The Truth According to Us

Summer 1938, Macedonia, West Virginia: Layla Beck, the outcast daughter of a senator, comes to Macedonia to write a history of the town for the WPA. She boards with the Romeyn family: siblings Felix, Jottie, Minerva and Mae, and Felix's daughters Willa and Bird. The reader gets three perspectives: Willa narrates in first person, Jottie in close third, Layla through letters to friends and family at home. Capital-H History and personal history are closely entwined in Macedonia: one of the major events in recent memory is the fire at American Everlasting, the factory the Romeyns' father owned and ran, and the death of Vause Hamilton, Felix's best friend and Jottie's love.

Both Layla and Willa are on fact-finding missions, and everyone's show more version of history is different. As Layla takes a historian's approach, interviewing citizens and getting help from the librarian, Willa relies on spying, piecing together puzzling bits of information. Meanwhile, Layla isn't entirely impartial; she begins to fall in love with Felix, and Willa is desperate to stop it.

The truth comes out in the end, and the journey is well-paced and satisfying. One or two romances collapse, while another works out; characters grow and change. This isn't Guernsey, but fans of that book should enjoy this one.

Quotes

It occurred to me that I missed an awful lot of what went on. (Willa, 10)

"That's awful," said Bird again. "I wanted a happy ending."
"It's history," Jottie reminded her. "You don't get what you want." (108)

"Character fascinates me....I suppose circumstance plays its part, too, but I think character, even a nasty one, holds a stronger hand [in history]..." (Layla, letter to Lance, 110)

"Nobody tells anybody anything. You've got to find it all out for yourself." (Willa, 147)

"I think," [Layla] said to Miss Betts, "that if history were defined as only those stories that could be absolutely verified, we'd have no history at all." (183)

"All of us see a story according to our own lights. None of us is capable of objectivity. You must beware your sources." (librarian Caroline Betts to Layla Beck, 185)

And what she owed Felix could only be paid in loyalty. (Jottie, 220)

It wasn't, as Layla had thought at first, that Mrs. Lacey was confused; she was simply indifferent to the triviality of the present. (232)

Sometimes Felix seemed like an empty house, but he wasn't really. It was just that he kept all his possessions in a locked room. And when, once every few years, the door cracked open for a moment, she felt strangely moved to see herself within. (Jottie, 241)

The past was the only thing that really existed; there could be no future that was no based on the past. (Jottie, 278)

"But it's not history yet. It's just a fight. It's not history until someone wins." (Layla to Emmett Romeyn, 297)

It was impossible to know if what I thought was the truth....Things seemed to happen for no reason that I could see....I had always hoped Jottie would call me into her room and tell me the secret, the thing I needed to know to understand why people did the things they did. So far, she hadn't...What I wanted was bigger, a giant blanket that would hold the world. (Willa, 374)

You don't owe anyone your whole life. (Jottie, 381)

"You promised, Jottie. We made a deal."
"Some deal - she does whatever you say and you do whatever you want," said Sol. (Felix and Sol, 398) show less

I like stories set in small-towns. I like historical fiction. I like family secrets. I like books that use letters (or other documents) to tell a story.

I should have devoured this book and demanded more at the end, but no. I liked it, but I really wanted to love it.

It's summer 1938 in Macedonia, West Virginia. Willa Romeyn lives with her smart Aunt Jottie, quirky twin Aunts Mae and Minerva, her little sister Bird, and her there-one-minute-gone-the-next father Felix. She's an excellent spy and an avid reader -- part of the book is told from Willa's 1st person POV. At the beginning of the summer, Layla Beck -- daughter of a Senator -- is exiled to Macedonia as part of her (new) job with the Writers' Project. That's what happens when you show more defy your powerful father.... Parts of the story unfold through Layla's letters and the history she is writing of the town. Then there's the 3rd person POV about Jottie. Willa wants to know Layla's secrets. Jottie wants to be more independent. Layla wants to prove her father wrong.

The different POVs didn't work well for me. There's a lot going on in this little town, but more focus would've been nice. By the time I got to the end, I felt like most of the story could have just been told by Willa and Jottie. Layla seemed like extra fluff and I found myself skimming her letters.

A good read, but not great. Definitely has lots of potential for good book group discussions. show less

Barrows, the co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, here too incorporates some of the same epistolary technique to tell the engrossing story of a small town in Macedonia, West Virginia in the summer of 1938.

In order to help pay the bills, the Romeyn family of Macedonia rents out a room to Layla Beck, the 24-year-old daughter of a senator from Delaware, who has coerced his brother Ben to give Layla a job with the WPA Federal Writers’ Project. [The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was one of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to provide work during the Great Depression.]

Layla's assignment is to write a history of the town of Macedonia. Layla, who has lived an affluent and sheltered life, is convinced she show more is being sent to a place where the house of the supposedly respectable family with which she is to live is, like the town, "probably encrusted in coal dust, and I will probably die of starvation of lice within weeks.”

But as soon as Layla arrives and takes up residence with the Romeyn’s, the close-knit members of whom cycle in and out of the house, she finds she has been full of misconceptions, and after only three hours admits her “ignorance is already a scandal.” She quickly warms up to the Romeyn’s - Jottie, 35, who runs the household, her handsome brothers Felix and Emmett, her twin sisters Minerva and Mae (both of whom are married but who spend the week at Jottie’s house), and the children of Felix’s short-lived marriage, Willa, 12, and Bird, 9.

As she talks to the townspeople to learn its history, Layla discovers that this small town is full of charm and a complexity she never anticipated:

"I was expecting, not lascivious turnip farmers, exactly, but something close. Bumpkins, anyway. Instead, I’ve found a small town that looks like any small town, with wide streets, old elms, white houses, and a tattered, dead-quiet town square - all seething with white-hot passion and Greek tragedy.”

Layla becomes invested in her assignment, wanting it to be more than just a throwaway project, wanting her history of Macedonia “to spurn the dull and amuse the witty.”

And as she becomes more attracted to Felix, she wants to learn more about the Romeyns, who used to be one of the “first families” of Macedonia, when their patriarch owned The American Everlasting Hosiery Factory. In 1920, however, there was a fire that destroyed the factory and in which Vause Hamilton III was killed. Vause seems to be a forbidden topic in the Romeyn house and both Layla and spy-wanna-be Wilma set out to discover what really happened.

Discussion: Barrows doesn’t overdo her evocation of the time and place, but has an eye for selecting sensory details and incorporating them so thoroughly into the story that you can picture the scenes precisely in your mind, feeling the sweat dripping down your back, and the way an iced tea could taste like heaven on a hot day. When all the neighbors gather on hot nights on the Romeyn’s porch to gossip, it is as if you can actually hear their laughter against the backdrop of the clear starry nights.

Her prose is thoughtful, astute, and poetic at times as she limns life in that small town:

"Time softened on Sundays; it stretched itself out in vast rubbery lengths, and by two o-clock, there was more of it than would ever be needed for anything.”

I didn’t like one of the main narrators, young Willa, whose lack of understanding of the adult world causes her to be sneaky, resentful, and judgmental. Even at the end, after she gets an epiphany about hate and lack of forgiveness, she doesn’t apply such standards to herself. I couldn’t see how that unusual depth of understanding about others could co-exist with a lack of insight about her own behavior. “The truth of other people is a ceaseless business,” she says, in discussing her family. But what about the truth of herself?

By contrast, Jottie is a wonderful character - fiercely loving, affectionate, loyal to, and protective of her cobbled-together family, patient with and generous to her neighbors, and full of energy and humor in spite of the pain she carries and the burdens she bears.

The other characters are memorable as well, and make you wish you could have been along on Layla’s voyage of discovery of this memorable town.

Evaluation: I adored this book. Highly recommended! show less

Let's get this right out in the open - this is NOT another Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The primary author of that book club favorite was ailing when she asked her niece, Annie Barrows, to help her finish it. The Truth According to Us, although it is partially epistolary, is a very different read with a much more bittersweet tone.

The novel uses several different POVs to tell the Depression-era story of Layla Beck, a spoiled socialite whose father cuts her off when she refuses to marry his hand-picked choice. As punishment, her uncle puts her on the New Deal Federal Writers Project, and exiles her to Macedonia, West Virginia to write the town's history for its sesquicentennial celebration. She is to board with the show more notorious Romeyn family, including handsome, mysterious Felix, his two young daughters Willa and Bird, and his spinster sister Jottie. Once the Romeyn family ran the biggest factory in Macedonia, but now Felix is rumored to be a bootlegger - or worse - and Jottie barely interacts with the other townspeople.

Layla is determined to prove that she can actually do a good job, but Macedonia's history is full of secrets and lies - much like the Romeyn family history. Twelve year old Willa is determined to use the Macedonian virtues of ferocity and devotion to learn the truth about her family. But neither Layla nor Willa realize that disturbing the past could have a devastating impact on their present.

The Truth According to Us portrays a fascinating genuine piece of American history - the thought of a federal government paying people to create art, (not science and technology!) should make humanities majors everywhere green with envy. And the disparities between Macedonia's history recounted by its "first families" and the less than honorable facts known to a few residents are eye opening and frequently humorous.

But the relationships are the strongest part of the novel as Jottie tries to move past grief and anger, Willa tries to keep her father from abandoning the family, and Layla tries to prove her worth. The three women don't always have comfortable relationships, and they don't all get what they want, but by book's end they are stronger than they were and ready to move ahead.

I'm a major epistolary novel fan, but I have to admit that the sections of the novel that include letters to, from and about Layla were not my favorite part, especially given that there are other sections that are written from Layla's POV. I wonder if Barrows felt the letters were necessary to catch the attention of Guernsey Society fans. She needn't have bothered. The story stands strong without them.

No, it's not the second coming of your book club favorite, but it's a strong, impressive novel in its own right. show less

The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows in a 2015 Dial Press publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This absorbing novel tells the story of the Romeyn family set in Macedonia, West Virginia in the late 1930's.
The story unfolds as a young woman named Layla travels to the small town in order to write Macedonia's history as a part of the Roosevelt Writer Project.

The Romeyn family was like royalty in the small town once upon a time, but the years have not been kind to them. Now Jottie, her brother Felix and his two daughters, Willa and Bird welcome Layla into their home as a boarder.

The story begins with Layla's acerbic, sarcastic and often humorous letters to show more family and friends she hopes will come to her aide and provide her a way out of the situation she has found herself in.

Layla is on relief and having to work a real job for the first time in her life, all because, as the daughter of a prominent senator, she has refused to marry the man her father wants her to. So, she is cast out and left to either sink or swim. So, swim it is.

But, her arrival will stir up a hornets nest when Felix decides he would like to get to know her better. If that weren't enough, Willa has begun to question a few things about her family, prompting her to snoop and spy on her father. But, she never would have guessed that a discovery made by chance will unearth years of torment, grief, pain, and guilt, as a terrible dark secret surfaces that will change the course of their lives forever.

As I turned the last page in this book, I had mixed emotions about how things turned out. There are only three characters in the book I liked. Layla, Willa, and Emmett. After all was said and done, I was disappointed in Jottie, still didn't like Felix and felt sorry for Sol, no matter what his motives might have been.

The town's history is being outlined through Layla's writing and while it's not necessarily the main focus it was quite interesting as the past is woven into “present day” events.

The puzzling part of the story for me was the unnatural relationship between Jottie and Felix. The brother and sister bond was unhealthy, in my opinion, and since they both left me feeling put out and frustrated, I decided they deserved each other.

The most promising character overall was Layla, because she is the only one who owned up to her mistakes, who took responsibility for her actions, and learned from it. She goes from being a spoiled, pampered debutante, to being a woman full of depth and compassion, and real maturity.

Willa, too, as precocious twelve year old, has more insight than most of the adults in the story. Her inadvertent discovery will be the catalyst to exposing a secret that has been tearing at her family for years. She will bring to her father and aunt a peace they never would have had otherwise. Willa comes the closest to unconditional love as is possible, by defending and loving her family, warts and all.

So, ultimately this story is about family and the bonds that, despite spectacular betrayals and lies, are unshakable, and forgiveness is the balm that soothes the pain and torture of loss and guilt.

The story is well written and the characters are expertly drawn, many whom lingered in my mind well into the night, hours after I had finished the book. I was conflicted by how some characters ended up and uplifted and proud by the growth others displayed. Overall this is a thought provoking story and a compelling read.

4 stars show less

Book Cover:

In the summer of 1938, Layla Beck’s father, a United States senator, cuts off her allowance and demands that she find employment on the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal jobs program. Within days, Layla finds herself far from her accustomed social whirl, assigned to cover the history of the remote mill town of Macedonia, West Virginia, and destined, in her opinion, to go completely mad with boredom. But once she secures a room in the home of the unconventional Romeyn family, she is drawn into their complex world and soon discovers that the truth of the town is entangled in the thorny past of the Romeyn dynasty. At the Romeyn house, twelve-year-old Willa is desperate to learn everything in her quest to acquire her show more favorite virtues of ferocity and devotion—a search that leads her into a thicket of mysteries, including the questionable business that occupies her charismatic father and the reason her adored aunt Jottie remains unmarried. Layla’s arrival strikes a match to the family veneer, bringing to light buried secrets that will tell a new tale about the Romeyns. As Willa peels back the layers of her family’s past, and Layla delves deeper into town legend, everyone involved is transformed—and their personal histories completely rewritten.

My Thoughts:

This wasn't my usual genre of book. However I found that the more I red the more of a "mystery" it became...so the mystery groups here are going to get the review:)

The story is told from alternating view points and from different age related perspectives...12 year old Willa and her 36 year old Aunt Jottie. You know the old saying that there are actually 3 sides to every story...his, hers and the truth? So into the two perspectives we get to hear another version from the young woman that is staying at Willa's while writing a history of the small West Virginia town of Macedonia, West Virginia... Layla Beck.

The book seemed to take way to long to actually have anything happen...but once it began I couldn't stop reading. Some of the characters could have been better developed. Loved the twins but they only made brief appearances. If you are after an action packed book...then keep on looking. But if a charming, sweet story is to your liking...and you know we all sometimes need one of those...then take this one home and enjoy. 4 stars. show less

Though the U.S. in the 1930s is sunk in a depression, senator's daughter Layla Beck doesn't have much firsthand experience of deprivation -- until she refuses to marry the man her parents have picked out for her, and they cut her off, forcing her to get a job. Her father's connections get her a position with the Federal Writers' Project, which gives her the assignment of writing a local history for the town of Macedonia, West Virginia. At first, Layla is extremely resistant to the idea of burying herself in such a tiny town, and she tries to get out of the assignment, but since there's no other work to be had, she must eventually give in. When she arrives in Macedonia, she stays with the eccentric Romeyn family, which includes the show more dashing Felix, his strong-minded sister Jottie, and his precocious daughter Willa. Layla can't help but be drawn to Felix, but the closer she becomes to him, the more she realizes that the Romeyns are hiding a decades-old secret that could shake Macedonia to its core. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Willa is just beginning to observe the strange behavior of the adults around her -- and to take the first steps towards growing up herself.

Since Annie Barrows co-authored one of my favorite books, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I had high hopes for this new novel, and I'm happy to say I enjoyed it very much. First of all, I loved the depiction of Macedonia, West Virginia, and its inhabitants. I honestly felt like I was living in this book -- I could almost feel the summer heat bearing down on me. I also especially enjoyed the chapters written from Willa's point of view. I loved her sharp yet childlike observations of the people around her, and how she slowly changes as she begins to realize that the adults in her life have interior lives and secrets of their own. It's been a long time since I read To Kill a Mockingbird, but her voice made me think of Scout Finch quite a bit. I also loved Jottie, an intelligent, loving woman who has experienced tragedy but hasn't let it break her. And although Layla is a bit snooty in the beginning of the book, her experiences in Macedonia definitely change her for the better as well. My one complaint is that the book is a little long; I think it probably could have been edited a bit more thoroughly. But overall, I liked this book a lot and would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction and/or literature about the South. show less