Along with four other bloggers-J.Kaye, Shana, Dawn and Yasmin-we are are discussing Going Down South by Bonnie J. Glover this week. Today we are here at Peeking Between the Pages and I have to say that I am really enjoying the book and it’s been hard to put it down but this time with noontime chat I’ve been trying to read along with the days of the chat so that puts me around page 100 now. So, let’s recap some of the beginning and then onto the second part…
This novel is about three generations of women-Olivia Jean who finds herself pregnant at fifteen, her mother Daisy who is feeling her own failures and Birdie-Olivia Jean’s grandmother and Daisy’s mother who I have yet to meet. From what I’ve gathered so far this story shows us a lot of how each generation manages to affect the next and not always in a good way.
Olivia Jean is by far my favorite character, at least for now. She is a very likeable and endearing character. I can really feel how lonely she is within her family. In Olivia Jean’s family, her mother Daisy is the center of attention and although Olivia Jean adores her father Turk, he for the most part has eyes mostly for her mother. At times I find it hard to read when I can so clearly feel Olivia Jean yearning for the love and attention she needs as a young girl from both of her parents.
I feel in part this pregnancy for Olivia Jean was caused by this lack of love she feels from her father. Someone made her feel good, if only for a while, and she liked that. In part, wanting to keep the baby so bad also shows her need to show the love she’s missing. After Olivia Jean finds herself in the ‘family way’, Daisy decides to become a mother for a while whisking her daughter away to her mother’s to spare Olivia Jean the shame of staying-more to avoid the shame brought on Daisy and Turk I would think.
Now, in the second part which is more about Daisy I’m finding out more about her and that not all may be as it seems in our first opinions of her. There are a couple of instances where we get a glimpse into how Daisy feels…
- ‘In that moment she had hated him for being the kind of husband he was, hated that she felt stuck, and most of all hated that she still loved him’.
- ‘And Daisy cursed herself for having a voice that cut through the night like an angry trumpet, for her inability to do more than direct when she knew more was needed, for being unable to feel what that “more” was, other than it was not something Olivia Jean was getting from her’.
These feelings from Daisy make me feel differently about her and not dislike her as much as I previously did. We don’t always know what ‘s going on in another’s life, we only see the outside. So, I’m very much looking forward to reading the next part of this book which is still focused on Daisy. I feel Daisy is how she is from how she was brought up. I’m hoping that Olivia Jean will be a good mama despite how she’s been brought up-I hope love will be able to shine through for her.
If you missed yesterday’s chat at J. Kaye’s, you can view it here
Of course, today’s is above here at Peeking Between the Pages
Tomorrow, join us at Shana’s at Literarily
Thursday is with Dawn at She Is Too Fond of Books
And Friday for our wrap up, join Yasmin over at APOOO Book Club
Hey, girls (and boys!) –
I’m a little late to the party today because I had lunch with a friend, but I wanted to stop by anyway.
Dar, I think you’re a little ahead of me. I’m just getting ready to start part two, which is, I’m assuming, written more from Daisy’s point of view.
I’m REALLY looking forward to this, as so far she has seemed like a very enigmatic, interesting person. Like you, I have a feeling there is much more to her than meets the eye.
To reply to Bonnie’s question yesterday about if I think a father should love his children more than his wife … I guess I’m not big on shoulds and should nots in general, but I think if a man loves his wife a little more than his kids, as I always got the sense my dad did, it’s okay. Really, it never bothered me. At all. I always felt very comfortable and reassured by the love my parents shared. And you know, it’s such a different love, obviously. It may be like comparing apples and oranges – just not possible!
One thing I have to say about Turk. WHY was Daisy so attracted to him?!?! He just seems gross! Overweight, usually drunk, with bad breath and body odor. Yuk! Not something I would have any problem walking away from !!! Okay, so if he was the father of my children, I MIGHT have a hard time walking away, but I wouldn’t have been as in to him as Daisy seems – at this point – to be!!!
Shana
Literarily
Hey, girls (and boys!) –
I’m a little late to the party today because I had lunch with a friend, but I wanted to stop by anyway.
Dar, I think you’re a little ahead of me. I’m just getting ready to start part two, which is, I’m assuming, written more from Daisy’s point of view.
I’m REALLY looking forward to this, as so far she has seemed like a very enigmatic, interesting person. Like you, I have a feeling there is much more to her than meets the eye.
To reply to Bonnie’s question yesterday about if I think a father should love his children more than his wife … I guess I’m not big on shoulds and should nots in general, but I think if a man loves his wife a little more than his kids, as I always got the sense my dad did, it’s okay. Really, it never bothered me. At all. I always felt very comfortable and reassured by the love my parents shared. And you know, it’s such a different love, obviously. It may be like comparing apples and oranges – just not possible!
One thing I have to say about Turk. WHY was Daisy so attracted to him?!?! He just seems gross! Overweight, usually drunk, with bad breath and body odor. Yuk! Not something I would have any problem walking away from !!! Okay, so if he was the father of my children, I MIGHT have a hard time walking away, but I wouldn’t have been as in to him as Daisy seems – at this point – to be!!!
Shana
Literarily
Shana – Yuk too! I guess I had not realized how undesirable Turk sounds on paper. But he is a charmer. All of those bad things seem to be forgiven in men. He can sing and he can charm. Undeniable attraction.
Dean Martin? (I don’t know about his hygiene habits though).
Bonnie
Shana, I hope lunch was good!
I think you hit the point Shana-the love for your kids may be different than your spouse but it shouldn’t be less I don’t think. With this novel I think the love for Olivia is less not different because he will outright not see her. I agree about Daisy-at least she is there and does take care of Olivia Jean.
As for Turk, as Bonnie mentioned and I’ve seen it mentioned in the book a few times already-he’s quite the charmer. He doesn’t sound all that wonderful to me either-lol.
Ah, but Dar, I think you have to look at the times and perhaps the scarcity of men in the homes of black families. Charming is always a perspective.
Bonnie, you’re right. Times were different and you know what, even today I don’t think things are all that different. I think there are still women and men who tolerate a not so great relationship for the very reasons that Daisy has. Even today, those charmers get away with most anything. lol.
The part that pained me the most was when Turk was supposed to sing for Olivia Jean but only had eyes for his wife. Olivia Jean had been so excited and then so hurt. That was sad.
I agree with Shana that Turk didn’t sound attractive to me at all!
–Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
Hey Anna! Okay, so maybe Turk was more unattractive than I thought. And more self-involved too. And mean. Over-sexed, too. I’ll have to work on the man thing next novel.
Bonnie
Bonnie, they’re your characters. They can be whatever you want them to be!