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Title: Confederacy of Silence : A True Tale of the New Old South by Richard Rubin ISBN: 0-671-03667-X Publisher: Atria Books Pub. Date: 04 June, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Southern Discomfort
Comment: Having spent my formative years in Mississippi, I approached Mr. Rubin's book with some trepidation. I do love Mississippi-warts and all. I am all too familiar with books written about the South that berate the people based upon their history and the stereotypical depiction of their actions. Refreshingly, Mr. Rubin does not fall into this trap. Yes, there are sections of the book that are difficult to read due to the hateful, racist language referenced. Thankfully, Confederacy of Silence doesn't stop there. The beauty of the place and the generosity and graciousness of the people are crucial aspects of the Mississippi experience that the author astutely depicts for the reader.
I found the section of the book devoted to the writer's experience in the Delta truly fascinating. I found the second half of the book to be a genuine 'page turner.' While I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, I wanted to finish it quickly to find out what happened to Handy Campbell. I did approach the ending with some hesitancy-would Campbell be found guilty even though he was innocent or was he actually guilty? I must admit that the final outcome of the trial was something I never even considered.
I highly recommend this book. As a native of Mississippi, I strongly urge those unfamiliar with the state to experience second-hand the good in the people that Mr. Rubin encounters-it is easy to see the bad. The author uses a clear voice from which the reader can draw his or her own opinion.
Rating: 5
Summary: Review
Comment: I truly did not want this book to end. Watching Mr. Rubin discover the south (through the eyes of a New Yorker, no less) was positively captivating. Being a transplant to NYC myself, I admired his openess to embrace a people and place like Greenwood, not to mention the twists and turns of a murder mystery wrapped up in the whole thing. The richness of Rubin's story telling ability shines, coupling his own search for self with the unfortunate loss of self suffered by Handy Campbell makes for a wonderful duality. It also brings home the sad fact that racism is alive and well in some parts of our country. Being fortunate enough to live in such a richly diverse part of the states, it is sometimes easy to forget the struggle that still goes on in some places not so far away. I eagerly await Mr. Rubin's next book, in the mean time, I'll read "Confederacy" again.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of the Three Best Books to Understand the South
Comment: ...I am an Alabamian, the scion of many settler families, both planter and yeoman stock. I consider Confederacy of Silence, A True Tale of the New Old South one of the three best books that I have ever read about my native country, this one by an outsider and the other two by an insider. Rubin's powers of observation, curiosity, attention to detail, sensitivity to nuances, empathy with people, fairness, and honesty are extraordinary. He has the literary talent to express all that he observed and learned - and he was always learning. The book held me like a mystery thriller.
By the time that I reached the section on the trial, I had two strong reactions. First, I thought: "Oh my, he is already entangled in the same dichotomy as many thoughtful Southerners: love/hate, or better, love/anguish." I also felt that I was reading another To Kill a Mockingbird and hoping that the ending would be better.
I have added Confederacy of Silence to my list of the now three best books for understanding the South. The other two are Viola Goode Liddell's With a Southern Accent (1948) and A Place of Springs (1979). She too wrote with honesty giving everybody their due whether good, bad, or somewhere in between. She was born in 1901 and lived in or near Camden and the Alabama River in central Alabama. She wrote about the life of her families and community in the 19th century and during her lifetime including the turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s. The truth for both Liddell and Rubin is in the details.
The dichotomy of love/anguish expressed by both Rubin and Liddell also reminded me of Florence King whose hyperbolic humor and perceptions of the South I have always enjoyed. In her first chapter of Southern Ladies and Gentlemen she explained how Southerners are all rendered mad from dealing with the contradictions in their culture. Miss King, a Virginian, went to graduate school at Ole Miss where she encountered Mississippi women (Confessions of a Failed Southern Belle), a special breed for whose understanding Mr. Rubin has added lore.
Mr. Rubin perceived both the light and dark sides of the separate communities in Greenwood, Mississippi, and all the shades in between, i.e. real life and people. He sensed a concern for the future when he speculated that Mr. Myrick might become a public official in LeFlore County someday. Many of us are living the reality of that anguish.
The Jewish population in rural areas has declined in many places. It is happening even in cities such as Meridian, Mississippi. Mr. Rubin's description of Jewish society is especially poignant and informative...
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Title: Sons of Mississippi : A Story of Race and Its Legacy by Paul Hendrickson ISBN: 0375404619 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 18 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Mississippi : An American Journey by Anthony Walton ISBN: 0679777415 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 28 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Lynching of Emmett Till: A Documentary Narrative (The American South Series) by Christopher Metress ISBN: 0813921228 Publisher: University of Virginia Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Development Arrested: The Blues and Plantation Power in the Mississippi Delta by Clyde Woods ISBN: 1859841171 Publisher: Verso Books Pub. Date: June, 2000 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Hell at the Breech : A Novel by Tom Franklin ISBN: 0688167411 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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