The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove

I felt like I should have read this book in a deep Southern drawl. The heat of the south permeated the story, from Bezellia's grandparents house on the lake to the tattered remnants of the Grove family estate.

When I first started this book, I wasn't sure where the story was going. It started out slowly, introducing the reader to Bezellia and her used-to-be-rich-but-lost-it family. Dad isn't around much, preferring to spend his time at the hospital (and other places). Mom hides herself in a bottle of gin and takes out her disappointment on her daughters and those who work for her. Little sister Adelaide clings to her baby dolls.

Bezellia herself seems lost. She's more of a shadow in the beginning (of course, she's just a kid), ghosting show more through life while trying to stay out of her mother's way. But then she meets Samuel, the son of Nathaniel. Samuel is forbidden fruit, an African American in 1960's Nashville, but Bezellia doesn't care. She falls for him. And, through that, she begins to find herself.

I liked Bezellia but I would have liked to get to know her a little more. At times, I felt like we were just skimming the surface of the story, especially with Samuel. I'm not a big fan of instant attraction/love at first sight as a plot device and there wasn't much of a connection beyond the attraction. Sure, he was a nice guy but why did she like him so much? I felt like I didn't get a good answer (though I rooted for them anyway! Hey, I'm a sucker for lost causes and star-crossed lovers.). And, while it wasn't the happiest of endings, it was not disappointing. show less

When "they" say that the lifestyles of the rich and famous are not as glorious as we simple lay people imagine, the infamous "they" are probably referring to something along the lines of pretty little, poor little, rich girl, Bezellia Grove.

Born in a stately southern mansion on the outskirts of Nashville, baby Bezellia has, not shoes, but a legacy and a name to fill. Wearing her full name (unabridged as her predecessors chose before her, opting for Zee, Bea, and others) like a blessing a curse, the most recent descendant of the prominent family is determined to break away from her lineage, once and for all.

Weaving period-appropriate strands of rebellion (inter racial courtship, the rise of feminism and exploration of sexual freedom) show more through a more solid tapestry of teenage angst as old as time, Bezellia's story is one of heartbreak and headache, impossible choices and potential silver linings.

In June of 2009, I was a reader but not yet a blogger. I was seriously considering it but hadn't made my final steps in the direction of publication. Then, one evening, while at the wonderful Blue Elephant book store in Decatur, I almost literally bumped into a woman named Susan Gregg Gilmore. She was at the store to discuss her, then new book Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen. It was a small group but a lively one. We ended up discussing more of the ins and outs of writing and publishing than southern living. This was fine since, at that point, I hadn't heard of, never mind picked up or read her first book.

It was after that night that I decided I would move forward with my blog. I enjoyed Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen but I need to say this: I've fallen out of love. Yes, it's tragic but true. Unfortunately (for the book) or, rather, fortunately (for me) I have a new love.

She is an amazing new love and her name is Bezellia Grove.

What a sophomore offering! What power! What emotion! The book is not terribly hefty but it packs quite a punch. Bezellia's voice is clear and strong, even when she is facing her deepest, darkest decisions. Race, class, war and peace are not so much touched on but, rather, lived. Each hurdle is put up as, not some, name dropping, Forrest Gumpesque, silliness but, instead, an organic experience of living life through a tumultuous time both locally and globally.

I came away from this novel with a sense of retroactive star-stuck awe. I am so proud of the depth put into Susan Gregg Gilmore's second novel. I will definitely recommend the first but if you have to choose one, over the other (for some horrible reason) I have to put my bid in for the most recent story, the lovely and beautiful The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove. show less

Bezellia Grove is an young and affluent Southern girl who has inherited her unusual name from a long line of affluent Bezellias. But this Bezellia is more than she appears and is living a most unusual life behind the closed doors of her plantation style home in Tennessee. Though she’s passionate and expressive, Bezellia and her younger sister Adeliade live in fear of their sometimes abusive and always neglectful mother, while the girls’ father is unusually quiet and absent most of the time. This leaves Bezellia to be raised by the two African-American house servants, Maizelle and Nathaniel, who become a set of quasi-parents to the two troubled girls. As Bezellia finds her faltering way through adolescence and young adulthood, she show more will become affected by a horrific family accident and and engage in an illicit and innocent love that will change her and shape her future. And just when it seems that things can’t get any more complicated for Bezellia, she begins to uncover a few haunting secrets about her mother’s past that may begin to explain the woman she’s become. In this beautiful and intricate southern tale filled with heartbreak, longing and redemption, the irrepressible Bezellia Grove and her very unique life spin outward into the minds of readers who might discover that being true to yourself is sometimes the hardest job of all.

It’s not often that I read a book that so touches me and makes me fall in love so helplessly with its main character. It’s also not often that I sit up until the wee hours of the morning racing to finish a story that I can’t seem to put down. But it does happen, and it happened with The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove. Between the magic and perfect cadence of Gilmore’s writing, and the nerve twisting story of Bezellia’s life, I ended up completely surrendering to my love for this book and reading avidly to find out what would become of this very unusual girl who lived a very unconventional life.

From the first few pages, the relationship between Bezellia and her mother become painfully obvious. While Bezellia was just beginning to explore the world around her and find her place in it, her mother was dutifully trying to shove her into little prescribed boxes of her own making. And really, Bezellia was, and remained, the antithesis of her mother throughout the book’s permutations. It was tragic to see the forlorn Bezellia hungering for her mother’s love; a love that would never be granted to her. It was even more disheartening to watch Bezellia’s mother slowly spiral away from the people who loved her into greater abuses and tantrums, slowly being enveloped by alcoholism. While Bezellia’s mother was either climbing the rickety social ladder or drinking, both Bezellia and her sister grew very attached to Maizelle and Nathaniel, who took the children under their wing and cared for them as their own. Very early on Bezellia realizes that the marginalization of these two people, and the black community in general, is sickeningly unfair, and though she tries to shift the balance of power for them and with them, it proves a huge wedge to move on her own. The balance of power that exists in her home is one that is unfortunately not rare for that time period, and though Bezellia kicks and bucks it away, she’s also hindered by social custom and the narrow-mindedness of the time.

When Bezellia falls in love with a socially unsuitable match, her predicament draws all kinds of attention, and it’s attention that she desperately wants to ignore and avoid. It’s a love that she feels is destined for her, and though society tries to dictate to her about the unacceptable nature of this relationship, Bezellia refuses to listen. But this isn’t the only problem she’s having, because her family life is in ever increasing shambles. Bezellia finds herself the head of her family, the one who everyone looks to for answers. It’s a confusing and heartbreaking time for her, but she never seems to loose her pluck, and her reserves, though at an all time low, don’t ever seem to be depleted. I admired Bezellia during these sections because she carried loads that her narrow shoulders should have never been responsible for. Gilmore creates her Bezellia with vigor and aplomb, packing her heroine with an unflappable desire for individuality and freedom that takes her into unexpected places and situations, and carries her through some of the most difficult times a young woman can face. Though her life is stilted and hobbled by her troubles, Bezellia finds a way to gracefully maintain equilibrium.

For the most part, the thing that I made me feel so connected to this book was my total immersion into Bezellia’s life and my complete sympathy for her story. Bezellia wasn’t the type of character to willingly force herself into contortions of emotion that weren’t authentic to her, which made life a lot harder for someone who lived in a home where appearances were everything, both inside and outside the doors. She was also an idealist in a place where her ideals aren’t appreciated or understood, which pitted her against even those who she loved and regarded with respect. Her overwhelming desire to be loved in “the right way” often compromised her emotional stability, and is a factor of her personality that I think a lot of women will understand. Bezellia’s uncomfortable and fraught relationship with her mother is also packed with landmines for her character’s development and growth, and in some ways I could really relate to her struggles in this area. She was a very real character with some very realistic flaws and attributes that made me care for her almost instantly.

This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, for many reasons that I stated above. In addition, Gilmore’s writing was very smooth and fluid and made it easy for me to become thoroughly submerged. She held me captivated in her storyteller’s hands until that final haunting conclusion. If you haven’t read this wonderful story yet, I would highly recommend it. I think it would strike the perfect chord in many different readers, and would be appreciated by many. show less

I'm officially a Susan Gregg Gilmore fan. I liked her debut novel, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, and her most recent book, The Funeral Dress, so I had high hopes for this one, and it didn't disappoint. Bezellia Grove is born into an old Nashville family and saddled with the name of a famous ancestor. But living up to the expectations of her mother, who is concerned with the maintaining her place in Nashville society, is difficult in tumultuous 1960s. The context makes this more than a typical coming of age novel as Gilmore captures the time and place while developing a character that is as complex and real as the times.

Born in 1951, Bezellia was named after her father's ancestor, a woman who fought off Indians who attacked their Nashville settlement. Young Bezellia wore her ancestor's moniker proudly, hoping to live up to the first Bezellia's name.

Bezellia's father was a wealthy and busy doctor, from a well respected Nashville family. Her mother was a woman from 'the wrong side of the tracks' who desperately desired to fit into Nashville society. She was an unhappy woman, of whom Bezellia said "Mother with a cup of coffee in her hand was not a particularly kind or attentive person and (that) Mother with a gin and tonic in her hand was simply mean and withdrawn."

Two household servants, Maizelle and Nathaniel, were loyal to the Grove family. Like show more another Southern novel, Kathryn Stockett's popular The Help, they were always available to provide the care and attention to Bezellia and her younger sister that they didn't get from their parents.

Bezellia's mother treated them badly, and Maizelle and Nathaniel usually took it without complaint (except when Maizelle would occasionally spit into her boss's cup of coffee), although since the book is written from Bezellia's point of view, perhaps that is how Bezellia saw it. Another recent novel, Queen of Palmyra by Minrose Gwin, showed a more troubled and realistic relationship between the white employers and their black household employees.

Nathaniel's son Samuel comes to help his father one day, and sparks fly between Samuel and Bezellia. Nashville in the 1960s was not a place where a young white lady and a young black man could have an open relationship, and if Bezellia's mother or other townspeople found out, all hell would break loose.

The setting of the novel in the 1960s is key, as it addresses the burgeoning Civil Rights movement, Vietnam, and the feminist movement through the eyes of young people. It was an exhilarating, frightening time for all, but especially for young adults looking for their place in the world.

What I though this novel addressed really well was the concept of how your youthful experiences follow you through to adulthood. As the story progresses, we see why Bezellia's mother, who is a very unsympathetic character, became the sad, lonely, bitter alcoholic she was. She ends up being the most complex character in the novel.

It also addresses an age-old dilemma for young people; what do you owe your family and what do you owe yourself? Bezellia goes away to college, but when family issues press, she must decide what comes first: her responsibility to family or to herself. Many readers will be able to relate to that.

At various points in the novel newspaper articles about the Grove family are inserted. It gives the reader a perspective of the family from the town's point of view. The first page is Bezellia's birth notice and the final page is her death notice, but perhaps Gilmore will grace us with the two-thirds of Bezellia's life that isn't in the book. She is a character worthy of more exploration. show less

I heard about this book through a podcast and downloaded the sample onto my Kindle. The second I read the first paragraph I rushed to the library to check it out! At just under 300 pages, this novel flies by. I read it over one weekend and could have read it within one day if I didn't have prior commitments. However, when it ended, I felt a bit let down like I had expected more of the characters and writing. Still, it is worth a read if you're looking for something to get lost in for a bit.

Susan Gregg Gilmore tells the story of Bezellia Grove who was born into a wealthy family that is at the top of high society. People covet the Groves but within the confines of their mansion, they are an incredibly unhappy family that consists of a show more workaholic father, an alcoholic mother, an emotionally stunted little sister, and Bezellia. Bezellia is a typical girl growing up in the south in the 1960s. Her family was one of the founding families of the town in which they live and her life is comprised of social gatherings that her mother believes are mandatory for a young woman of society. Bezellia goes along with her mother's whims even though she doubts either of her parents love her as much as the African American nanny and groundskeeper who have taken care of Bezellia since she was born. When Bezellia falls in love with the groundskeeper's son, her life is thrown off kilter. She must then decide whether to stand up for herself, her love, and her future or bow to the southern societal norms that are engrained in her family and herself.

Though I found parts of this novel to be predictable, I was still surprised by some of Bezellia's choices and felt right there with her the whole time. It certainly was a fun read if not a challenging one. I would recommend it to anyone interested in southern literature or a good novel in which you can get lost!

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There are a lot of civil rights books that either uphold tradition or overthrow it, but this one seemed to have a both heart and a lot of thought put into it. Loved Bezellia; her mother, sister, Nathaniel and Maizelle all added a lot of color. I was caught a little off guard by the last chapter, but not in a bad way. As much as it wasn't what I would have expected, that's what made it a good ending for me. It said Bezellia was supposed to be strong and filled with courage and passion, and she was. I really enjoyed this book. Now and then it's good not to have the fairy tale, but not to have the bad guys win, either.