Many Things Have Happened Since He Died

by Elizabeth Dewberry Vaughn

A fierce yet naive young woman from Birmingham, Alabama, must come to terms with the powerful legacy of a religious upbringing when she enters into a new, explosive marriage

Genres: Fiction, Novels

267 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Brew Dralock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alabama fundamentalist Christianity and abusive husbands be #bad but this book be #good and also I appreciate a story that takes place in the south

[Bowie Rowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was intrigued and startled by this novel from beginning to end. Dewberry's young female narrator's voice is brilliant in her ugly honesty, confusion, and denial. I'm also a sucker for self-reflexive narratives and Dewberry's narrator mocks the construction of stories as much as she revels in it. The story is often fragmented and confuses fantasy with reality, displaying the narrator's desire to construct her life into what she wishes it could be, to deny what is and to write about what she wishes for until it can, impossibly, be true. Often haunting, yet also hilarious, this narrator will not be forgotten.

[Tim Nason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tour de force narrative as a patched-together transcript of tapes and notebook entries, complete with run-on and partial sentences. Gripping story pivoting on a young woman’s disastrous relationship and how she uses sheer willpower to survive and move forward. The very strong Christian ideals of the woman and of her truly horrifying husband add to the story’s tension and pathos.

[Chip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked up a copy of this book at the local library book sale for two quarters; would have passed on it but someone had crossed the "hypnotic" review lingo on the back and replaced it with "psychotic." Fifty cents for psychotic nee hypnotic? I'll take a chance on that.

My reaction in the first five pages was "holy crap! I know this person" - not the author, the protagonist. In many ways this character is a conglomerate of most of the women I've met at work over the years, all "devout" and "righteous" and what was called "schizo-affective" when I was in school. "Borderline personality disorder" would be a better diagnosis today. These people are brainwashed to believe that as long as they do what someone decides the Bible tells them to do then everything will work out miraculously for them... the tragedy hits when the things they've been praying for (and counting on) don't come to pass. Theirs is a very immature rendition of spirituality which I believe deserves closer examination. I think the author did a fine job of capturing a stream-of-consciousness snapshot in the daily life of one of these far-right lightweights, but the story itself was ... a non-story. At the end of the day, the turn of the last page, I was disappointed. The true story had just begun, and... nothing. It left an impression like getting your driver's license but only driving to the end of the driveway.

There were a couple of laugh out loud moments - the book could benefit from more - but otherwise the intensity was more mellow than extreme, never too hot or cold. I understand it was a first novel, and tip my hat to the author who in her first effort achieved much more than many established authors I've reviewed here.

My rule of thumb is this - do I: 1) hoard this book and tell everyone to read it but buy their own copy; 2) pass this book along to a trusted friend along with a favorable review; or 3) donate the book to the local thrift store? Despite being raised in my hometown, and having a critical paper written about her work comparing her to Alice Walker and Zora Neale Hurston, this is a (3) - donate to the thrift store. I can't recommend it and can't pass it along to a friend to read.

Just my three cents... or rather fifty cents...

[Judy Mann · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is the story here??? Am I actually missing a certain enzyme in my make up? How come all the other reviewers could decipher ANY SENSE AT ALL in this book?
She rambles and she rambles and she rambles and thru all that we're supposed to find the thread of a story line?
And we're supposed to slug our way thru these endless sentences and be so exhausted as to find a story in all that?
I'm talking about the author here. I'm sorry but she has a PHd in Literature-does she think not using punctuation is "Groovy"? Kind of e.e. cummings-ish? or Virginia Woolf- ish?
Well let me be the first to say- it's irritating, it's juvenile, it's pretentious.
And lemme say one more thing here. She writes a novel to tell a story. Not to entangle her readers in this mess of gobbleygook.
My theory is someone told her to write this way- with endless meanderings going absolutely nowhere-someone told her that this was unique and spiritual and oh so je ne sais quois but in fact it is just plain boring.I can safely say that at page 201 now I have easily skipped at least 80 pages of it- and you guessed it- I haven't missed a thing.
She wants to write a book- write a book. But this? I have no words for what a mess this is.
JM

[ruzmarì · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish there was real recognition for the books that come before the best-sellers. Elizabeth Dewberry Vaughn wrote a beautiful novel here, the heartfelt precursor to Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone nearly ten years later, and she has since disappeared. I remember reading this novel in a kind of daze. The prose unfolds like having someone stroke your forearm with a quill - tender and maddening, touching skin you wouldn't suspect of such sensitivity. And the book is seductive - the (nameless) narrator pulls you into her fantasies and preoccupations, gradually and skilfully, until you start to read her thoughts as natural reflections of consciousness under duress. The true skill in the novel comes from the fact that, of course, the events and thought processes Vaughn describes *become* natural reflections. You close the book no longer certain of right and left, sure only of the importance of speaking, for self-expression is the highest, hungriest imperative.

[Annalisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in college and the story sucked me in. I spend the whole day of more important things I needed to do in bed crying for this girl I both disdained and wanted to protect. A truly vulnerable and flawed character. Battling her own mental illness (although I'm not exactly sure what beyond depression I would label it as), the protagonist is trying to balance her father's suicide, her husband's drug use, and her own undeveloped religious conviction that she needs to be submissive to her abusive husband.

The protagonist tells her story via journal entries where she reveals her own obsessive-compulsive behavior, superiority, naivete, and depression. Even when she's driving you crazy you can't help but feel for her and the consequences of her choices in life. The emotionally charged story snags on the mental instability without ever resolving it. The protagonist copes with her life, but I don't believe she ever gets the treatment and love she deserves.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one my favorite books ever. It's one of the few that I've read more than once. The author's style in writing this book might be hard for some to take--sentences are intentionally run-on. Some go on for pages, in a stream of consciousness manner. I've recommended this book to several people and I've found that they either love it our they hate it. There doesn't seem to be any in between with this one. It's a sad story, but the main character's voice is so honest and clear. Great book written in a style that you don't get to experience very often.

[Vastine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about a naive young woman who fights to maintain her optimism throughout tragedy. Dewberry does a wonderful job of using the inncence of her character to make incisive observations about the world. Very funny, lyrical and moving.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful book about a naive young woman who fights to maintain her optimism throughout tragedy. Dewberry does a wonderful job of using the inncence of her character to make incisive observations about the world. Very funny, lyrical and moving.

[Shelby Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is for upper middle school to high school ages. It is written with a unique and somewhat confusing writing style. I would recommend this book for a literature class that was going to do some writing along with it. You could use the writing style of the book to create assignments.

[Cathy Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when it was published 15 years ago and loved it. A few months ago, I got it down off the shelf and read it again. Still loved it. If you can find this gem, snatch it up.

[Sue Lipton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deliciously peculiar

[midwing · Rating 1 out of 5]

A giant sentence with little to no punctuation about a woman trapped in an extremely sheltered life.