What do You think about Walking Across Egypt (1997)?
A very short read about a 78 year old widow who tries to change the world one meal at a time. Mattie thinks she is slowing down, actually she made me feel like a lazy lump with all her cleaning and cooking. She has a bit of a fall and gets stuck in a chair with no bottom. She is mortified that the neighbors might find her and she hadn't done the lunch dishes yet. The dog-catcher comes to pick up a stray and she won't let him rescue her until he washes, dries and puts up her dishes. Mattie learns the dog-catcher has a nephew, Wesley, in the juvenile correctional facility in town so she takes it upon herself to bring him some cake and pie. Next thing we know he has convinced himself she is his grandmother and busts out of place so he can go to her house for more pound cake. Mattie takes the beatitudes to heart and thinks that what she does for Wesley, she does for Jesus, but she questions whether or not Jesus would have a girlfriend like Wesley's. Mattie lives for washing, cooking, taking care of neighbors, setting a good example. She is not concerned with material things, although she is secretly addicted to All My Children! I wonder how many of us would actually take in a total stranger because of our faith? Mattie's family thinks she has gone off the deep end. Shouldn't take you more that 5 hours to read.
—Holly
I heard Clyde Edgeron speak at a writer's conference in 1999...he read the opening scene of Walking Across Egypt, told some stories, shared writing tips...one of the funniest guys I've ever heard. Perfect delivery, imagery, dialogue. Lets you see, smell, taste the biscuits, hear the conversations as if you're standing near enough to the stove to burn yourself if you're not careful. LOVE his writing style, the lazy meanderings of southern conversations, back and forth and around each other. Walking Across Egypt is the kind of story that reminds you of your grandma and all the things she taught you, right down to how you might want to keep your granny's button collection because your own grandkids might want them one day. Mine is in the linen closet waiting for that day.
—Judy
This book, which is not set in Egypt, and where nobody walks much further than the local church, was an oddity. Two parts farce to three parts religious indoctrination, it centres on an elderly widow living in the North Carolina.The depiction of the elderly characters is thought provoking. Their focus is on washing up, cooking, nurturing, offering hospitality and going to church. They aren’t distracted by the complications and concerns of the modern world, they just keep plodding forward the best way they know how. It put me in mind of ‘The Waltons’, though it is doubtful whether the Waltons would have dared crack quite so many jokes about sperm.The pace and tone of the novel is gentle, and I suspect it would work quite well as a theatre production as there are very few scene changes, and characters (like the annoying but amusing neighbours) popping in and out to deliver their lines. If I had a problem it was that I never knew where I stood with it. Was I supposed to laugh, cry or pray? Was I having my heart forcibly warmed? My inner agnostic railed against the religious overtones, and whilst it would be lovely to think we could really change the world for the better with a slice of pound cake and a dollop of the gospels, I suspect it’s not feasible.
—Jayne Charles
