One Mississippi

I found this coming-of-age tale of a friendship of two high school misfits entertaining and engaging although some of the people who I read this with found that it didn’t ring true to them. That could be because they were raised in the South during the 1970s and saw few similarities between the novel and their own experiences growing up. It could also be that the author, Mark Childress, has a habit of injecting a high degree of absurdity into his novels. (Readers of Crazy in Alabama will know what I mean.) I find his unique way of looking at the world both humorous and thought-provoking. The reader may have difficulty seeing the events happening in the real world but it is interesting to suspend disbelief and just roll with it.

Some show more of the events in the book, unfortunately, are far too familiar to most readers. Bullying those who don’t quite fit is so common that one would be hard-pressed to name somewhere where it doesn’t occur. The psychic damage it causes can last a lifetime.

Bottom line: I really enjoyed this novel although I’m not sure it is quite as memorable as Crazy in Alabama. This may be because the events that it deals with can be found almost daily in the news.

My thanks to the folks at the On the Southern Literary Trail group for giving me the opportunity to read and discuss this and many other fine books. show less

I thought this was an incredible story. What starts out as a tale of youthful innocence ends up as so, so much more. The results of that first, relatively small lie cannot be imagined even by the reader. Despite the dark undertones and serious subjects tackled by Childress in this portrait of the South in the early 70s, there is a lot of laughter and fun here — the Fullflower Baptist Church musical, what Daniel’s father does after he loses his job, Daniel and Tim’s meeting with Cher, for example. All you can do in the end is trust that Daniel will be okay. It was so much more than I was expecting.

I love Mark Childress's writing. His characters display a lovable sense of humor - enough to make me laugh aloud. This novel starts out with a light tone, describing Daniel Musgrove's move from Indiana to Mississippi during his junior year of high school in the 1960's. It is a coming of age novel for him as well as for the country as he puzzles through questions of equality and civil rights. He and his new friend Tim show an error in judgment on prom night, an error that leads to all sorts of trouble for the 2 boys as well as their peers. The novel turns more serious as it goes on, and remains a compelling read. highly recommended.

I LOVED Georgia Bottoms...it was wickedly funny. So, I was a little surprised by the more serious tone of One Mississippi. There were funny scenes that resonated with anyone who grew up in the 70s, but the unexpected violence seemed to be a contemporary imposition on the story.

Lots going on in the story. Coming of age, racism, prejudice, integration, homosexuality, family dysfunction, friendship, first love and much more. I really, really enjoyed it. The author brought all these issues together in one well told story. I was in high school in the 70's just like the main character Daniel and it brought back lots of memories of the music and what it was like to be a teenager during this time. It's a serious look at issues that we still deal with today but it does have a lot of humor thrown in to lighten things up occasionally. Highly recommended.

In 1973 the Musgrove family relocates from Indiana to small-town Minor, Mississippi. Sixteen year-old Daniel is suddenly an outsider at his new high school buit quickly becomes friends with the sarcastic Tim Cousins. The two boys share typical teen boy adventures until the night of the Junior Prom when they accidently hit a young woman with their car. The girl is Arnita Beecham the first black prom queen at Minor high school. The boys flee the scene but stop at a pay phone to call for an ambulance. Their guilt makes them drive by the scene where they see that a seriously injured Arnita is being tended to while the police have stopped a drunk Red Martin, Minor high school football star and extreme bully. Realizing that letting Red take show more the blame would be a great payback for the torture he has put Daniel and Tim through, they vow to keep their involvement a secret. Daniel, however, feels deep remorse and begins to hang around Arnita's home doing chores for the family and helping Arnita, who amazingly thinks she is a white girl named Linda. The two fall in love which is not a well-accepted situation in 1973 Mississippi. Tim feels no guilt but he does feel a deep-seated jealousy of Daniel and Arnita's relationship. Tim's feelings ratchet out of control until he commits a final violent act that Daniel is powerless to stop.

This book certainly did not go in any direction that I had thought it would. The premise was very interesting of two young men involved in a tragic accident and the lie they swore to keep. Their involvement in a local Baptist church musical program was odd and a strange run-in with Cher during a Sonny and Cher concert just didn't ring true. I certainly did not see that the ending coming and it was quite a shocker. Surprisingly, the story was quite humorous at times and Childress is a gifted author. This was just a bit off for me. show less

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The storylines covers a myriad of social issues: desegregation, homosexuality, family dynamics, bullying, friendship, and, of course the seventies. For those of us who were in high school in the '70's, this book will resonate with you. (Powder blue tux's, crepe paper in the gym, and Sonny and Cher) This story starts out with humor and then turns much darker, but, the humor does stay intersperesed throughout the story. The characters are all well written and we probably all knew someone like them in our high school. A great, well-written story that builds until the very end. A great book for book groups as there are many issues to discuss. Will most definately read other titles by this author.