Chalktown

by Melinda Haynes

From the acclaimed author of Mother of Pearl comes the story of Chalktown, an eerily quiet village in George County, Mississippi, where folks communicate with one another solely through chalkboards hanging from their front porches. Sixteen-year-old Hezekiah Sheehand lives down the road with his reckless sister, Arena, his mentally disabled younger brother, Yellababy, and their often cruel mother, Susan-Blair, whose husband has abandoned the family. The mystery of Chalktown calls to Hez, and one day he sets out with Yellababy strapped to his back, determined to divine the key to the chalk. Meanwhile, his family confronts a tragedy that just might pave an unexpected road toward a hopeful future.

Genres: Fiction, Southern, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Southern Gothic, Book Club, Novels

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Melinda Haynes is an American novelist. She grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. For much of her adult life she was a painter. In 1999, she wrote her first published novel, Mother of Pearl, while living in a mobile home in Grand Bay, Alabama. Melinda Haynes currently resides in Mobile, Alabama with her husband, Ray. Her writing has a close relationship to Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s.

Reviews

[Jeanine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute work of art. I love this book. The authors voice is amazing. A true crafter of sentences. She creatively personifies universal feelings and struggles through such a unique plot.
This book transported me to another time and place. I found myself thinking about it In between my time spent actively reading it. It gouged up feelings and settled scores within me that I was not even aware existed.

[Jonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melinda Haynes is one of those rare authors who, when you see a book by her, you just grab it and buy it because you know it will be wonderful. The characters are evocative and the tale is wonderful. A must-read!

[Susan Finck · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*
I read some negative reviews of this book, both prior to starting it and part way through. Usually I avoid doing this as I don't wish to be turned off a particular book that I might otherwise have enjoyed. I loved Chalktown. I really enjoy Melinda Haynes' writing and can't wait to get into Mother of Pearl. She writes in such a way that I feel like I was one of those struggling neighbors in that Mississippi town in 1955 and 1961, just sitting on my front porch, observing life go by. I loved the language. The slow movement. The realness of the characters. Their triumphs and failures.

Although not for everyone's taste, I considered this a great read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains an character pun: Yeller Baby - who had sufferend from severe infantile hepatatis, leaving him little more than a vegetable, and who screams a lot!

It also contains one of my favorite lines of all times with the malapropism used by his father to explain the child's condition: "Billy Reuben (sic) stole his brain!" And here you thought thieves only harvested kidneys?

[Mntnmama · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember the first Cirque du Soleil I attended years ago. I didn't know what to expect and was thoroughly delighted to experience something totally unique and magical. Reading this book was exactly like that. I found it in an old book store in Massachusetts, tucked away on a dusty shelf among a prodigious pile of used books. I bought it because I thought the blurb on the back sounded interesting; we were rushed for time and I just had to buy something! I didn't know what to expect and I got something unexpected.

Beautifully written, it's a tale of mystery and sorrow, love and forgiveness, giving into a dreaminess that falls heavily throughout the story like the scent of honeysuckles on a warm summer night. The characters' stories wind and weave in and out of each other with such tenderness it's almost heartbreaking, leaving behind vapor trails of Alice Hoffman like river mist. This story tells that faith and redemption come in many forms, whether you want it or not. I felt such a sense of sadness at the last page--not because of the book's ending but because the book was ending.

Enjoy!!!

[MicheleinNJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

What to say? It is an interesting book and I did enjoy reading it, however, it is not one I would quickly recommend to anyone else. I paid $1 for it at the thrift store and it gave me a few entertaining hours, so that's saying something, right?

Let's see. The title is Chalktown, but that part of the novel does not come until well into the book. I see it as less a story about the people of Chalktown (who communicate only through messages written on chalkboards in front of each of their houses) and more the story of Hezekiah Sheehand and the dismal lives of his poor white-trash family.

The characters are all odd, crazy, eccentric, and the storyline was interesting enough to make me want to keep reading. Hardly a ringing endorsement, I guess, but if you find it in the bargain bin or pass by it on a library shelve, pick it up. It won't be a total waste of your money/time.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author writes so incredibly well in the voice of the poor and ignorant of the south. The book is populated with tragic situations and mostly hopeless characters. One should realize before reading that it is quite dark. However it was a rich experience to meet such a cast of unusual characters presented in a believable way. Take your time with this one.

I had the pleasure of meeting the author this morning. Her talk was riveting. If you ever get the chance to meet her, it’s not to be missed. Her story of her early writing days was fascinating, and the origins of her characters was unforgettable. This was probably my favorite author experience of all time!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Haynes writes well and has a fine host of bizarre characters, plus a good Southern gothic setting with some powerful images. I wish this had been much tighter. There are too many characters, for one thing, and too much backstory for some. The disjointed timing doesn't help the book much. And I wish more authors would learn that bringing all characters together in the same place at the end of a story doesn't mean you have resolution or a true conclusion.

[Tessa Baker · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a weird book! Unfortunately, I'm not one to put a book down once I've started it so I read on and was thoroughly disappointed. The language was appalling, the speech very had to understand and the story line extremely hard to follow. Reading the blurb, you'd think the book would centre around 'chalktown' and the mysteries that underlie this strange community, (if you could call four households a community), which was certainly not the case!

And am I missing part of the book?? There didn't seem to be any sort of conclusion, just many unanswered questions. I really hope there's not a sequel. I wish I could get those hours of my life back, definitely not one I'd recommend.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is incandescent; I read sentences aloud just to feel them in my mouth. Her background as an artist comes through in every description and her characters are unforgettable. This book and its characters will be part of me forever, like Wiley Cash's "A Land More Kind than Home".

[Nan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, overwritten to the point of being unreadable.

[André · Rating 5 out of 5]

De Amerikaanse droom wordt zwaar onder vuur genomen door Amerikaanse vrouwen. Annie Proulx maakte brandhout van de cowboy als stoere viriele held, Toni Morisson toonde in Beloved aan hoe Amerikaanse helden hun lusten en frustraties botvierden op hun zwarte medemensen en dan is er nu Melinda Haynes (1955) die in het broeierige Zuiden van Amerika op zoek gaat naar godsdienstfanatisme, enge fatsoensnormen en onderdrukte seksualiteit die mensen tot zelfverminking aanzet en in hun slachtofferrol hun medemens van hetzelfde laken een pak willen geven. Het is een pikzwarte kant van de menselijke geest die Melinda Haynes enerzijds met veel literair vernuft maar anderzijds ook met een striemende beeldtaal toont in haar nieuwe roman Chalktown (in Nederlandse vertaling 2002 Krijtstad).
Het is een doorwrochten werk waarmee Melinda Haynes door haar oog voor detail en haar toch wel apart gevoel voor humor waarmee ze gruwelijke feiten beschrijft, haar lezers doet huiveren.
Op een voorjaarsdag in 1961 besluit de zestienjarige Hez zijn vijfjarige zwaar gehandicapte broertje Yellababy op zijn rug te nemen en naar krijtstad te lopen. Hez wil zijn broer meer laten zien zien dan ‘de onderste helft van de wereld’ waartoe hij door zijn verlamming veroordeeld is.
Hez komt uit een gezin van de lagere klasse.Ze wonen in een godvergeten uithoek, Agricola,George County, in de staat Mississippi. Zijn vader Fairy heeft zijn gezin in steek gelaten om zich vrijer te voelen en ook om terug meer contact te hebben met zijn ex-vrouw. Zijn moeder Susan Blair is een geestelijk labiele vrouw die zich al een hele tijd emtioneel verwaarloosd voelt. Eerst was er de drank die haar troostte maar daar is ze vanaf. Een predikant die haar het woord Gods wilde leren heeft haar drooggelegd. Ze heeft daar echter wel een kind aan over gehouden dat met een te hoog bilirubinegehalte in zijn bloed geboren werd en daar een chronische geelzucht aan over hield die hersenen aantaste. Vandaar dat ze de baby dan ook de bijnaaam Yellababy gegeven hebben. Voor Susan Blair is geel echter voor altijd de kleur van de zonde geworden.
Hez heeft van kindsbeen af geleerd dat Negers slecht zijn dus gaat hij er ook van uit dat negers slecht zijn. Hun dischtbijzijnde buur Marion Calhoun is een neger en toch voelt Hez zich goed bij hem omdat Hez hem respecteert.
Op de dag dat Hez met Yellababy naar Krijtstad vertrekt hebben zijn zus Arena en zijn moeder slaande ruzie. Hez denkt dat hij nog een spijbeldag te goed heeft en hij besluit met zijn broer het hazepad te kiezen. Hez is ontzettend gesteld op zijn gehandicapte broer en het staat voor hem vast dat als hij later volwassen is die smeerlap van een Billy Rubine, die zijn broer zo toegetakeld heeft, eigenhandig gaat vermoorden.
Hez wil absoluut eens naar Krijtstad omdat de bewoners daar niet met mekaar spreken. Zij communiceren met mekaar door hun boodschappen die ze aan mekaar kwijt willen op schoolborden te schrijven. En Hez zou eens graag te weten komen waarom ze dat doen.
Krijtstad is geen echte stad want er staan niet meer dan vijf huizen. De bewoners vormen een bizar stel, voor hun schepping heeft Melinda Haynes onmiskenbaar inspiratie op gedaan bij haar lievelingsauteur Annie Proulx, die omwille van een gruwelijke gebeurtenis gestopt zijn om mekaar te praten. Woorden worden er niet meer uitgewisseld, het krijt is er in de plaats voor dialoog gekomen. De aankomst van Hez en Yella bay zorgt voor de nodige commotie want de enige inwoonster had net over hun komst gedroomd.
Krijtstad is een boeiend, grappig maar vooral bizar boek over een zonderlinge wereld die ook weer niet zo vreemd is als je er werkelijk in wil binnen treden. Fatsoensnormen en godsdienstwaanzin zijn elementen die het altijd bijzonder goed doen als je mensen geestelijk wil castreren.
Melinda Haynes is een kei in het creëren van huiveringwekkende toestanden waar haar personages perfect in passen.
Krijtstad is een boek dat je ofwel heel goed vindt ofwel gruwend weglegt. Het zit vol met wrange humor die de toch al bizarre personages iets demonisch geven.
Het blijft echter een bravourestuk en wie zo iets in mekaar kan knutselen is een auteur met wereldklasse.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story. I gave it a 3 star rating more for the ability of the author to paint the picture of the scene and ambiance so vividly. The story was a little bit contrived, but the characters were interesting; perhaps not as well-developed as they could have been. The story was sometimes hard for me to follow as it jumps around to various characters and their experiences and I wasn't always sure I knew who the character was in relation to the others. I didn't find myself eager to get back to it as I often do with good books. But the milieu she described was fascinating. I would read another of her books; she's from Mississippi & lives in Alabama, and I am interested in southern lit.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

A strange, strange book. I kept reading because it was so weird and I had no clue what would happen next...but didn;t really enjoy it.
The story is basically about a kid who takes off with his disabled brother on his back and ends up in "Chalktown" where people communicate on chalkboards outside their house.
It was a little hard to follow at times and just plain weird at others.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting book that I enjoyed reading, however, it is not one I would quickly recommend to anyone else. I think I was impressed most by the author's ability to craft the perfect sentence and take me back in time to the rural south so well.

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like a lot of folks on here, I just couldn't get into this one. As a Southerner (with roots in Mississippi), the vernacular was a little tedious for me. More importantly, the story just never drew me in.

[Susan Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much and am sorry to say goodbye to the characters who I found fascinating. It is kind of unique and may not appeal to some, but I definitely recommend. Very well written and well worth the read.

[Cassiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh those kooky, quirky southerners. Enough already; one Faulkner in the world will do.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

slow going at first, almost stopped reading it, starts to get better as you get into it. wouldn't read it again, would only recommend it if there was literally nothing else to read.

[Oletta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unpredictable and poetic.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally purchased this book for no reason other than the author's name was the same as mine. When I first started reading I was not certain I would finish it, especially as Marion Caldwell was introduced and remembering that the author was from Mississippi. I decided to continue reading as I was now interested and wanted to find out how it ended. Ms Haynes described life in Mississippi in a credible way making her characters believable and realistic unlike other white authors from the South.

She kept my interest because every time I thought I thought I had the mystery solved more clues were presented, making the book more interesting. The premise behind "Chalktown" was the people in the town communicated by writing on chalkboards until the great mystery was solved. All in all I liked the book and would like to read another book of Ms Haynes to see if there is a commonality.

[Cheryl Vickroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book right from the start finding the characters unusual and compelling. The writing is often prose-like, with the most interesting descriptions of even inanimate things! Every word and phrase is a delight.

Initially I thought the main story to be centered on Hez and missed that the larger part of this novel is the story of how Chalktown came to be. Compounding that skewed view, I pinned Annie's killer to be someone else around mid-story and thus was confused for the second half of the book about where to focus.

Perplexed by some of the wrap-up and feeling as though it was a slight let-down, I headed to Wikipedia for clarity. After learning more about the story arc there, I went back to the book a second time and re-read some sections. Viola, no more confusion.

Noteworthy: I so enjoyed the color of the phrasing and vivid, creative descriptions of scenes and people:

From p 76 about Susan-Blair, "Her singing made her feel like two people; one wild and darkly vagrant, the other scared and huddled in her pocket. The wild one was singing while the other peeped over clutched fabric, scared of everything in general."

and from p 119 on Jonny Roper: "...He turned his hat in his hands. Felt the damp brow band underneath his fingers, realizing he was nervous because he did feel different. Almost hopeful. Free of burdens from that point way down in side where burdens usually took root and multiplied. Free, was how he felt. Just like the man said he would feel. But there was also the worry that a bill needed paying. Something costly yet to be tallied up."

and this from P 250 on Aaron Class: "Heard the crying of the child from inside the four walls of the blue house. It was softer now and easier, like the little boy was plumb worn out over exercising his lungs. With a damp hand Aaron wiped away his message and stood listening, studying the dried-up grass at his feet. Blades of grass appeared as slender harbingers of events, if one but stopped to look. The rustle of the leaves in the trees percolated a huge container of knowledge if one would just stand still and listen."

[Julie Locascio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painfully plodding prose. Excessive descriptions of minutia of absolutely no interest in every scene, not to mention idiotic phrases like trees which seemed to be nodding in agreement with a character's point of view. When I got to the scene of "Fairy" having a picnic with his ex-wife, I realized I did not enjoy a single character and had zero motivation to suffer through the overwrought self-importance of the prose. (And, no, it's not because it's Southern. It seems to be the author's attempt to elevate white trash [author's words] happenings to high literary fiction.) And as others have pointed out, if the novel is about Chalktown, it's in no hurry to tell us so, and I quit long before the novel arrived there.

[Jamie Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhhhh... I could see myself loving this book possibly at a different time in my life. This is extremely well written, but definitely a book that you need to take your time with. I kept on wanting to put it down and stop reading, but it was intriguing enough to want to give it one more try... one more chapter... Too many characters, but yet they were each great characters. I’m really at a loss on how to accurately rate this. I feel like this would be great book for a Southern Lit Course. Beautifully written classic, but “a chore” to get through.

[Donna Arcara · Rating 3 out of 5]

From my notes in 2002: "3.5 stars. This book was beautifully written, but definitely not easy to read. I enjoyed most of the characters, and the story was complicated but fascinating most of the time-- it was a little disjointed and did lag in places. The story ended up unfolding nicely, but it was very distracting to me that the lives of all these characters were all so miserable. The ending was fairly satisfying, leaving the feeling that the good characters had hope. A hard one to review."

[MomofTeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otherworldly writing talent! Why isn’t this book a best seller? Why hasn’t this novel been made into a movie? Why isn’t everyone giving this novel FIVE STARS?!

The author began as a painter and her words and characters and storytelling are as colorful and beautiful as any masterpiece you’ll find in the Louvre.

My boss sent me this book and it’s among the best gifts I’ve ever been given. If I could write one sentence as beautiful as this author - one sentence! - I’d die happy.

[Eileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline was jumpy and the characters could have been defined in more depth. There was alot of potential to the story, but it missed its mark. I never really got the sense of the importance of the chalkboards.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very odd, disjointed writing. The synopsis made it sound like it would be all about Chalktown and Hezekiah, but it really wasn't centered on that. I should've DNF'd it but kept thinking the ending would be worth it. It wasn't.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my own reference: had a hard time getting in to it but when I finally started to make sense of the characters, I enjoyed it and read to find out how it all came together. It really didn’t. Much potential for nothing.

[Shirley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned this one...