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The Homecoming of Samuel Lake A Novel Random House Reader Circle Jenny Wingfield 9780385344098 Books

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The Homecoming of Samuel Lake A Novel Random House Reader Circle Jenny Wingfield 9780385344098 Books

It's hard for me to decide whether I liked this book or not. On the one hand, yes, the characters are well-drawn, and the plot moves along at a fast, straight-forward clip, and the language is evocative. I think the problem is the voice--there's a stark contrast between the warm, cozy feel of much of the story, and the really brutal harshness of some of what happens in the story. If I compare it to The Secret Life of Bees, wherein there's a warmth and gentleness and humor to the story despite some pretty terrible events, this still feels a lot more jarring. It's almost as if you were reading along in To Kill a Mockingbird, and then suddenly there was a lurid description of a lynching, complete with an up-close description of a castration.

I am also a little unsure how to take the theme of the story--it seems to grapple with theodicy, why does God allow evil, especially evil perpetrated against children and even animals. But what is the resolution? is it that despite not having an answer, we should go on trusting in miracles and in love? Probably, and probably the point is that the pastor Dad embodies God's love in a way--but what are we to make of his action at the end? And are we to take Toy's action as Christ, taking the punishment that rightly belongs to us sinners?

I think the story probably does mean that, and that makes the whole thing even more jarring, because it is put into such a golden-hued setting, with a voice that uses devices such as capital letters to give a jocular tone: when The Bad Thing happened, she wanted to be Ready. (not a quote, just an approximation.)

I'm not sorry I read it, but if you have a hard time hearing about animal abuse or child abuse or spouse abuse, please beware.


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The Homecoming of Samuel Lake A Novel Random House Reader Circle Jenny Wingfield 9780385344098 Books Reviews

I saw an endorsement from Fannie Flagg of Jenny Wingfield’s novel The Homecoming of Samuel Lake. That was all I needed to purchase the book. If Fannie liked it, I was certain I would. But knowing Fannie from her comedy and her comedic writings, I suppose I was expecting a humorous story. That is far from the truth. While there is whimsy in spots and humor does find its way in the pages, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake is basically a sometimes harrowing tale of coming of age, learning to appreciate the good in people, and finding your way in the world. It is also a powerful tale of faith, for Samuel Lake, the preacher, is tested, and his faith becomes stronger even as he loses a church home in which to preach. He discovers that there are other ways, perhaps better ways, to spread the gospel than through words. Set in the late 1950s among folks who are pounding out a hard-scrabble life in Arkansas, this novel speaks to my need to understand the Southern roots from which I sprang. I grew up in Texas, in a city, but I found that the values of the people in Wingfield’s novel, as they lead their rural, Arkansan lives, are not much different than those I grew up with. In fact, I would venture to say that many people, from a myriad of backgrounds, will see themselves and their families in this book. If I had to quibble over something, I would say I was a bit disappointed over the resolution of the character Bernice’s storyline. I suppose the resolution fits the character, but I guess I wanted more detail, more to happen with her and to her. Other than that, this is a wonderful novel.
Have you ever read a book that when you were reading it you couldn't get to the next page fast enough ? That was this book for me. I will admit that when I first started reading it I wasn't sure if I could keep reading it because of some of the content. The content being animal abuse and spouse/ child abuse. I am so glad that I decided to keep reading. I do agree with some of the comments that it does remind you of To Kill A Mockingbird in some ways but to me this book is more suspenseful and in some instances funny. From the title, I thought that the main character was going to be Samuel Lake but I think it was shared with his young daughter Swan. Samuel is a preacher who finds himself without a church and at this point in his life he and his family have to do whatever they can to make ends meet. The main source of their income ends up being a part of their homestead they open as a local bar !!!! Samuel is a loving husband and a father to 3 children, 2 boys and his daughter Swan. Without giving too much away, Swan befriends a young boy named Blade who has been singled out by his snake of a father to be his whipping post when he's not throwing his wife around. There are a lot of other characters that add to the "meat" of this story and I loved all of them, but Blade's father was the most evil of evils. ( I don't think I have ever read a book with a character that I hated as much as I hated this man .) Don't want to say too much more about the story because I don't want to reveal any spoilers. For me, the ending was bittersweet but I guess that was the way it had to be. I highly recommend this book. You will not want to put it down. .
O.K., so I thought this was, (overall) a good book; The most positive aspect was the writing- Jenny Wingfield writes like a lot of southerners speak, and I loved it. She had the old time sayings down perfectly, and her characters were really well done...except maybe Berniece. It was hard to imagine her being so gorgeous and all, what with her being such a dolt. IMO.

Now, the negative- Yeah, we got that Das was a miserable SOB, but all the animal cruelty was overdone- The author didn't need to go there so often. I almost stopped reading it midway through because of it. It colored the feeling of the book in places, taking away from the story.

Yes, the ending was a little pat- but good, strong. Made me wonder what became of the characters! I'd recommend it, but be forewarned if you're squeamish about animal cruelty.
It's hard for me to decide whether I liked this book or not. On the one hand, yes, the characters are well-drawn, and the plot moves along at a fast, straight-forward clip, and the language is evocative. I think the problem is the voice--there's a stark contrast between the warm, cozy feel of much of the story, and the really brutal harshness of some of what happens in the story. If I compare it to The Secret Life of Bees, wherein there's a warmth and gentleness and humor to the story despite some pretty terrible events, this still feels a lot more jarring. It's almost as if you were reading along in To Kill a Mockingbird, and then suddenly there was a lurid description of a lynching, complete with an up-close description of a castration.

I am also a little unsure how to take the theme of the story--it seems to grapple with theodicy, why does God allow evil, especially evil perpetrated against children and even animals. But what is the resolution? is it that despite not having an answer, we should go on trusting in miracles and in love? Probably, and probably the point is that the pastor Dad embodies God's love in a way--but what are we to make of his action at the end? And are we to take Toy's action as Christ, taking the punishment that rightly belongs to us sinners?

I think the story probably does mean that, and that makes the whole thing even more jarring, because it is put into such a golden-hued setting, with a voice that uses devices such as capital letters to give a jocular tone when The Bad Thing happened, she wanted to be Ready. (not a quote, just an approximation.)

I'm not sorry I read it, but if you have a hard time hearing about animal abuse or child abuse or spouse abuse, please beware.