Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Last night was my oldest daughter’s final Broadway Kids performance–she’s been rehearsing with other 5th and 6th graders at 7:30 in the morning (4 or 5 days a week) and after school (for 1 or 2 days a week) for at least a couple of months, and it showed.  The kids sang, they danced, and they were fun to watch, but my daughter about blew me away.  Two different people told me afterwards that she lit up the stage, and it’s no coincidence that they both used that phrase.  She glowed.  She smiled from ear to ear as she danced (and sang, but she was in the half of the group that did more complicated dances), and she danced with her whole body.  She kept her tension and poise all the way through her fingertips (which is partially a tribute to her former dance teacher’s campaign against ‘noodle arms’), and I reveled in the pleasure of watching her.

By contrast, finishing Leah Weiss’ If the Creek Don’t Rise this afternoon did not exactly fill me with warm fuzzies.  It’s not that it wasn’t a compelling and a well-written book, mind you–it certainly was–but Weiss’ tale of the harshness of life in Appalachia in the early 1970s was narrated by a group of people from the same community, and the abuse/explosive husband and his (possibly simple) (mostly) loyal sidekick both had bits near the end.  Spending time in their minds wasn’t exactly uplifting.  Beyond that, however, I found the solution to Sadie’s miserable life with said husband to be a startling one.  (I won’t go further into that, since I avoid spoilers, but I didn’t exactly predict the ending.)  What I will say is that the world Weiss describes for the reader is not easily forgotten.  My one criticism of the book as a whole is that it had trouble making up its mind whether it wanted to be Sadie Blue’s story or the story of a community.  Weiss might argue that there isn’t actually a difference, but the ending makes it seem like Sadie’s story is the main plot; the bulk of the book, however, meanders more as it cycles through different narrators.  It’s true that each one provides a glimpse into Sadie’s ongoing story, but only her situation with Roy sees real resolution.  If that’s what really matters, why do so many of the narrators introduce what feel like subplots that go nowhere?

Then again, perhaps Weiss is laying the groundwork for a series of connected novels?

At any rate, If the Creek Don’t Rise is well-written, thought-provoking, and thoroughly held my attention; it simply focuses on lives that are harsh and messy.  In other words?  It’s a worthwhile read, but don’t expect many conventional feel-good moments.  Go in prepared.