This week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) topic is Books that Would Be On Your Syllabus If You Taught X 101. One of my favorite features to find in a book is a setting that becomes so vivid that it seems like a character in and of itself. Some of my favorite authors are especially adept at this. And, even though I’ve only read a quarter of Naomi Jackson’s The Star Side of Bird Hill, I got a bit tempted to add it to this list for its portrayal of Barbados. I’ll refrain for now…at least until I’ve finished the book!
Top Ten Books on My “Places As Characters 101” Syllabus
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Atlanta, Georgia
The Man in Full by Tom Wolfe
Atlanta, Georgia
Choice of The Prince of Tides or The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
Charleston/Coastal Lowcountry, South Carolina
The Shore by Sara Taylor
Eastern Shore, Virginia
Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
New York City
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
New York City and Great Neck, New York
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Savannah, Georgia
Choice of Shotgun Lovesongs or Beneath the Bonfire by Nickolas Butler
Wisconsin
Tuesday Intro
Every Tuesday, fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.
Plot Summary from Amazon (adapted for length)
This lyrical novel of community, betrayal, and love centers on an unforgettable matriarchal family in Barbados. Two sisters, ages ten and sixteen, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados after their mother can no longer care for them. The young Phaedra and her older sister, Dionne, live for the summer of 1989 with their grandmother Hyacinth, a midwife and practitioner of the local spiritual practice of obeah.
Dionne spends the summer in search of love, testing her grandmother’s limits, and wanting to go home. Phaedra explores Bird Hill, where her family has lived for generations, accompanies her grandmother in her role as a midwife, and investigates their mother’s mysterious life.
Here’s the first paragraph:
Summer 1989
Bird Hill
St. John, BarbadosThe people on the hill liked to say that God’s smile was the sun shining down on them. In the late afternoon, before scarlet ibis bloodied the sunset, light flooded the stained glass windows of Bird Hill Church of God in Christ, illuminating the renderings of black saints from Jesus to Absalom Jones. Where there wasn’t prayer meeting, choir rehearsal, Bible study, or Girl Guides, the church was empty except for its caretaker, Mr. Jeremiah. It was his job to chase the children away from the cemetery that sloped down behind the church, his responsibility to shoo them from their perches on graves that dotted the backside of the hill the area was named for. Despite his best intentions, Mr. Jeremiah’s noontime and midnight devotionals at the run shop brought on long slumbers when children found freedom to do as they liked among the dead.
Would you keep reading?
I know that not all the books you listed are set in the South, but what is it about the southern part of the US that makes us sit up and notice our location? The heat. The bugs. The humidity? LOL
And your teaser was interesting. I could just see those kids running all over and around the gravestones. The name of that church was maybe the longest ever. 😉
Ha – you’re right! Clearly, I need to expand my reading a bit geographically! But, there is something about the South that makes for great reading, right?
This sounds like a really interesting read! I love reading about different cultures and generations clashing, so this sounds like it could be one for me! The cover also really catches your eye, it’s so vibrant and unlike most others! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I hope you have a great week!
My Tuesday post
Juli @ Universe in Words
The generational clashes are a cornerstone of this book so far…I’m almost halfway through and am loving it!
I’ve been contemplating this one…so I’ll be interested in your thoughts.
Did keep reading. Enjoyed it especially the setting.
Ooooh–love your list!! And I totally agree with Savannah and The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
The Star Side of Bird Hill is on my radar–I’ll be curious what you think!
I’m almost halfway through and am loving it so far…the writing is gorgeous and it’s pulling me out of a mini-slump!
Oh wow, what a great list. You’re right, the places really ARE characters of their own with those!
I loved Gone with the Wind and The Prince of Tides. I definitely felt a sense of place with these books.
I am captivated by the excerpt from The Star Side of Bird Hill.
Here’s mine: “ONE MOMENT, ONE MORNING”
I’m almost halfway through Bird Hill and am absolutely loving it…gorgeous writing and an unique coming of age story.
I do love it when the setting of a book can be considered a character in and of itself. It adds so much to a story, I think. I haven’t read any of the books on your list, I’m afraid, other than The Great Gatsby. That was so long ago, I don’t remember it very well.
I liked the opening you shared of The Star Side of Bird Hill. Already I feel like I am there in that graveyard and can just picture Mr. Jeremiah. I hope you continue to enjoy the book.
Ha – I’m definitely due for a Gatsby re-read as well! And I’m loving Bird Hill so far…gorgeous writing!
The book’s cover grabbed me immediately, and since I’m fascinated by midwifery, this sounds like a book I’d enjoy. I like the way the author set the scene in the book’s opening.
My Tuesday post features SAMUEL & SOPHIA.
I’m loving it so far and just got through a midwifery scene, so you should give it a shot!
I just started gone with the wind yesterday.
Oooh – I’m actually jealous you’re getting to read it for the first time! Well, I assume it’s your first time since you didn’t mention a re-read…hope you enjoy it!
I like you Top Ten Places that are Character. I totally agree on all the Pat Conroys and Tom Wolfe. They have an amazing ability to make places come alive in their books. The opening paragraph seemed odd to me, a little jerky. I’ll wait to see what you think.
Once you get into the book, the writing actually flows beautifully. She writes with a very soothing tone!
My first reaction when I saw your theme was just: ooooooh, I’d take that class in a heartbeat! Settings and inanimate objects as characters is one of my favorite devices. Nailed it!
Me too!
Oh i love the idea of places as characters!! My TTT
A great top ten list! I haven’t read the more recent titles, but I totally agree with Gone with the Wind, Prince of Tides, and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I really like the intro to The Starside of Birdhill. I’d keep reading!
I’m almost halfway through Bird Hill and am absolutely loving it!
I love your list! I am dying to go to Savannah still because of Midnight in the Garden.
Me too – I’ve weirdly never been there and now my best friend from high school lives there, so I should get on it!
Some good ones on here!! I would add Kenya circa 1920 in Circling the Sun, which of course includes Out of Africa.
You know, I thought about putting that one on the list, then thought maybe it was only representative of one tiny part of Kenya at that time…but I agree with you, she did a great job with making that slice of Kenya totally come alive!
I’m not sure this week’s intro is from a book that I’d enjoy but I do hope you do.
Hmm…lots of Southern selections up there, Sarah – hahaha! I love it!! I’ve seen some buzz about The Star Side of Bird Hill; I have no idea what it’s about, but I would definitely keep reading!! I’m intrigued!
I realized that after I put together the list…seems I need to get some geographic diversity in my reading!! Haha! I’m LOVING Bird Hill…gorgeous writing, unique coming of age story. It’s pulling me out of a mini-slump.
I’m not sure if I’d continue reading this – don’t know if it is my kind of book but sometimes you just feel like reading something that isn’t
I didn’t think it was my thing either based on the premise, but it came highly recommended from two bloggers whose opinions I trust, so I gave it a shot and I’m so glad I did!
I think I’d keep reading.
What a fantastic topic! I love when books have such strong settings and definitely agree with Gone with the Wind and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is like that too though the setting is a bit on the sinister side!
I can’t believe I’ve never read any Shirley Jackson, but hear I need to!
I love your top ten list. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else choose that topic today. It’s great when a book’s setting plays a big role in the story.
At the end of every summer when someone would ask me what I did on vacation, I always told them I visited this city or that country, etc. because I honestly felt as I had been there with the books I read. I love it when a setting comes alive and seems as though I’m there with the characters.
I absolutely agree with Nickolas Butler. His books are like a love letter to Wisconsin.
I like that intro a lot and have the eGalley but forgot what the book was about — sounds like a winner.
Great picks! I love places that act as characters and you definitely found a few books that do that. I’ve been super curious about The Star Side of Bird Hill and it seems like I’ve heard mostly good things!
Same here! I’m almost halfway through Bird Hill and am really enjoying it…gorgeous writing, unique coming of age story.
I wish more people would read The Prince of Tides! It’s so excellent. One of my favorites in high school.
Me too! I first loved it in high school, then re-read it earlier this year (it was my choice for annual Pat Conroy re-read). Next year’s will be Beach Music (at least as of now)!
I love this idea! I’m a big fan of place as character. GWTW and Gatsby would certainly make my list – as well as East of Eden, To the Lighthouse, and Lord of the Flies. This is my first time on your blog and I’m really enjoying it!