 |
- General fiction - |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Penhally |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Penhally byCaroline Gordon J.S. Sanders & Co. 282 pages, 1999 ISBN 1879941031 Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart Re-discovered in 1991, and in its second printing in 1999, PENHALLY by Caroline Gordon is sure to become the newest Southern classic. Originally published in 1931, the novel is divided into three parts, covering 1826 to 1920. The story takes place in Kentucky and specifically at Penhally, the generational home of the Llewelynn family, where the mansion is as much a protagonist as the main characters. Fratricide is the key theme to this compelling work that Ford Madox Ford called "the best American novel" he knew (1931). Part I centers on the familial patriarch, Nicholas, and his half-brother, Ralph, and weaves in the odd assortment of family members who make up the Llewelynn clan. Many years before, Ralph had left the plantation in a huff when Nicholas, the eldest son, inherited the estate from their father. Ralph had a plan to divide the property equally, but Nicholas’s belief in fratricide does not even allow such thoughts to enter his mind. The story moves back and forth between the Civil War and the hardships the Llewelynn’s endure and the time before the war. Readers also get an up close look at life as a soldier when the half-brother’s nephew, John, joins the Confederacy. Gordon does an excellent job in filling in all the blanks and setting up the plot line, but the unclear relationship between the many characters involved makes the story a little hard to follow. Also, the dialect is a tad hard to discern. Part II flash-forwards to 1900. John and his grandson, Chance, go to sit with one of John’s military buddies. Chance is not interested in the tales of the war, but John’s reminiscences give rise to the fact that he was hero. Part III takes place in the 1920s. Chance and his brother, Nick, are grown men. Nick wants to sell the ancestral home, but Chance, who lives on and loves Penhally, does his best to stop him. This section is not as interesting as Parts I and II and doesn’t hang together as well, but the let down is slight. I’m glad that I took a chance on Caroline Gordon and her first published novel PENHALLY. I look forward to reading her other eight novels. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||