What do You think about The Morning And The Evening (1994)?
Williams's compelling story of a mentally challenged man left in the care of ambivalent townspeople is an excellent read and deserving of greater attention. Her prose is elegant while her subjects are not; the universal nature of her characters is shaming in its familiarity -- how often do we struggle to address a wrong when the act will cost us the esteem of our peers. It seems we are destined to choose ourselves, our own survival, over the survival of another, even when that other cannot fend for him or herself. It's Williams's brutally honest look at human nature, and her light touch in the harshest moments of her story, that make this a book well worth picking up.
—E.C. McCarthy
3.5 starsThis is an incredibly sad story of a forty year old mute man who is left alone when his brother leaves and his mother dies. Jake does not speak but yet there are times when we know he understands what is happening around him. “One thing at a time he could know. Some things he had learned: repeated things. And some things he knew instinctively, animal-like: tones, touches, whether they were kind or not." I did find it that it was difficult to really know Jake but yet I could not help but care for this man and hope that the town’s people would rise to the occasion and help him. I also found that the people we meet in this small town of Marigold, Mississippi are difficult to connect with. But yet, I got a sense of those that are good and kind vs the sense of those who are not, those who want to help Jake and those who see him as a menace to the community.This was reminiscent in some ways of Lottery but I while I found that book very predictable, the ending of this one was not predictable for me and was heartbreaking.Thanks to Open Road Integrated Media and Net Galley.
—Angela M
This wonderful novel is just about perfect in every way and I really hope this new publication will bring it to the wide readership it deserves. It’s the haunting and moving story of Jake Darby, a developmentally disabled and mute man living in a small backward and fairly ignorant rural community in the deep south of America. With vivid and evocative descriptions of the southern landscape, empathetic and realistic characterisation and an acute ear for authentic dialogue, the book is a delight from beginning to end, beautifully written, perfectly paced and expertly plotted. A quiet, gentle and tender story, heart-breaking and quite simply unforgettable.
—Mandy
