Noon Time Chat for Going Down South by Bonnie Glover
By APOOO • Nov 21st, 2008 • Category: Virtual Book Tours •
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Did you know that several book bloggers got together this week to discuss Going Down South by Bonnie Glover? Or that the author, Bonnie Glover, also joined us? What a fun time we have had discussing, sharing points-of-view, and thoughts regarding Going Down South. Each day a different blogger hosted the noon-time chat, and today we’re wrapping it up at APOOO. But don’t fret, you can still stop by each site and join in on prior discussions. For convenience, I’ve listed all of the sites below.
Monday: J. Kaye’s Book Blog
Tuesday: Peeking Between the Pages
Wednesday: Literarily
Thursday: She Is Too Fond of Books
Friday: APOOO Book Club
But, before you leave APOOO, stay awhile as we share some of the highlights from this week and ponder mind-boggling situations. As APOOO discovered in September, Going Down South is an excellent book for a discussion group as there were so many themes addressed–mother/daughter relationships, teenage pregnancy, parental sacrifices, husband/wife relationships, interracial relationships, holier than thou pastors, and secrets…
We kicked off the week at J. Kaye’s Book Blog. She opened the discussion by stating that she didn’t like Southern Literature and was wondering why she choose this book to read and discuss. But, she was also very open-minded and explained that one should never judge a book by its cover. It seems that the father, Turk, and his treatment of his young daughter, Daisy, really got under J. Kaye’s skin…and I can understand because Turk was not a very endearing character and at the end of the book he still had no redeeming qualitys…imo. J. Kaye ended her post with the following question:
What did you all think of Olivia Jean’s only request for her birthday was for her father to sing her a song and what Turk did? I wanted to get the broom after him like Daisy did at the beginning. Did that part really stand out for you? If not, what part did?
What a great question. We continued the momentum the next day with Dar over at Peeking Between the Pages. We were HERE and HERE. Dar’s focus was on Daisy and Olivia Jean. As with J. Kaye, and the rest of us, Dar empathized with Olivia Jean. Here’s what she had to say:
Olivia Jean is by far my favorite character, at least for now. She is a very like able 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.
Regarding Daisy, Dar admits that as she learns more about her that she might not be as bad as she appears to be on the surface. Maybe there’s more than meets the eye and explains why Daisy behaves the way that she does.
Dar’s primary take away thus far was this…
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.
Dar also addressed HERE questions previously asked by the author regarding whether or not Olivia Jean had unrealistic expectations and mostly walked around with her head in the clouds and if Turk was really a bad guy. My answers…the short of it…no and YES! LOL.
Day 3, we hung out with Shana at Literarily. She asked a very provocative and thought-provoking question that generated a lot of discussion.
If your 15 year-old daughter came home today telling you she was pregnant, what would YOU do?
Those who know me, and know me well, know that I had a lot to say about this topic. Hmmm…probably why my comments were moderated and never posted. LOL. There were some really good comments shared tho’…so when you have a moment, please stop by and read them.
Okay, moving right along. Day 4, we hung out at She Is Too Fond Of Books. We discussed Birdie’s voice, secrets that separate us/families, and met Shorty Long, Lupe Rawlins and the god-awful, preacherman–Percy Walker. She is Too Fond Of Books left us with these questions:
Does anyone else feel that Daisy is jealous of the relationship that has developed between Olivia Jean and Birdie? I’m starting to see some regrets on Daisy’s part, I think that’s what inspired the family trip to church (this scene is in Part Four, “Of One Accord,” you might not be there yet).
What has stood out to you as you’ve read? Do you have any favorites passages, examples of Bonnies’ writing, that you’d like to share? I post some excerpts that really struck me (later, in the comments section)
And now for today, APOOO leaves you with a review from team member Phyllis. CLICK HERE to read Phyllis’ review.
I LOVED this book…there was so much to discuss and there were so many situations that are still relevant today. Things that stood out for others also stood out for me…but Daisy not recognizing who her father was…or at least having an idea of who he was was just mind-boggling to me. What about you? Here’s what Glover had to say about my quest for ‘who da baby daddy be’…
Yasmin/Dawn – as far as Daisy not knowing who her father was — I spoke to a group of ladies from my church. The age varied. But to a one, the older of them said there were certain things that just weren’t talked about back then. Remember why there was a split? There might have still been danger. And, I do think Daisy was naive up til she left town and after she had too many other things to deal with rather than thing of fatherhood. I think.
What say you? Do you disagree or agree? Why?
Now that we’ve all finished the book…let’s delve further and leave comments regarding the following questions:
What did you think of the ending? Was it satisfactory or were there loose ends for you? If there were loose ends, what were they and do you want a sequel?
Did Percy Walker get what was coming to him? Or should we respect what happened and not talk ill of the man of God?
What did you think of Daisy’s decision regarding naming who the baby’s father was?
After getting to know the characters, did your opinions/views change regarding their character? Why or why not?
If you were the author, is there anything you would have written differently?
Thanks everyone for stopping by. Thanks J. Kaye for coordinating this week’s noon time chat. And Bonnie Glover thank you for giving us such a wonderful book to discuss.
Everyone feel free to discuss Going Down South among yourselves and don’t forget to leave comments.
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Yasmin – this has been an incredible week with such interesting tops and discussions. You posed some excellent questions. I think I’ll tackle Percy Walker. He was an old, bitter man. A rapist. He got what was coming to him but he also tried, I think, to do what Birdie and Daisy wanted him to do by not admitting anything to Olivia Jean. He was flawed and evil but even in characters like his, I try to have some redeeming qualities.
Yasmin – I’ll be back later to discuss, but I HAD to say I did not moderate your comments!!! I don’t even have comment moderation turned on for my blog. I’m not sure what happened, but I never saw them. I PROMISE!!! Since there was obviously some kind of glitch, I would be more than happy to post your comments myself if you want to email them to me. I’d really like to hear what you have to say about it. And believe me, it is basically IMPOSSIBLE to offend me!!!
Shana´s last blog post..Book Review: Two Brothers – One North, One South by David H. Jones and Book Giveaway
I loved this book! I don’t think there are any loose ends … but do we need loose ends to have a sequel? I’d love to visit with the family 20 or 40 years later (now) and see what Olivia Jean is up to!
Percy Walker – it doesn’t matter what the man wears, or what he professes … actions speak louder than words … As Bonnie pointed out, he honored Birdie and Daisy’s wishes by not admitting to Olivia Jean that he was her father; however, I think there was a bit of CYA there, too. Again, this character evokes a strong emotion because he is written so well.
If I was the author (and this is the extent of my writing, so clearly I’m *not* an author!), I may have had either the OliviaJean/Preston or Daisy/Percy “relationships” carry on longer befoer the pregnancies. They both got pregnant their “first time”, right?
Did my opinions of the characters change? Absolutely! Especially Daisy, who I judged harshly when I met her in Olivia Jean’s section. My favorite character remains Birdie, I love her self-confidence at her age, the colorful clothes she wears, and the woman she has become after such a rough start.
Dawn´s last blog post..Friday Finds: November 21, 2008
Shana, Blogger too has been having technical issues as well as Mr. Linky. Both are very different than yours so it’s not just you. Other places are having issues as well.
Second, Love the wrap up! And I am ready for the ending questions.
1. What did you think of the ending? Was it satisfactory or were there loose ends for you? If there were loose ends, what were they and do you want a sequel?
I think the ending was appropriate. I think it’s important for authors to stay true to the characters and Bonnie did so with the ending. I don’t know if I want a sequel. I think all three ladies grew from their mistakes and have grown as well as bonded.
2.Did Percy Walker get what was coming to him? Or should we respect what happened and not talk ill of the man of God?
No, I wanted Birdie to finish him off. (lol) That of course wouldn’t have been realistic…or maybe it would have. I don’t know. I am more like Birdie believing it’s grown ups who need a little corporal punishment from time to time.
As far as not talking ill of a man of God, I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home to Jimmy Swaggart. Do I need to say more?
3. What did you think of Daisy’s decision regarding naming who the baby’s father was?
I loved the symbolism there. I also believe she was going to be okay. They still have more growing to do, but they were going to be fine.
4. After getting to know the characters, did your opinions/views change regarding their character? Why or why not?
I never passed judgment on Birdie, Daisy, and Olivia Jean. I didn’t feel I knew enough about them to judge. Turk I did from the beginning. The reason was he had a responsibility to his daughter and didn’t fulfill that. There was no excuse for him to go away at days at a time.
When I found out that Turk had indeed suspected Olivia Jean wasn’t his from the beginning, I slacked off of my negative feelings. Then when he wanted to take Adam, I marked him off as scum.
5. If you were the author, is there anything you would have written differently?
No. This author was beyond good. I had to read every word because the story was edited so tightly. If I skimmed, I would have missed an important part.
Bonnie–hello and thanks so much for stopping by. And YES I love that Percy Walker got his comeuppance…but what is so sad is that there are still too many ministers like Percy Walker today. Do, as I say, not as I do…sigh.
Shana…thanks for letting me know that you weren’t holding my comments against me…Wednesday wasn’t a good day for posting…so maybe I was timed out. I’ll see if I can find my comments and resend.
Dawn–yes they got both got pregnant their first time…and that’s a good point…and one that needs to continue to be enforced with teens…you can GET PREGNANT THE FIRST TIME. Then again hopefully more parents are talking to their kids about sex AND PRECAUTIONS today…sigh. Birdie was also my favorite character as well. It was interesting to read her story and watch her come full circle. Now the question is…if Birdie were our mom would we have been so accepting of her…in other words have we become more accepting of our moms as they’ve changed and grown?
J. Kaye…HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY and yes Blogger and Mr. Linky have been boggers…lol. Regarding a sequel…I don’t want one either…I believe when authors finish a book it should be the end for the book and the characters. I like using my imagination to create what coulda, woulda, shoulda, mightda happened…lol. J. Kaye…Percy died…that wasn’t enough comeupppance for ya…hehe.
Oh gosh…I so despise Jimmy Swaggart…yuck…may he get what he deserves…lol. Regarding characters, Turk was an a-hole and my opinion of him never changed…hehe. Oh and just thinking he could march in and take Adam…I wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth. But, given the times, heck some folks are like that today, was it understandable that he wanted a male child and would take one however he could get him?
J. Kaye – “slap the taste out of his mouth” … you are too much!
Re: my interest in a sequel. I didn’t mean to imply that there’s needs to be a sequel, just that I love where the characters are now and I’d like to see them continue to be happy together. It’s true, often a sequel doesn’t meet the highs that the first book did. Just go ahead and give us another book, Bonnie!
Re: pregnant the “first time”. I should have posed my comment as a question … Bonnie, were you trying to send a message that this can (and does) happen? Interesting that all 3 pregnancy situations were so different – Olivia Jean hungry for affection, Daisy raped, Birdie in a loving, but targeted, marriage.
Dawn´s last blog post..Friday Finds: November 21, 2008
Man – you all have so many interesting thoughts I have no plans for a sequel for GOING DOWN SOUTH although the next book is connected. I did have a kind of a SIX FEET UNDER ending for the book – you know where there is a big, big view of what happens to each character. One day maybe I’ll put it on my website.
Pregnant first time – I don’t think it was planned. Just happened to work out that way. But it does send a message that hao be sent to our girls — be careful who you love. And, about Shorty Long and Birdie, sometimes things do not work out. That’s a fact. Even love can’t overcome everything.
I also found interesting that only Birdie had experienced real love. Both men, Shorty Long and Lupe, loved Birdie. What was it in her, a woman who dressed loudly, who “could beat a grown man down,” who had been in prison, what was it in her that attracted men?
My next book will feature Queenie, Birdie’s foster mother.
Dawn…here you regarding the sequel…and yes Bonnie needs to just give us more books…I hope her publisher agrees.
Good question regarding the ‘first time’ message and that’s what I took away…was that so many girls/women do get pregnant the first time…and while that was a strong message back in my day…it’s still appropriate today along with the STD/AID message…prevention, prevention, prevention…I’m all for it.
Bonnie…I think that men were attracted to Birdie because she was different…she was probably very headstrong, her own person, empowered during a time when women were not. Birdie didn’t kowtow to others…what you was was what you got and the men attracted to her appreciated that. Oh and I spoke out of turn previously when I said non of the black men were presented in a positive light…Lupe was…he loved Birdie’s last year dirty underwear…lol.
Oh goodness – last year’s dirty underwear? That’s some loving!
1. What did you think of the ending? Was it satisfactory or were there loose ends for you? If there were loose ends, what were they and do you want a sequel?
No, I don’t need a sequel. Things were not perfect but realistic. I was disappointed in Turk’s reaction, how he wanted to take the baby and leave Olivia Jean. He was a selfish S.O.B. I liked Daisy’s growth; how she realized she had to let him go. I was also somewhat disappointed in O.J.’s naieveness about having a child and child rearing. She became jus like so many girls I have seen in the south who get pregnant young and get trapped. And the fact the O.J. had lived up North in NYC, it seemed like she was taking a step backwards, several steps actually. What future did she have in a southern town with little opportunities?
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2. Did Percy Walker get what was coming to him? Or should we respect what happened and not talk ill of the man of God?
I dont’ like to say he got what was coming but rather, your past has a way of coming back to bit you on the rear or God has a way of righting a wrong. Some people would say it was karma. I have to consider the source, the man was a poor, southern-born, uneducated (as were alot of preachers in small southern towns, barely making it out of grade school, never attending seminary) who preached fire and brimstone and was doing dirt. Unfortunately, this scenario is/was more common than we would like to think. Religion in a small town is often hypocritical and misguiding and the congregation are other poor, uneducated folk who are just sheep and easily taken advantage of. But what is done in the dark will be revealed in the light, and his indiscretions came back to haunt him.
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3. What did you think of Daisy’s decision regarding naming who the baby’s father was?
After getting to know the characters, did your opinions/views change regarding their character? Why or why not?
If you were the author, is there anything you would have written differently?
I can’t remember about the name. Did she name it after the preacher?
At the beginning, I did not like Daisy; she was self-absorbed, needy, not the kind of mother she should have been but throughout the story, I came to understand Daisy and why she was like she was.
Turk, well I have already said what I thought of him. He was a man. LOL
Birdie was a victim of circumstances, southern born, dark-skinned and scorned, exploited, used and in need of love. I liked her character best.
As I said I saw Olivia Jean as silly, I never understood why she didn’t name the father of her child nor why she went back and had sex with him again. ????? She was also a victim of her environment, needy and looking for love.
As far as differently, I think it was extremely unrealistic that Daisy did not know the white man was her father. Come on. There were too many clues, going to dinner at his house every week, giving them money, her fair complexion. It was a no-brainer. How did it advance the story for her not to know who her father was? It was just inplausible.
Dera´s last blog post..My name is Dera and I am a bookaholic
Hey Dera…thanks for stopping by …very good comments…question regarding the good pastor…is he just representative of small, southern towns or can we find him in major cities as well…maybe a little better educated, a few more degrees…but some of the same ways…
It just occurred to me that Birdie may have been the original “when I am an old woman I shall wear purple” woman. Well, in her case, she’ll wear any color she darn pleases!
Dawn´s last blog post..Friday Finds: November 21, 2008
Yasmin, touche’. Couldn’t have said it better.
Dera´s last blog post..My name is Dera and I am a bookaholic
I finished the book last night and I loved it! I do like the way it ended and I don’t feel there were any loose ends at all. Would I like to see a sequel-yup, I love sequels so I would love to see where they all are a few years from now and if Adam ever gets to meet his papa.
The one person my opinion of changed was Daisy. I didn’t like her at first and for quite a while in the book but then she changed for me. I adored Birdie and thought she was such a great character. Really, I thought all the female characters strong and likeable.
I hope to have a review up today or tomorrow. Sorry I didn’t pop in yesterday. Not feeling too good so I’m here today instead spreading my opinion around. lol.
Darlene´s last blog post..Winners of Broad Street
Hey Dar…hope you’re feeling better and glad you popped in today!
I haven’t read this book, but I have to say that I love the wrap up. You did a great job taking us through all the points and as a result I am very interested in reading this book.
Nicole´s last blog post..Teaser Tuesdays ~ 12/2/08