Knee-Deep in Wonder

by April Reynolds

“Who’re your people, girl?” In August, 1976, Helene Strickland returns home to Lafayette County, Arkansas, determined to learn the answer, but her probing only uncovers greater mysteries.

April Reynolds’s mesmerizing narrative seamlessly weaves flashbacks and voices to produce an epic account of one family crippled by the deepest wounds of the black South, introducing a bold and distinct talent.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

April Reynolds has taught at New York University, the 92nd Street Y, and is currently teaching creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies. She has gone on assignment for the US State Department to lecture on creative writing and her own works. Her first novel, Knee-Deep in Wonder, won the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Award and the PEN/Open Book Beyond Margins Award. Her second book is The Shape of Dreams.

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helene Strickland returns to Lafayette County, Arkansas, for her aunt’s funeral, determined to thread her family’s disjointed history and, in doing so, discover her roots. Visiting her estranged mother results in a layered, rich and sprawling family history spanning four generations. In glimpses that mirror human memory, Helene uncovers secrets and stories from inside a house with skeletons in the closet and from a mother who bears the painful weight of silence and isolation.

This was an impactful story, not just because of the difficult subject matter it contained, but from the awareness that stories like this (while fictional) capture one thread among a complex web of reality for black Southerners.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

April Reynolds is an excellent writer. She spins a wonderful tale and creates rich and engaging characters that will suck you into this story of three generations of Southern women. What I found lacking and a bit disappointing was the plot. It was a bit thin and a quarter of the way in (once I got all the characters straight) I pretty much had the plot figured out. The denouement was very anti-climatic and I found she failed to fully explain WHY? Why did Liberty put Chess before Queen Ester? Why didn't we learn more about Helene and Auntie B? Why did Queen Ester go crazy? What did Chess say to Helene? Maybe I fell asleep halfway through. Reynolds hints at all of these things and more but I felt the story could have been deeper and richer if she expounded on these questions or made the characters more dimensional. An entertaining read but overall disappointing. Reynolds is a promising writer and possibly her next novel will be richer. I look forwards to that.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be an interesting discussion. A young woman living in the northeast goes "home" to Arkansas when her aunt who raised her passes away. She learns abt her parents and her past. There were slow parts to the book but it would be interesting to discuss.

[Mary Feeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it had to follow the story at times because of jumping back and forth through time and each character own telling of the same events. The language and phrases were hard to follow at time. While the story was tragic and the characters flawed . Their need to be loved. Their greed in getting that love was devastating.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this one - but had a very hard time finishing it. Hard to follow at times.

[rita mcintyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

What?

At times it was confusing and at other times it was interesting, however the ending was unsatisfying. I don't know if I'd recommend it to anyone.

[Iva Ivanova · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book, because I love family sagas about a few generations (also, it was free), but I was left disappointed. The story had potential, but the author couldn’t develop it. I found the writing style boring on moments, with so many details, that nobody cared about, so sometimes the pace was really slow (still I managed not to fall asleep).

Also the plot was not very strong and the characters were getting on my nerves way too often. I had a problem with Chess and Liberty relationship, because it seemed illogical – she loved her daughter so much and even didn’t want her to grow up, then Chess comes, sleeps around, marries a woman, makes a few children with her, sleeps with Liberty, finds himself another lover, then bangs the daughter of Liberty (also he likes to beat women)… and in the end it seemed that Liberty loves Chess more than her daughter! What?! The way their affair was represented made it unbelievable to me, maybe if the book was written by more skilled author (like John Steinbeck, Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende) their family story would have looked more credible. And the end was weak and annoying too. So I wouldn’t recommend this book. It’s not bad for а debut, but nothing exceptional.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sitting here going through this story in my mind and I'm strangely reminded of Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca". I'm not entirely sure why. The settings are completely different, although there are some unusual similarities. Actually, I've never read "Rebecca", so I'm basing this comparison on the movie. But the movie is fantastic--you should definitely see the movie. And I bet the book is great, too. "Knee-deep in Wonder" was okay with moments of being taken somewhere really interesting but overall something substantial felt like it was missing.

[Wanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book with high expectations for what Ms. Reynolds would bring. After taking a month to read it, I realize that it's missing quite a few ingredients which is why ultimately this cake doesn't rise. There are so many holes in the story and the character development from point A does not lead to point B. I wish that instead of attempting to intermingle three generations worth of storytelling, Ms. Reynolds had focused on one protagonist. As it is there are too many narratives to rifle through and all them are incomplete.

[Vivian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually, I didn't finish this one. Half way through, I lost interest and quit. Was she trying to write another "I know why the caged bird sings"? I will never understand the culture where the men just want to drink, gamble, and screw every female around but never work or take responsibility for their offspring. And the women who either abandon the children to relatives or raise them without morals and send them out to continue the same vicious cycle.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had alot of trouble getting through this book. The style of writing was too disjointed for my taste. I didn't connect with any of the characters. I couldn't figure out why so many women were drawn to Chess. He was nothing more than a womanizer with no morals, who left disaster in his wake! I hoped the ending would pull things together, but even that was unsatisfying!

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Southern family tale - not very interesting, predictable, and not much happens.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

great storytelling, each chapter is beautifully written & emotional on its own, but they don't quite come together as a whole.

[Ulrich Baer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great novel about a woman in the 1980s who returns down South and uncovers, slowly, her family's complicated histories.