the way it is orchestrated to remain. Clearly defined roles for males and females are perpetuated in the schooling that prepares the young to continue the status quo into the future, and non-conformity is frowned upon. You will fit in or face exclusion.
This novel is about the relationship between a brother and sister and is written from Millie's perspective, now 36 years old, as she revisits their childhood and teenage years. She is looking for answers and clues as to where her relationship with Finlay, which had been so solid and close, began to disconnect. Without a doubt for me one of elements that is crucial to this, is their mother, and Claire Fullerton has done a masterful job in creating her self-absorbed but somehow vulnerable character.
"My mother did not walk into a room, she sashayed, borne from the swivel of her twenty-four inch waist. Her name was Posey, and although there was a lot more to her that she ever let on, to all appearances, the name suited her perfectly."
The story is not fast paced, flowing smoothly as it meanders through their lives of Posey, Millie and Finlay. You are drawn into their experiences, and you find yourself mentally bookmarking certain events and revelations, that explain how such a close bond became disconnected. I found myself engaging with the main characters early on, and I became emotionally attached to them all. Those of us with brothers and sisters can find parallels in our own relationships, especially those that might not be as close as they were when growing up.
Mourning Dove is elegantly written with a brilliantly descriptive language that has you immersed in this very exclusive and opulent society. I dare you not to read, and not come away with a distinctive drawl of lightening speed, without the need of enunciation!
"We had Minnesota accents, we were white as the driven snow, and we both had a painfully difficult time deciphering the Southern accent, which operates at lightening speed, and doesn't feel the need for enunciation. Instead, it trips along the lines of implication."
Posey comes from an affluent Southern family and was brought up in a sprawling stucco French Chateau which she left having met a charismatic and rich Yankee. Her marriage is over, and the wealth that she is accustomed to is gone; and she has little choice but to return to her family home in Memphis. She slips right back into society where she left off, as she takes over the running of the house, and with four years until an income will be available from her inherited trust fund, other means must be found.
The intricacies of the society that the two children find themselves inserted into, has little relation to the outside world. Steeped in tradition, long forged alliances, eccentricities and acceptable behaviour, stretching back through many generations. Little has changed, and that is the way it is orchestrated to remain. Clearly defined roles for males and females are perpetuated in the schooling that prepares the young to continue the status quo into the future, and non-conformity is frowned upon. You will fit in or face exclusion.
This novel is about the relationship between a brother and sister and is written from Millie's perspective, now 36 years old, as she revisits their childhood and teenage years. She is looking for answers and clues as to where her relationship with Finlay, which had been so solid and close, began to disconnect. Without a doubt for me one of elements that is crucial to this, is their mother, and Claire Fullerton has done a masterful job in creating her self-absorbed but somehow vulnerable character.
"My mother did not walk into a room, she sashayed, borne from the swivel of her twenty-four inch waist. Her name was Posey, and although there was a lot more to her that she ever let on, to all appearances, the name suited her perfectly."
The story is not fast paced, flowing smoothly as it meanders through their lives of Posey, Millie and Finlay. You are drawn into their experiences, and you find yourself mentally bookmarking certain events and revelations, that explain how such a close bond became disconnected. I found myself engaging with the main characters early on, and I became emotionally attached to them all. Those of us with brothers and sisters can find parallels in our own relationships, especially those that might not be as close as they were when growing up.
Mourning Dove is elegantly written with a brilliantly descriptive language that has you immersed in this very exclusive and opulent society. I dare you not to read, and not come away with a distinctive drawl of lightening speed, without the need of enunciation!
August 23, 2018
Reviewed at The Power of Words: https://bit.ly/2BBZynE
“Haven’t you noticed the name of the game around here is what everybody thinks? You’re only as good as how others consider you.” - Finley
I love a “different” type of book when it is done well, and Claire Fullerton has achieved exactly that in Mourning Dove. Fullerton’s fresh voice, sense of place, and exquisite writing make this story shine. Creative storytelling reads somewhat like a memoir as life events cause the now grown Millie to reflect back over her childhood and growing up years. This evocative and poignant story that explores the relationships within the dysfunctional Crossan family captured me from the very first page and never let go.
One usually thinks of people as main characters, but 1970s Memphis is the overarching character around which all else revolves. Mourning Dove is southern to the core, and Fullerton evokes the setting and mores like no one else I’ve ever read. Having lived in the south all my life, there is so much I can relate to. For instance, the southern accent that “operates at lightening speed, and doesn't feel the need for enunciation. Instead, it trips along the lines of implication." And this descriptive passage truly captures the essence of Memphis …
It was magnolia-lined and manicured, black-tailed and bow-tied. It glittered in illusory gold and tinkled in sing-song voices. It was cloistered, segregated, and well-appointed, the kind of place where everyone monogrammed their initials on everything from hand towels to silver because nothing mattered more than one’s family and to whom they were connected by lineage that traced through the fertile fields of the Mississippi Delta.
Through Millie’s eyes and voice, we see the close bond between Millie and her brother, Finley, a gifted musician with a high intellect – and how a self-absorbed mother and absent alcoholic father affected their lives. It was a time where appearance mattered above all else, with true feelings and emotions well hidden. Posey, the mom, is fascinating – not the most likeable of characters, yet with a vulnerability that touched me. I loved Millie’s expressive thoughts: “I never saw her admit to the complete gamut of emotions inherent in all of mankind, and I thought it was because not all of them played well on her stage. I often wondered if she even possessed unattractive emotions, or if they’d shriveled up and died from lack of use.”
I loved the depth, complexity and realism of Mourning Dove. It’s raw at times, and the unfolding theme of a hero worshipped revealing feet of clay is something to which we can all relate. The seeking of God in different ways plays an essential part, which is never a “one-size-fits-all” experience.
Intrigued by the title, I looked up “mourning dove” and discovered how the meaning encompasses the essence of this story: “Their distinctive ‘wooo-oo-oo-oo’ sounds may evoke a feeling of grief over the loss of a dearly beloved. But far from representing death, the symbolism of mourning doves gives optimism with its spirituality. Beyond their sorrowful song is a message of life, hope, renewal and peace.”
Mourning Dove is a classic story that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
“Haven’t you noticed the name of the game around here is what everybody thinks? You’re only as good as how others consider you.” - Finley
I love a “different” type of book when it is done well, and Claire Fullerton has achieved exactly that in Mourning Dove. Fullerton’s fresh voice, sense of place, and exquisite writing make this story shine. Creative storytelling reads somewhat like a memoir as life events cause the now grown Millie to reflect back over her childhood and growing up years. This evocative and poignant story that explores the relationships within the dysfunctional Crossan family captured me from the very first page and never let go.
One usually thinks of people as main characters, but 1970s Memphis is the overarching character around which all else revolves. Mourning Dove is southern to the core, and Fullerton evokes the setting and mores like no one else I’ve ever read. Having lived in the south all my life, there is so much I can relate to. For instance, the southern accent that “operates at lightening speed, and doesn't feel the need for enunciation. Instead, it trips along the lines of implication." And this descriptive passage truly captures the essence of Memphis …
It was magnolia-lined and manicured, black-tailed and bow-tied. It glittered in illusory gold and tinkled in sing-song voices. It was cloistered, segregated, and well-appointed, the kind of place where everyone monogrammed their initials on everything from hand towels to silver because nothing mattered more than one’s family and to whom they were connected by lineage that traced through the fertile fields of the Mississippi Delta.
Through Millie’s eyes and voice, we see the close bond between Millie and her brother, Finley, a gifted musician with a high intellect – and how a self-absorbed mother and absent alcoholic father affected their lives. It was a time where appearance mattered above all else, with true feelings and emotions well hidden. Posey, the mom, is fascinating – not the most likeable of characters, yet with a vulnerability that touched me. I loved Millie’s expressive thoughts: “I never saw her admit to the complete gamut of emotions inherent in all of mankind, and I thought it was because not all of them played well on her stage. I often wondered if she even possessed unattractive emotions, or if they’d shriveled up and died from lack of use.”
I loved the depth, complexity and realism of Mourning Dove. It’s raw at times, and the unfolding theme of a hero worshipped revealing feet of clay is something to which we can all relate. The seeking of God in different ways plays an essential part, which is never a “one-size-fits-all” experience.
Intrigued by the title, I looked up “mourning dove” and discovered how the meaning encompasses the essence of this story: “Their distinctive ‘wooo-oo-oo-oo’ sounds may evoke a feeling of grief over the loss of a dearly beloved. But far from representing death, the symbolism of mourning doves gives optimism with its spirituality. Beyond their sorrowful song is a message of life, hope, renewal and peace.”
Mourning Dove is a classic story that will stay with me for a long time. Highly recommended.
September 26, 2020
Have you ever finished a book and needed time to allow it to sit inside of you, settle around your heart before you are able to talk about it?
Claire Fullerton’s third novel, Mourning Dove, the recipient of multiple awards and accolades, had that kind of effect on me. At the heart of this novel is Millie Crossan, a sister searching for what went wrong with Finley, her golden brother eighteen months her senior.
One of the author’s gifts is her ability to write about sibling relationships, whether she’s talking about childhood or those in-between years into early adulthood. She has a knack for writing about time and place, inviting us inside a certain segment of society where money and class give the illusion that all is well. But once we’re inside the big house on the hill, we see through Millie’s eyes that behind the exterior facade, a family crumples under the influence of expectations and perceptions, addictions, and keeping up appearances.
Sometimes betrayal and forgiveness walk side by side, just as joy and sorrow often rub shoulders at the same party. Finley, a charismatic young man with good looks, intellect, and musical gifts above average, is a natural leader with the propensity to draw all types of people to his side, including his little sister. Like Millie, we tag along hoping Finley will turn around and notice us, flash his charm or tousle our hair, or even take our hand and lead us back to our beginnings where all things are possible.
It’s no secret that loss is at the heart of this beautifully rendered tale, for the title gives it away. But all of life is full of loss and longing and our endearing desire to both control it and let go at the same time.
So much of Millie’s search can be summed up in one quote near the end of the novel: “And what unsettles me to no end is the recognition that the choices that shape our lives are not always of our making. Sometimes we’re on the bitter end of somebody else’s.”
Some readers may approach this novel simply to revel in its rich Memphis setting of high society and the mansion located at 79 Kensington Park, built in the early 1900s. Others like me will keep turning the pages, putting ourselves in Millie’s shoes. For I have been Millie searching for that lost brother. Like Millie, I will never have all of the answers, but somehow reading about this fictional family helps me sort through my own past and present circumstances.
The novel is full of descriptive lines that add to the flavor: “Blankets were arranged and cups passed around in this starlit Memphis light, sultry and loose as a slip dress.”
If you love novels steeped in family drama and characters so well formed you expect them to walk into the room and start talking, you will love Mourning Dove. You’ll find yourself, along with Millie, trailing up the serpentine stairs in search of her brother.
You do not need to hail from Memphis, the moneyed set, or even the south to find yourself pulled into this remarkable story.
I highly recommend it.
Claire Fullerton’s third novel, Mourning Dove, the recipient of multiple awards and accolades, had that kind of effect on me. At the heart of this novel is Millie Crossan, a sister searching for what went wrong with Finley, her golden brother eighteen months her senior.
One of the author’s gifts is her ability to write about sibling relationships, whether she’s talking about childhood or those in-between years into early adulthood. She has a knack for writing about time and place, inviting us inside a certain segment of society where money and class give the illusion that all is well. But once we’re inside the big house on the hill, we see through Millie’s eyes that behind the exterior facade, a family crumples under the influence of expectations and perceptions, addictions, and keeping up appearances.
Sometimes betrayal and forgiveness walk side by side, just as joy and sorrow often rub shoulders at the same party. Finley, a charismatic young man with good looks, intellect, and musical gifts above average, is a natural leader with the propensity to draw all types of people to his side, including his little sister. Like Millie, we tag along hoping Finley will turn around and notice us, flash his charm or tousle our hair, or even take our hand and lead us back to our beginnings where all things are possible.
It’s no secret that loss is at the heart of this beautifully rendered tale, for the title gives it away. But all of life is full of loss and longing and our endearing desire to both control it and let go at the same time.
So much of Millie’s search can be summed up in one quote near the end of the novel: “And what unsettles me to no end is the recognition that the choices that shape our lives are not always of our making. Sometimes we’re on the bitter end of somebody else’s.”
Some readers may approach this novel simply to revel in its rich Memphis setting of high society and the mansion located at 79 Kensington Park, built in the early 1900s. Others like me will keep turning the pages, putting ourselves in Millie’s shoes. For I have been Millie searching for that lost brother. Like Millie, I will never have all of the answers, but somehow reading about this fictional family helps me sort through my own past and present circumstances.
The novel is full of descriptive lines that add to the flavor: “Blankets were arranged and cups passed around in this starlit Memphis light, sultry and loose as a slip dress.”
If you love novels steeped in family drama and characters so well formed you expect them to walk into the room and start talking, you will love Mourning Dove. You’ll find yourself, along with Millie, trailing up the serpentine stairs in search of her brother.
You do not need to hail from Memphis, the moneyed set, or even the south to find yourself pulled into this remarkable story.
I highly recommend it.
June 25, 2018
Mourning Dove isn’t just a book about family in the South. It’s about the reality of a family in the South. There are many dramatizations of what people believe life is like here in the Southern part of the US, but unless you lived it, you don’t know it. Claire Fullerton lived it. The author and I have had exchanges in the past about commonalities in our lives to the point that I know she is the real deal. She grew up a Memphis girl while I lived just 2 hours away in Tupelo, MS.
One thing about Southern life is there are layers. Depending on who you are socializing with will determine which layer you allow to show. That’s for your own protection. You learn this quickly to survive, not only in Southern society but in your own family. If you aren’t like your blood then you in more trouble than you would be at any other point in time. This is just an observation I’m throwing in here.
Mourning Dove finds Posey, moving back to Memphis, the city of her birth with her two children. The story is told through the voice of Millie, the youngest child. She’s the quiet one who looks up to her charismatic brother, Finley. The children are thrown into a world totally alien to their Minnesota home when they set foot in Memphis, a city where old society still looks to generational lines to help determine societal prestige.
Posey, sets out to find a new husband and ends up catching the Colonel, a totally inappropriate match for a husband only because of his place in society in the hopes it will continue to help her and assure her children will not fall from grace. The problem is, this leaves her children without true parents. Posey mothers occasionally but it doesn’t really help her children.
The star of the show is Finley, the big brother that has been given almost god like qualities by Millie in his perfection. His talent, his intellect, his abilities to move people. The things she cannot do. But just as a god, he is just out of reach in his kinetic life of always pushing higher and higher to next level of his creativity. His time in Charlottesville to attend university and expanding his music lies perfectly with the music scene of the day for a certain element that continued in university towns on into the 80s.
But without Finley, Millie has to fend for herself in the aristocratic society of her mother’s upbringing. He was her navigator of Memphis, her protector of sorts.
If you want to know the real South of the 1970s, read Mourning Dove. Much like Claire Fullerton’s masterpiece, Dancing to an Irish Reel, you get atmosphere, emotions, characters, not only the main but a wonderful supporting cast, which very much matches what you find in the South. You also find yourself pulled in to the landscape and forget you exist in a present. You are present in the past.
One thing about Southern life is there are layers. Depending on who you are socializing with will determine which layer you allow to show. That’s for your own protection. You learn this quickly to survive, not only in Southern society but in your own family. If you aren’t like your blood then you in more trouble than you would be at any other point in time. This is just an observation I’m throwing in here.
Mourning Dove finds Posey, moving back to Memphis, the city of her birth with her two children. The story is told through the voice of Millie, the youngest child. She’s the quiet one who looks up to her charismatic brother, Finley. The children are thrown into a world totally alien to their Minnesota home when they set foot in Memphis, a city where old society still looks to generational lines to help determine societal prestige.
Posey, sets out to find a new husband and ends up catching the Colonel, a totally inappropriate match for a husband only because of his place in society in the hopes it will continue to help her and assure her children will not fall from grace. The problem is, this leaves her children without true parents. Posey mothers occasionally but it doesn’t really help her children.
The star of the show is Finley, the big brother that has been given almost god like qualities by Millie in his perfection. His talent, his intellect, his abilities to move people. The things she cannot do. But just as a god, he is just out of reach in his kinetic life of always pushing higher and higher to next level of his creativity. His time in Charlottesville to attend university and expanding his music lies perfectly with the music scene of the day for a certain element that continued in university towns on into the 80s.
But without Finley, Millie has to fend for herself in the aristocratic society of her mother’s upbringing. He was her navigator of Memphis, her protector of sorts.
If you want to know the real South of the 1970s, read Mourning Dove. Much like Claire Fullerton’s masterpiece, Dancing to an Irish Reel, you get atmosphere, emotions, characters, not only the main but a wonderful supporting cast, which very much matches what you find in the South. You also find yourself pulled in to the landscape and forget you exist in a present. You are present in the past.
September 18, 2018
MOURNING DOVE is a work of Historical Fiction set in the American South. The version I read was an Audiobook narrated by the author.
Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton is a family saga. The book starts in the 1960s and follows the lives of Posey and her two children, Millie and Finley.
Posey grew up in Memphis, but left the South and lived in Minnesota. Returning to her childhood home is easy for Posey. She grew up immersed in the strange (at least it is strange if you did not grow up there) customs and lingo of Memphis. For her, it is like putting on a favorite dress that is pure comfort.
However, Millie and Finley do not fit in immediately. They find all the obscure social customs and rules bewildering at first. The children learn by watching their mother, but never really feel at home.
MOURNING DOVE draws the reader (or listener in my case) into a world of old, moneyed families during a time in American history when those things were considered of upmost importance to the elite of Memphis society.
The descriptions are exceedingly well written and readers are able to picture the time and place easily in their minds.
The author shows that no matter how much money or social status a family has, it will not insulate them completely from tragedy and misfortune.
I particularly liked the fact that the author did not shy away from the truth of the racism that was so abundant during the timeframe of this story.
This book is a coming-of-age story not only for the characters, but also for the nation. Anyone interested in Historic and/or Southern Fiction will enjoy this audiobook.
The narrator has the perfect accent for this audiobook and I give her full credit for increasing my enjoyment of this novel.
I rate MOURNING DOVE as 4 out of 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
To enter the Giveaway to win a signed copy of this book visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Follow me on Instagram @Amiesbookreviews
Mourning Dove by Claire Fullerton is a family saga. The book starts in the 1960s and follows the lives of Posey and her two children, Millie and Finley.
Posey grew up in Memphis, but left the South and lived in Minnesota. Returning to her childhood home is easy for Posey. She grew up immersed in the strange (at least it is strange if you did not grow up there) customs and lingo of Memphis. For her, it is like putting on a favorite dress that is pure comfort.
However, Millie and Finley do not fit in immediately. They find all the obscure social customs and rules bewildering at first. The children learn by watching their mother, but never really feel at home.
MOURNING DOVE draws the reader (or listener in my case) into a world of old, moneyed families during a time in American history when those things were considered of upmost importance to the elite of Memphis society.
The descriptions are exceedingly well written and readers are able to picture the time and place easily in their minds.
The author shows that no matter how much money or social status a family has, it will not insulate them completely from tragedy and misfortune.
I particularly liked the fact that the author did not shy away from the truth of the racism that was so abundant during the timeframe of this story.
This book is a coming-of-age story not only for the characters, but also for the nation. Anyone interested in Historic and/or Southern Fiction will enjoy this audiobook.
The narrator has the perfect accent for this audiobook and I give her full credit for increasing my enjoyment of this novel.
I rate MOURNING DOVE as 4 out of 5 Stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
To enter the Giveaway to win a signed copy of this book visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com
Follow me on Instagram @Amiesbookreviews
May 18, 2019
Thank goodness I've finally finished this book. It's horrible, and it is definitely not Christian fiction.
I feel kind of betrayed because the publisher is a Christian publisher. When I signed up to be notified about their books, I was thrilled that I'd finally hear about good Christian books. I've read a large number of their books since signing up and have enjoyed them. A few weren't marketed as Christian, but they definitely were. That's why I got this one. I'll be more careful now.
If I were to edit this book, there wouldn't be much left. The book meanders all over the place. The author seems to be trying to use every adjective in the English language, and especially likes using words you rarely hear in everyday conversation. (unless the conversation was staged by two English professors.) The story could have been a good one, but to me it was nonstop boring. I couldn't and didn't relate to any of the characters. The main characters seemed unreal - like they weren't completely developed. I lived in the south during the 70's and knew people who the author would call "landed gentry", but none acted like this. Yes, they had beautiful homes and land, and they sometimes had parties. But the people were nothing like the people in this book.
I don't recommend the book and will be deleting it from my library.
I feel kind of betrayed because the publisher is a Christian publisher. When I signed up to be notified about their books, I was thrilled that I'd finally hear about good Christian books. I've read a large number of their books since signing up and have enjoyed them. A few weren't marketed as Christian, but they definitely were. That's why I got this one. I'll be more careful now.
If I were to edit this book, there wouldn't be much left. The book meanders all over the place. The author seems to be trying to use every adjective in the English language, and especially likes using words you rarely hear in everyday conversation. (unless the conversation was staged by two English professors.) The story could have been a good one, but to me it was nonstop boring. I couldn't and didn't relate to any of the characters. The main characters seemed unreal - like they weren't completely developed. I lived in the south during the 70's and knew people who the author would call "landed gentry", but none acted like this. Yes, they had beautiful homes and land, and they sometimes had parties. But the people were nothing like the people in this book.
I don't recommend the book and will be deleting it from my library.
May 14, 2018
Claire Fullerton has written a riveting tale of southern family dynamics in the 1970’s that rings as true to time and place as magnolia blossoms in June. Once I began reading, I could not put it down. How rare it is to become immersed in the characters and care enough to want to know exactly what happens to them. Names like Shuggs and Posie are as familiar to the region as the Mississippi River. So are the complications and expectations of the era, the atmosphere of light social talk and heavy hidden motivations. The inevitable conclusion was such an underlying presence throughout the narrative that I both expected it and was shocked by it. Quite an achievement!
May 24, 2018
I had the pleasure and the privilege of reading an ARC of this book. Rarely have I read anything with such a finely-tuned and perfectly detailed sense of time and place. The author depicts the cultural enormity of two young children's move from suburban Minneapolis to deeply Southern, Memphis high society at the most vulnerable time of their lives with clarity, heart, and remarkably observed detail. This is book club material all the way.
Read
March 22, 2019Claire Fullerton's descriptions of Memphis from the 1960s and 70s are perfect and true. Her turns of phrases will resonate with me for some time to come.
May 14, 2018
Mourning Dove is a wise and brilliantly evocative Southern tale enhanced by Claire Fullerton's inimitable wit. You'll be glad you indulged in this eloquent exploration of colorful and complex family dynamics.
September 17, 2023
Claire Fullerton draws readers into a story like few authors can. Her prose is beautiful, and flawless. Definitely recommend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews